Aoyue8800 Self Contained Desoldering Gun with Internal Vacuum Pump and Carrying Case, 120V AC

I have a Hakko 808 at work and most of the things that people are complaining about in these reviews also happen to the Hakko 808. The Hakko has a bit better plastic/build quality, but it clogs up and has to be cleaned just as much as the Aoyue.I love this thing. I have desoldered countless 8 to 40-pin dips, passives, and connectors with this thing. Day one I replaced the sponge pad at the back of the chamber with ceramic heat resistant tape (I guess it's called tape... there's no adhesive). I have to cut the tape to size, but the dry sponges are a perfect template. Also I bought a jar of nozzle gel that's used for mig welders and I thinly apply the gel all inside the plastic collector, the spring, and where the rubber seals are. This makes it seal well and makes it really easy to clean after use.You need to add solder to the pin you're trying to clear. Let the iron heat up the joint a second or two. Remember the solder has to be hot all the way to the other side of the board. Then make sure the tip is flat against the hole, pull the trigger and move the tip in circles pushing the pin all around the hole. It's perfect nearly every time. If it didn't all come off it's because you didn't let the solder liquefy enough all the way through. A pin on a ground plane is going to need more heat or more time. More heat/less time is better. I've never had to put the iron hotter than about 370c.This tool requires a good bit of maintenance. You have to keep it clean or the sucked solder that collects on the spring will cause the pump to loose pressure, this will then clog the suction tube. It's simple to clean with the included tools. Heat the gun up and push the rod with the spring (holding the spring with your fingers) on the end down the hole to clear the tube. The spring will stay cool for long enough to do this.I can't say much about other units failing to heat or the tip tubes being bent since mine has never had those problems. I did have a screw come loose from one side of the diaphragm pump after many, many hours of use. After a slight bit of disassembly I put some blue locktite on the screw, tightened it and it's never given me another issue.

I've removed approximately 50 components so far. It took all of 5, maybe 10 minutes (including a short learning curve) to remove them. Worked great on a PCB with plated holes. The kit includes many consumables and cleaning tools. The build quality is exceptional. Both gun and stand are solid. Nothing feels cheap. I watched Dave Jones on the EEVBLOG take apart a ZD985  Vacuum Desoldering Rework Station Digital Temperature Controlled Dual LCD . Total Junk, a Toy.... but it did work. The Aoyue 8800 is only a few dollars more and it's a real machine. Plus it’s hand held. No big box on the desk.Learning curve…. Read the instructions. Especially the part about tinning the tip. Use the 1.5mm tip for common components and lead sizes. At first I used a smaller 1.2mm tip thinking a tighter fit would be better. However, it did not provide a large enough hole for the vacuum so I switched back to the 1.5mm that came installed on the gun. Perfecto.I used the circular technique that Dave used in his video of the ZD-985. Place the nozzle over the lead stub and flush with the PCB. Make a quick little circle motion pivoting around the lead then pull the trigger. You will not need more than 2 seconds with the gun set to 320C. Important… the instruction state that if the solder isn’t fully molten it may stick in the suction tube before is reaches the collector chamber. This happened with the smaller tip.The circle motion will center the lead in the hole so it doesn't stick to the side of the hole. Once you get the hang of it the components will fall out. That must be experienced to believe! One hand operation. No more iron in one hand and SoldaPullT (at an angle to the lead) in the other. No more re-cocking the SoldaPullt and hoping scrap solder doesn’t fall everywhere. Instead.. ZAP…the solder is gone.The only wierdity is you have to unscrew the sponge tray to put it back in the case. The 8800 is an joy to work with.

Took no time at all to get going with this thing, love the fact the psu is right on the cord and the adjuster is on the handle, I have removed lots of components no issues, The people who have poorly rated this thing because they were having problems either neglected to clean the suction hole, or did not pre-heat the board, 90c to heat surrounding area for a few seconds, and it sucks the solder clean from any size ground plain.

I didn't expect from this device excellent job but I thought for desoldering few components once in while it should be good enough. Unfortunately it turned out to be bad, worse than hand desoldering pump.... I couldn't even succeed to remove the capacitor from multi-layer PCB. Might be ok for super light duty work.

Excellent tool for any hobbyists. I just love it, it eased the process of desoldering of components from PCB board without damaging anything. Components just fall off the board once desoldered.

This desolfering gun works awesome. Grest product. Would recommenc.

the motor didn't work