11 Best Desoldering Stations & Guns (2024)

Just like you want a soldering station to solder your circuit components. In the same way, you may want the best desoldering station too, to remove the bad soldered components, or to replace a burnt one.

Sometimes, it may be tricky to select a decent desoldering station as there are so many options available. One might get confused about what specs he needs to look at and what type of station is best for his situation.

Well, in this post, I try my knowledge best to help you solve this tricky task, and find you the top desoldering station of high quality if you are a beginner, hobbyist, professional, or anyone into electronics.

Choosing the best desoldering station or gun

Before going into the actual topic, I think it is best to start with the difference between the hot-air rework and the desoldering station or desoldering gun.

You may wonder what are these things? Well, these are the basic tools an electronics guy needs in his lab to properly play with electronics. You can call both of them desoldering tools.

They both do the same job i.e. desoldering, but there are slight differences between them. Both accomplish relatively the same thing but work in slightly different ways. And I want you to clearly understand these differences before actually going through the rest of the article. The following are the differences.

Hot-air rework

It is used to heat devices by blowing constant hot air and melting the solder on the PCB. It is best used when you are working with SMD components. Now, let’s see where it is best used.

For small jobs especially when you work with old PCBs.
It is much faster, as it meltdown a large area on the board.
It is very tedious, near impossible, to desolder an IC without it.
It is a non-contact tool, meaning it cannot damage your voltage-sensitive components on the board.

The bad things about the hot-air rework are, firstly it is very expensive compared to the desoldering station, and secondly, it is heavy and large in size. If you are a person like me, a weak guy, then better do somebody lifting before buying it. Just kidding!

Besides the bad things, you will also be very careful with hot air. You keep it long on the PCB board and you just destroy it. Worse than that you may also harm yourself. Anyways care should be taken when using both hot-air rework or any desoldering station.

Desoldering station

You can consider it as a gun that sucks the solder from the leg of the component once you press the trigger button. And that is the reason most of the time when people say desoldering station they actually mean a desoldering gun. Don’t get confused with these interchangeable words they both refer to the same device. Now, let’s see what makes it better from the hot air rework.

It gives you a more precise and accurate execution.
Easy to clean and maintain
It costs less and is not that heavy as compared to hot-air rework

The worst thing about this is, it is in direct contact with your components. This means you can damage your components if you don’t play safe.

Technical parameters to look for in the best desoldering station

There are a few parameters one can compare to judge if a station is good enough or not. There are a lot of other things involved but I suppose they are understood, like a personal budget or other requirements i.e. do you need a desoldering station or hot air rework or just a desoldering gun.

Following are the things you need to keep in mind while choosing the right desoldering station for yourself:

Wattage: This term indicates how much power is going to be converted into heat energy. Now, it is obvious the higher the power the higher the heat and the quicker the soldering.
Temperature Control: Some devices require little temperature while some may require a little higher. So a soldering station with varying temperatures is a must. The rule of thumb is, that for the best desoldering station or gun the temperature range must start from 340 – 850°F.
ESD Safe: Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is the sudden flow of electricity between two electrically charged objects caused by contact. So your station must be ESD safe else it will damage your devices on board.

List of some of the best desoldering stations/guns

There are a lot of options available in the market. In my opinion, all are decent but you cannot pick just anyone. Now let’s have a look at some desoldering stations. I will start with a very basic desoldering station then I will talk about the intermediate models and then will end with some professional desoldering stations.

1. YIHUA 929D-V

Let’s start with a very basic desoldering tool called the solder sucker pump. It is very easy to use and costs nothing. This is suitable for those people who have few components to desolder or just hobbyists.

Select the component you want to desolder. Put this gun on the component terminal. Wait for the solder paste to melt then press the sucker punch button and once you remove your finger the device will suck the melted solder from the component terminal(s).

If this little device has got your attention. Then you can follow this link to find out more about it yourself, YIHUA 929D-V (Amazon link).

The best alternatives to this desoldering pump are the following. It is always good to look for alternatives and compare different price ranges.

4. GEZICHTA Electric vacuum solder sucker

The above ones are too basic. Now let’s talk about a little advanced desoldering tool. This desoldering tool comes from the Gezichta brand and can be used for desoldering all kinds of components.

Important features:

Best use for thick-film integrated circuits and large components with big welding joints
It is compact and very stable
Made of stainless steel and high-temperature resistance plastics
It is practical and durable

If this guy has got your attention. Then here is the link, GEZICHTA Electric vacuum solder sucker (Amazon link), you can follow to know more about this amazing desoldering sucker.

5. The best desoldering station/gun from Hakko (the FR-301)

Hakko is the most popular brand among the soldering stations manufacturer. They have many high-quality products listed on their website. They all are amazing for their respective application.

I found this model FR-301 very helpful when it comes to desoldering. It is a gun. You just push the button and it automatically sucks the solder and leaves the joint open. It is amazing. Have a look at its picture below.

desoldering station best for beginners and hobbyists people 2019

Isn’t that amazing?

Why this model?

This is ideal for through-hole component desoldering
It is so easy to use, don’t need any manual to properly handle it
It feels so great and makes a low noise
Of course, it is from a famous and trustworthy brand
It is very easy to clean, just get the vacuum tube with filters

In summary, the model Hakko FR 301 (Amazon Link) is very easy to use. Plug it into power, and heat up so quickly. Put it on the legs of the components you want to desolder, push the button, and see the magic. It can’t be more simple and easy than this. The only bad side is it is not easy to desolder SMD with this cool gun.

The best alternatives to this model are the following best desoldering stations you can also check out.

10. Best desoldering station from X-Tronic (the XTR-4040-XTS)

The above stations are good for through-hole components. What if you are dealing with SMD. And of course, you will do. There are many more models of hot air rework, but I found this one the better among all.

What makes it special?

Along with a hot air gun, you get quality solder, which means just using a sucker you can use this station for desoldering through-hole components as well
It has nozzles for every application
It is not that expensive and has high-quality stuff and features
The coolest part is you get a 1-year fix/to replace guarantee
Over-temps, short circuits, and overloads protection

Look at the picture! Isn’t cool?, or I am the only person who thinks it is cool? In summary, I like this model, the X-Tronic XTR-4040-XTS (Amazon Link), too much and believe it is worth your investment, and you will have happy desoldering at your lab.

But please be careful with it. When you don’t work please keep it off, it will increase its running life and you will be happy having it for many years.

11. YIHUA 948-II

This model is for those people who want to have a complete package i.e. they want to have a soldering station and desoldering station for both SMD and through-hole components. The model for YIHUA 984-II is just that – it gives all the functions you will need for your electronics board repair and design.

best deslodering station for SMD components

You know, this unit integrates a 75-Watt De-soldering Station, a powerful 650-Watt Hot Air Rework Station, a 60-Watt Soldering Station, and a Suction Pen into one unit for more choices.

If this is the best desoldering station you found interesting then here is the link, YIHUA 948-II (Amazon link), to follow for your further research and investigation.

Are any other options available if you are a beginner?

Yes, there are many options available for you out there in the market. It depends upon your requirements. Like you desolder small job with just solder sucker. It may be a great option for you if you don’t have a high budget.

Final words on best desoldering stations

This is all I have to say about the best desoldering station. I recommend the products I personally believe in and like. I try to put myself in the shoes of a person looking for a decent desoldering station.

For me, a brand is the first thing to look for, and then the product features. I really don’t care for the price that much but never forget to compare it to the other competitor brand. I follow the same strategy here too and try to give you the best stations.

Hopefully, I have added some value to your research.