How much will a solder sucker really work?

[NOOBinDistress]

I am wandering if a solder sucker will really help get my bad soldering job apart and my parts back. I have  found a few on ebay and am wandering if they are any good. Please help.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Solder-Sucker-Fix-Transistor-Radios-Vintage-Electronics_W0QQitemZ320106999138QQihZ011QQcategoryZ932QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem 
 
I like this one. But there are spring loaded ones and solder wicks . I dont know how well they work. I like the link one though because it heatit up itself. I only have a 15 watt soldering gun so it does not stay hot really long. Please help. thanks.

Would I be better off just buying the parts again or do you think I can them off.

[dunk]

if you are going to be soldering stuff then you need a solder sucker.
no matter how good you get at this you are always going to make the occasional mistake. that's when you'll need to suck up solder.

ignore solder braid for now. it's usefull when you start soldering things with tiny, close together pins but you don't want it now.

as for the solder sucker you have picked out, great idea in theory but i wouldn't use it.
while it would be good if you are taking something with lots of components appart completely, usually you just want to suck solder off one pin.
you don't want to have to heat that thing up for one 30 second job.

i have the kind you describe with the spring. like a mini bike pump but it sucks instead of blows.
yes, it's fiddly. yes, your solder hardens before you suck 50% of the time but it's still the best solution i have found.

dunk.

[Somchaya]

Yeah, the solder suckers I've used are the spring kinds.. Those are easy to reload, heh heh, and must a nice plooong sound when you suck the solder.

They don't work 100% of the time (the solder can harden like dunk said) but usually a few tries gets it, and you get better with it after a while..

Best of all, they're cheap! (I think)

[NOOBinDistress]

I am the kid who really messed up on the soldering part. Do you think one will help me get the parts apart?I only have a 15 watt gun so it does not stay hot long. SOme of you saw how bad I messed up. Will one help me? thanks.

[Somchaya]

Yeah it will, you'll just need a little practice with the solder sucker but it works well enough

[nanob0t]

Yeah, that thing should work great.  It's only 13ish dollars too, so it wouldn't be a huge loss if it happened to not work. 

The first thing you should try to do is try to fling off as much as you can by heating up the glob.  These things are best used on smaller jobs, and trying to suck up something like that would be painful.  Just heat up the blob and remove it.  Then that sucker can be used to clean up the pins and such. 

Good luck!   

[NOOBinDistress]

Yes but are you sure my 15 watt solder sucker will be able to keep it hot enough long enough to suck it up? thanks.

[Somchaya]

Yeah it shouldn't be a problem. If you're afraid the solder will cool too quickly, leave the soldering iron on the blob for a while after it melts. That way, the temperature will rise a little above the melting point, and won't solidify too quickly.

[NOOBinDistress]

And I can get one at radioshack? or should I order one online? thanks.

[nanob0t]

Well, that desoldering iron off of that ebay auction was $13 with shipping.  From radioshack it's $11 without shipping, plus it's guaranteed to be new.  Take a short trip 

I think I'll get one myself.  I use ribbon and it sucks sometimes.   

[NOOBinDistress]

So should I get one like the spring ones or the one from t he link I showed?

[ed1380]

I have never found the need for one. but I haven't done much electronics