Hey guys, I find myself in need of a desoldering gun; I've been doing a lot of recapping jobs lately and the ol' plunger and wick just aren't cutting it. I've also put off buying a hot air tool for far too long, so in shopping around I've been hoping to find a good deal on a combo unit.

To that end, the BK8000 seems like the perfect solution, and the price is almost too good to be true. Is it? On one hand, it's an entire rework station priced lower than the Hakko desoldering gun. My instincts tell me it'll likely be prosumer garbage. And the fact that they're already advertising discount refurbished units for sale on the site, for a product that's so new, does nothing for my confidence. On the other hand, what reviews I have found for BlackJack / CircuitSpecialists seem mostly positive. There were a lot of complaints about poor quality on the earlier BK6000's desoldering gun, but the BK8000 supposedly sports a better system/more suction. But I haven't actually found any independent reviews for the 8000. I'm dying to know if anyone knows anything about these units or has any experience with one. It would be a great buy if it actually lives up to the manufacturer's hype.


https://www.circuitspecialists.com/...8000-all-in-one-soldering-rework-station.html

 

Never used that model but.. I've used a "solder sucker" like that from Hakko..
I really wasn't happy with it.. Getting all the solder out was always a problem.. And thats when lifted pads,etc.. happen...

What type of components are you commonly desoldering? and SMT or TH? ,etc...

 

Never used that model but.. I've used a "solder sucker" like that from Hakko..
I really wasn't happy with it.. Getting all the solder out was always a problem.. And thats when lifted pads,etc.. happen...

What type of components are you commonly desoldering? and SMT or TH? ,etc...

I'm wanting the desoldering gun for through hole stuff; parts with big leads, and multi pin parts.

 

I might actually suggest a small solder pot then..
and some kapton tape to use to prevent the solder from touching what you don't want to remove..

But the solder suckers can/should work.. I just wasn't happy with the one I got and can't speak for the blackjack..
For me its just easier/quicker to just cut the part of leaving the leads and go at each lead with a soldering iron/pliers then wick the rest out..

 

Never used that model but.. I've used a "solder sucker" like that from Hakko..
I really wasn't happy with it.. Getting all the solder out was always a problem.. And thats when lifted pads,etc.. happen...

What type of components are you commonly desoldering? and SMT or TH? ,etc...

What model Hakko did you use btw? I've heard the current model (FR-300) isn't as good as the older 808. People with the 808's must be happy with them, I haven't found anyone selling theirs anyways.

 

We had a BK8000 in a shop at my last job. I never bothered to use it, since kapton worked for most of my stuff, but the other guys who did use it always complained it didn't work well. I heard MT-995s work ok for casual stuff, but the 808 is probably the best bang for buck.

 

What model Hakko did you use btw? I've heard the current model (FR-300) isn't as good as the older 808. People with the 808's must be happy with them, I haven't found anyone selling theirs anyways.

I think it was the Hakko FM2024 or similar to that..

 

I have an Aoyue 2702A+... If you look, it has very similar features. In short, I wish I would have simply purchased a little higher quality air gun and forgotten all the other gadgets. I have yet to successfully desolder a through hole part with the desoldering gun. You mention a improved model with more suction, perhaps this is key. (My station is over 5 years old). I also like the idea of a mechanical arm for holding the air wand. Doing it over, I could see buying something like this:
https://www.circuitspecialists.com/bk4050.html

I always get on a tangent with these posts, but know that we do a substantial amount of board work, mostly leaded SMT, but plenty of through hole stuff and the occasional leadless package. In my experience, a decent air gun (Circuit Specialists has some I would call decent) and a good soldering iron with a few well selected tips gets you where you need to go 99% of the time.

 

I have a Pace soldering station somewhat like that and I love it. Never had a problem with sucking solder from a through hole component and typically they just fall out. The trick is to keep it clean, make sure the gaskets in the barrel are in good condition, remove the solder from the barrel and use the correct size tip for the wire you are de-soldering. Not sure about this particular unit but if it has different size tips available I wouldn't hesitate.

OK I see a potential problem, look at the de-soldering sucker tips in 5th image down. I would be concerned about the long tube on the back of the tips. I can imagine this small tube getting plugged up fairly easily. The pace has a short tip that fits into a tube that is about 3/16 and it gets plugged up sometimes. I can easily see that small tube getting plugged almost every time it's used.
As I said no direct experience and I may be all wet your mileage may vary...

 

We had a BK8000 in a shop at my last job. I never bothered to use it, since kapton worked for most of my stuff, but the other guys who did use it always complained it didn't work well. I heard MT-995s work ok for casual stuff, but the 808 is probably the best bang for buck.

Any idea of a merchant that might still have any 808's stocked? I've been on the lookout, but I've yet to find one even on the used market.