After some discussion with a friend today, the topic of tool cleaning came up. In summary, I needed to clean my de-soldering pump. Come to think of it, it has never been cleaned before. There were the occasional wipes with tissue paper when I felt that the tool is not working as it should be. But that was like twice in a decade.
THE SUCKER
That’s what we called it. During my Engineering days, we each has our own (bought) sucker. It was made of metal, and is close to 8 inches in length. I thought it was the bees knees until I went into the workshop where the Techs repair stuff. Theirs were 13 inches of blue plastic with a yellow tip at the upper end. I though nothing of it until I used one and my jaw dropped.
The melted solder was gone with just one release of the trigger. Suddenly, mine was just a little toy stick. Sure it is compact and easier to carry. Sure, we had to use it a few times before the melted solder is gone. But man, from that day, I swore I am going to get one of those blue sticks, even if I don’t use it on the field. Its bigger body (volume) and stronger spring, is the reason why the suction power is so good.
CHARGING THE PUMP
To be honest, there was no reason we Engineers needed to use the de-soldering pumps. Soldering irons yes, but rarely the pump. Most of the time, we (as in me) just solder RS-232 serial connections and we would being back faulty boards to the Workshop. So, I guess, I could be the only one with the de-soldering pump since I was dealing with PC and system interfacing.
Charging the smaller pump can be done with one hand (or thumb) but for the blue de-soldering pump, this is where the fun begins. You grip the body with one hand and use the palm of the other to firmly push the handle in. It’s very easy and fast once you are used to it, even if you are holding the soldering iron (be careful of solder splash). And sometimes when both of my hands cannot meet together, I will push the handle on any hard surface instead.
(OK, I used an alternative since I could not find the original Singer Sewing Machine Oil). The lubrication helped a lot as there was virtually no resistance when the plunger returned to its original position. The oil also helps prevent the cooling melting solder from sticking too aggressively inside.
