Vacuum Desoldering Question

[thermionic]

Hi,

As we know, proper vacuum desoldering stations are pricey and the cheapest new Weller units sell for around £600 GBP, not including the air compressor.

However, if Weller sell the complete desoldering wand separately, what’s to stop you buying it and powering it from a bench supply?

http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/endecaSearch/partDetail.jsp?SKU=4122410

Farnell order Code: 4122410


I haven’t quite figured out how you hook up the air compressor. I can’t imagine the adaptor nozzle will be tricky (I can get a local machinist to turn me something if really necessary, but I expect I’ll be able to fashion something – maybe from an aquarium specialist or suchlike!). Having said that, the cheaper complete kits don’t give you the compressor, so it can’t be too-big-an-issue if you can find out which kind of adaptor they use.

So, am I barking up the wrong tree here?

My current iron has given up the ghost, so I need to buy a new one tomorrow. It’s an ex-MOD iron, where they made their own iron supply to save cash (fair enough – it’s the MOD), but it powers a Weller Magnastat – not a modern desoldering tool…

Are there temperature sensor connections on the desoldering wands? Will they work if you just connect a supply? I have a temperature probe with which to calibrate the iron to supply voltage. Can you foresee a problem?


Thanks in advance.

Justin

edit: Note Farnell link is touchy, so paste in order code manually.

 

[thermionic]

The old Weller I've been using for over 15 years came from the MOD and uses a 15v AC supply instead of a 12v DC supply. I'm not suggesting it's a good thing, but I was thinking I could power the desoldering iron the same way, i.e. it's not perfect, but it'll work. I have a temp probe, so I can tweak the PSU by hand if necessary.

I think I'm going to do some more searching around. This is possibly a non-DIY situation, i.e. the time you put in exceeds the profitability advantage.

I have a complete WSD81 iron: http://www.action-electronics.com/westations.htm#Wsd81

Interestingly, Weller sell a dual kit with the same iron I use and the desoldering iron... Considering there's only one power connection on the supply with the dual bundle, it makes me wonder if there's some commonality here... I'm not worried about lashing up the vacuum compressor, so the valve on the PSU doesn't concern me.

How different can the heating element and control be between the iron and desoldering iron? They're both 80w. They're both Weller. Hmmm.... I wonder if there's a simple solution, but one that Weller wouldn't want too many people knowing...

Thanks.


Justin

 

[thermionic]

Point taken, Roger.

On second thoughts, the ex-MOD iron I've been using is a Magnastat, so it doesn't need the pulse / logic PSU, meaning that using the 15v continuous supply idea is irrelevant in this case.

I know a designer who could easily knock up a PSU for me...the question would be how much time it takes him, i.e. we could get into a negative equity situation where the DIY costs more than the genuine unit...

Having said that, I reckon there must be a hell of a mark-up on Weller kit. Their marketing is effective; after a couple of decades using Weller exclusively, the concept of changing brand intimidates me, so I bought a new Weller.

Thanks again.


Justin