TIL those cheap desoldering pumps are actually fine if you clean them right

Bought a $8 pump from a surplus shop in Dallas. Hated it for months. Kept clogging. Then a guy at the repair meetup showed me to take it apart and grease the seal with a tiny bit of silicone. Night and day difference. Anyone else have a trick to make budget tools work better?

3 comments

3 Comments

anna71714d ago

Actually that's not quite right about the silicone grease. You really want to use a dielectric grease or a very light machine oil instead. Silicone grease can get sticky over time and actually attract more dust and flux residue, which is exactly what causes those clogs in the first place. I learned this the hard way when my pump started sticking again after two weeks. Switched to a tiny drop of sewing machine oil on the seal and it's been smooth for a year now. Just one drop though, too much and it'll leak into the chamber.

milalewis14d ago

Isnt that always how it goes, the "miracle fix" turns into a bigger headache later?

kim_mason5514d ago

Light machine oil's the real deal. Tried it myself, works way better long term.