Engineer SS-02 Solder Suction Device

...at least in my hands. I bought this to help with through-hole soldering on vintage tube amps. Some of the connections, even from the factories of well-known manufacturers can contain considerable blobs of solder. The good thing is that the little silicone tip can stand direct contact with molten solder pools without major damage. The bad thing is that a big blob of solder often stops up the mechanism, necessitating partial disassembly of the sucker. Taking the thing apart fairly often isnt terribly difficult, but its aggravating.

Best one Ive ever used.

This is the best manual solder sucker I have owned. It was a significant upgrade from the one that came with my cheaper soldering iron. The silicone tip is really nice for creating a seal around the joint youre trying to desolder. My one complaint is I really wish this thing came with more silicone tips. I need to purchase more and sizing appears to be an issue.

Ive had multiple cheap pumps break off and even spring across the room almost injuring technicians. This one has been great so far and feels quality!

The replaceable high temperature nozzle is a plus. Overall the device is well suited for desoldering a multi layer PCB populated with small to medium sized pin components. I used it to repair a refrigerator control board that had failed form C PCB mount relays. I managed to remove the defective parts and open the plate through holes to put the new relays on.

One of my coworkers had one of these but I couldnt justify paying four times the cost of the usual plastic junk Ive been using successfully for years. But, Ive been trying to improve my home lab and I thought Hey, why not? Now, I love it and Ill never go back to a $6 piece of junk. This thing is solid, and it works great. The silicone trunk does a great job of sealing around through holes and, despite being soft and pliable, it is tough and very heat resistant. Be careful to keep the extra length of tubing provided. I almost threw mine away. It looks good for three or four replacements.

Im not sure whats up with the one reviewer who had to fight with it so much. Maybe his iron is way too hot? Heres what I love about it: when I melt a bit of solder that I want to remove and press the button to suck it up into this tool, the cone shaped part that the silicon tube is attached to is a solid chunk of aluminum with a bit of mass to it. The liquid solder gets into that section and all the heat is very quickly removed, turning the liquid solder back into a solid that can be easily pushed out by the plunger. I imagine that if your iron is hotter than it needs to be, the solder may solidify beyond that initial cone section and cause the fight that the other reviewer experienced. Its works terrifically for me: Head resistance? Dont leave the silicon tube on the soldering iron tip for too long and youre fine. The aluminum body is absolutely fine. Easy? I press the plunger with my thumb to eject the removed solder, line it up, press the release button to continue. It never misses a beat. Value? Its the most expensive one I found on Amazon, and I havent had it long enough to be completely sold on the value proposition. However, its worked great for me so far, and I *think* its the last solder-sucker Ill need to buy. If, in a year or more, I havent had to replace it, then the value shoots way up. I recommend it.

Works pretty good. Little tough to control with one hand

I like these solder suckers...this is the third one for me. They just dont seem to last, but their size makes them able to get into tighter places,

Super easy to use, made soldering a breeze in cleaning up some excess solder I had on a pot. Indispensable tool for the hobbyist, Im sure even more so for the professional.