Aoyue 8800 Self-Contained Desoldering Gun with Internal Vacuum Pump & Carrying Case - 120V AC for Electronics Repair, PCB Work, and Soldering Projects

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.