7 Best soldering fume extractor (Cheap & professional 2024)

Soldering fume is what you should avoid for many health issues. Excess of this smoke and fume can lead to some lung problems. There are a few ways you can avoid it, by using a mask, or by using any best soldering fume extractor or absorber.

A soldering fume extractor is kind of a fan that absorbs the fumes from the solder wax or other things. Thus keep the circuit surface clean and try to protect your face from direct contact with the fumes and smoke.

As a newbie or first time buyer, you may not have enough information about this soldering product. You may have a few questions like what technical aspect you should look for, what are the famous brands, or perhaps many others as well.

Hay! I am Abbas. In the rest of this article, I talk more about the said product in detail. I share what technical things to look for. Also, I share a list of some best smoke absorbers for smoke used by thousands of people, and much more.

I am not perfect, nor this article is going to be. This is just my limited knownledge try to help you somehow.

I hope you will enjoy it.

Best soldering fume extractor

When you solder the solder wires material creates smoke. I don’t know what exact thing is responsible for smoking, but it comes out from the solder wire. Also, wax produces its own smoke.

There are a few solutions to solve this problem, but it kinda depends on what environment you have. For example, if you work in an open space a simple fan would solve your problem. The fan can blow the smoke away from your face.

But if work in a closed room such as a lab, then a fan or any cheap fume extractor would not help you effectively. You have to invest in some expensive best soldering fume extractors (which we will shortly).

Choosing the best fume or smoke extractor for soldering

A fume extractor is a simple device that sucks out the smoke that comes from the soldering. You can imagine it as a vacuum cleaner. But instead of dust in the case of a vacuum cleaner, it sucks out the smoke dust.

The following are things you should keep in mind while picking out your fume extractor.

Noise

This is very important. I would not buy a tool that would disturb my mental peace. And same goes for fume extractors as well.

These fume extractors have suction fans which if you buy a low quality makes an unbearable noise. As soldering is something we do most of the time so if your extractor is loud, it will make your life and work life miserable.

This is not a rule, but I think a good quality fume extractor must have a noise level below 60db.

Suction power

Of course, a fume extractor must have a high suction power. It is measured in RPM. So higher the RPM higher will be suction power.

Now, why this is so essential? Because you will be soldering all over the board. This means your distance will change from time to time from the solder tip to your fume extractor. So, if your extractor doesn’t have enough suction power then you will see some smoke will be coming toward your face.

Filter

When the smoke is sucked by the extractor it goes through the filter part where the harmful things are blocked at the filter. So the filter must be of high quality.

Some beginner level fume extractors have some kind of black sponges which are not very good if you are working in a lab environment. Please invest in some high quality fume extractor as this thing is your health related. It is not about the efficiency or effectiveness of your circuit board. Soldering fume doesn’t affect your soldering or circuit it affects your health.

Wattage

By wattage, I mean the power of your best soldering fume extractor machine. High wattage means high power capability and of course high price tag. It is measured in W. So please see at this parameter closely when picking your fume absorber.

Flexible arms

Professional level smoke absorbers have long arms. They must be flexible and easy to use else it will make your soldering experience not so good.

The flexible arms will give you the capability to fix it at the exact position of your circuit board which you are soldering.

Size

The size should not be that much that will take most of your working space. It should be decent and must be effective. The size of low price tag extractor is very important as if the size is big it will impact your soldering experience.

List of some soldering smoke absorbers

I think I have shared all the information that I have about the topic. Now let’s have a look at some solder smoke absorbers. I will start with very basic ones then I will talk about the intermediate models and then will end with some professional fume extractors. So please keep on reading.

Also, keep in mind, that I am not going to repeatedly talk about the above must have features of the fume extractor over again and again. They are applied to all the below mentioned models. Also, I am not going to add some fancy-looking models that you will see a bunch of them online. Look man, I am an engineer and technical terms are more romantic to me than the looks.

Let’s get started.

01. KNOKOO FES150

Starting our list from the FES150 fume absorber from the KNOKOO brand. This brand is very famous for making soldering stations and accessories.

FES150 (rated for 150W) is amazing and has all the features that a lab environment would require.

Important features:

3 layers of multiple HEPA filtering systems which purify the smoke and remove all the LED, carbon, and bad smell.
This Three -layer filter Structure has larger dust capacitance than a single-layer filter core, a longer service time of the filter core, and more cost-saving
The noise level is below < 55dB which is really nice.
The design is simple and friendly
The hose or the arms is flexible and has good quality
High purification rate that allows you to breathe fresh air again

In a short summary, KNOKOO FES150 (Amazon link) is an amazing product that you can install under the bench of your lab desk, saving you a lot of space, and purifying the air which is our ultimate goal here for using a fume extractor.

The downside is they are a little expensive, but I guess worth the money and health.

02. KNOKOO FES150S

The above fume extractor is a heavy duty product. But if you require a downscale version of that extractor then you can look at the FES150S model, from the same parent brand.

Instead of 150W, FES150S is rated for 100W and is small as well. It is like a mini fume extractor.

All the features are almost the same as the above one except for the power rating. Here is the link to KNOKOO FES150S (Amazon link) for your own further investigation and research.

The beauty of these types of fume extractors is that you can put the arm of it anywhere on your circuit board. And the pump section can be placed under the lab bench giving you a lot of space and freedom.

03. Weller fume extractor

I am sure if you are into electronics for enough time you have heard the name of this brand. It is popular because Steve Wozniak used the soldering iron of this brand for the Apple 1 computer.

The model from Weller which I want to share with you is called ZeroSmog. Now, to buy this model you have to find a local distributor for that.

But I have found an official Weller store on Amazon where you can directly buy ZeroSmog (Amazon link). The only downfall of this model is, that it is intended for heavy professional work, and that is why it has a high price tag. But it can be a reliable and long term tool for your lab.

04. Weller WSA350

This smoke absorber, the WSA350, is from the same Weller brand. But this model is intended for the bench top. This means you will put it on your lab desk next to the circuit you want to solder.

You can consider it one of the best cheap soldering fume extractors that any lab can have.

One of the downsides of this type of design is, that you put it on one side of your circuit but when you want to solder the other side this guy kinda becomes less effective. The reason is the length between the smoke and that of these devices increases. But they work great for small size boards.

Here is the link to Weller WSA350 (Amazon link) for your own further deep research. It uses a carbon filter that you can change with time. Also, its fan is quiet and will not add significant noise to the workspace.

05. Hakko FA400-04

Another best cheap soldering fume absorber is the FA400-04 from a well known Hakko brand. I am sure you have seen the blue yellow color of the soldering station from this brand.

FA400-04 is the bench top model as we saw for the Weller WSA350. But I think this extractor is more practical than the above as it doesn’t have legs that will limit your smoke length if you are soldering on the other side of the smoke extractor.

Important features of this best fume extractors for soldering

You can use it in standing up or laying down in a low-profile position
Carbon filters system with easy replacement
ESD safe means it will not affect other electronic components connected to the same line.

In a short summary, if you have a big lab then I think Hakko FA400-04 (Amazon link) would be a great option for you to consider.

Following are a few similar options that you should also look at to make a good decision.

06. KOTTO Smoke Absorber for Soldering

The next smoke absorber for soldering is from the Kotto brand. This brand makes a lot of amazing products for soldering. The model from this brand for smoke absorbing is small and intended for a low budget.

I personally think a lot of you will find this product appealing, and it may fulfill all your lab requirements.

Important features:

24″ flexible tube which you can adjust direction according to actual needs
6000 RPM high suction fan with low noise that allows you to remove fumes 5-6 inches away
Fan speed is adjustable
Easily replaceable filter

If this product has got your attention. Then here is the link to KOTTO Smoke Absorber for Soldering (Amazon link) to find more about this unique fume extractor.

07. BAOSHISHAN Solder Fume Extractor

The last best soldering fume extractor I have for you is from the Baoshishan brand. This brand is established in 2018 and since then they are producing high quality professional fume extractors.

best soldering smoke extractors and absorbers

Important features:

Powerful 106 CFM airflow to exhaust and purify the air
3 stage filtering
It can be stuffed under the table and won’t hinder your leg free and take up no space
Equipped with 4 quality universal wheels with buckles, convenient to move and fix at any station

In a short summary, BAOSHISHAN Extractor (Amazon link) is an amazing option to consider as it is smaller than A4 paper which makes it suitable for small solder station and home DIY.

Now, this model is expensive. If you want to have a downscale version of this with a low price tag. Then you can consider this one, BAOSHISHAN Fume Extractor (Amazon link), from the same parent brand.

Conclusion

When you are doing soldering you encounter soldering smoke often time called soldering fume.

This fume is not good for your health. And if you expose yourself to this fume for a long time, it may harm your lungs. Which we don’t want to happen at any cost.

So, to absorb this harmful fume. We need to have the best soldering fume extractor in our lab. There are many models available on the market. To pick the right one you can consider the following points:

The noise level must be lower than 60dB
Quality
Flexible arms
Wattage rating
Suction power
Size
Filtering system

So that is it. That I all I have to share with you about the best smoke absorbers for soldering. I hope you enjoyed it.

Thank you and have a grateful life.

One Comment

Eric L. says:

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About the suction power:
It should be measure by CFM (Cubic Foot per Minute) instead of RPM (Rotation Per Minute)

CFM will depend of RPM of the fan, size of the fan and the fan blade shape