Hi. I purchased a solder sucker 2 weeks ago on-line. It was all aluminum and black. It costed $8. I've received today the sucker, but it's not at all the one I ordered, it has plastic parts and it's different. I'm gonna tell this to the vendor, and hope it sends me the one I ordered without much trouble. I've tested this one and, although it sucks things (I've tried it with little pieces of paper), I don't think it's strong at all. I remember I played like 6 years ago with a solder sucker a friend had, and I remember that it "hurt" when you put it on your hand and pressed the button. It sucked the skin strong enough to make you feel uncomfortable. It was also made of aluminum, I don't know why, but I remember it quite well. Once you pressed the button, the sucker would stay stuck to your hand, and you could have it hanging downwards.
With this sucker they have sent me, I can't do that at all, I barely feel when I press the button putting it over my hand, and of course it does not hang, it has no force at all to stay stuck on my skin. The dimensions of the two are the same, as well as their weight. Now my question is: Should a solder sucker behavior as I've described the one I remember? What can you do to test a sucker and know it's good enough?
This is the one they've sent me:

And this is the one I ordered

 

Push the plunger down.
Put your finger over the suck hole.
Now release the plunger.
If it goes all the way back up it is faulty/leaky.
If it doesn't go up much it is ok.

Make sure the hole isn't clogged with solder.

 

I have half a dozen solder suckers and none do what you recollect. Aside from the spring and maybe a few pins, they're all non-metallic.

To test, I'd try using it...

 

@rambomhtri
If the tip was made of aluminum, it would draw heat out of the solder instantly and cool the solder before you suck it up. Check the one you have, does it leak as described above?

 

I've replaced the second solder sucker by the actual one I ordered. Yeah, the best way is to test is to use it to suck actual solder, but I'm not working on anything right now. I wouldn't like neither to dirty the sucker I may be have to send back.
So... shouldn't it have enough force to support itself if you release the plunger with your finger over the tip?

 

I've replaced the second solder sucker by the actual one I ordered. Yeah, the best way is to test is to use it to suck actual solder, but I'm not working on anything right now. I wouldn't like neither to dirty the sucker I may be have to send back.
So... shouldn't it have enough force to support itself if you release the plunger with your finger over the tip?

No. It should only have enough to lift a bead of solder off of your pcb.

 

Q. How to know if a solder sucker is good?

A. It sucks.

 

If it can suck syrup up then it should be able to suck solder too.

 

@rambomhtri
If the tip was made of aluminum, it would draw heat out of the solder instantly and cool the solder before you suck it up. Check the one you have, does it leak as described above?

It does not leak, but I feel it's so weak. I know there's a huge difference between this one and the one I saw like 6 years ago. The force of the sucker really should matter, I think...

 

Q. How to know if a solder sucker is good?

A. It sucks.

Lol

 

Can you test if your suckers hang from your finger if you release the plunge with your finger on the tip? Does it feel uncomfortable?

 

Whether or not the sucker will hang from you finger depends, among other things, on the diameter of the nozzle tip. Even a non-leaky sucker won't hang if the tip is very small.

 

Whether or not the sucker will hang from you finger depends, among other things, on the diameter of the nozzle tip. Even a non-leaky sucker won't hang if the tip is very small.

Oh, that's right, nice point! Nevertheless I think the dimens ions of mine are pretty standard, and that mean we can compare all of them and there should be little to no differences.

 

I mention this only because I didn't know they existed myself until a short time ago so just in case you're also unaware; I recently acquired one of these solder suckers, and WOW does it make things easier! I've only removed a few through hole devices with it at this point, it was the easiest desoldering I've ever done. If your budget allows, and it fits your use-case, this is or something similar is worth considering IMHO:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KQ6PR6K?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

Review by Dave Jones:

 

Wow, that desoldering gun is awesome. I've already seen one in a YouTube video. It seems the easiest and fastest way to do it. But, lol, it's $150, and I just spend $25 in a soldering station and I thought it was kind of expensive.

 

I've replaced the second solder sucker by the actual one I ordered. Yeah, the best way is to test is to use it to suck actual solder, but I'm not working on anything right now. I wouldn't like neither to dirty the sucker I may be have to send back.
So... shouldn't it have enough force to support itself if you release the plunger with your finger over the tip?

The PTFE nozzle will form to the way you use it - so the way it lifts solder will improve with use.

They usually have an O-ring on the piston - a light smear of silicone grease helps.

Don't use any hydrocarbon lubricant - any ABS plastics in the construction will disintegrate!

 

I'm sending it back, and I got to wait again like 10 days

OK, I've released the plunge with the tip covered by my finger, it stops like at half of the way, but then it starts slowly, like doing little jumps, to recover to its original position. That is not normal, right?

As long as I keep covering the hole so no air can enter to the cylinder, it should stay in the same position, right?

 

I'm sending it back, and I got to wait again like 10 days

OK, I've released the plunge with the tip covered by my finger, it stops like at half of the way, but then it starts slowly, like doing little jumps, to recover to its original position. That is not normal, right?

As long as I keep covering the hole so no air can enter to the cylinder, it should stay in the same position, right?

They're never perfect - that should lift solder quite adequately.

Its not just the nozzle that wears in with use, its like a new car engine - you have to run it in before you start thrashing it.