How to Desolder Electronic Components

Video tutorial on how to desolder electronic components from a circuit board. This procedure can be used for saving electronic components for later usage or for replacing a faulty part. You must be extremely careful when soldering or desolder components as you can overheat the circuit board causing damage.

Tools/Supplies Needed:

• solder
• safety glasses
• de-soldering iron
• soldering iron
• cloth
• cotton swap
• electrical contact cleaner or rubbing alcohol

Here I am using an old wireless door bell as an example. Many of these components can be removed and reused for future electronics projects. This not only reduces the amount of waste, but also allows you to save money.

If you are replacing components, it's extremely important to use rubbing alcohol or contact cleaner on the connection to remove any contaminants which would cause adhesion or conductivity issues on the new connection.

This is a de-soldering iron, which allows the connection to be heated up, along with removing the liquified solder. They are fairly inexpensive to purchase and an extra soldering iron, soldering gun, or soldering station is not needed. A suction pump can also be used along with the assistance of a soldering iron, soldering gun, or soldering station.

Just like a soldering iron, plug in the de-soldering iron and allow it to heat up. Once ready, depress the red bulb, place it on the connection, then allow the soldered joint to melt. After the solder has melted, release the bulb which will remove the liquified solder. Move the de-soldering tool away from the work area, angle the tip in a cup, and depress the bulb to empty the freshly removed solder.

As you can see in the photo, the solder has been removed from the connection. The electrical component should be loose, but if not, repeat previous steps. Then we can remove the electrical component, in this case it's a capacitor.

No problem, there is a solution for that! Depending on the solder used originally, it may have a higher melting point. In order to overcome this, use a soldering iron to heat the existing connection, allow it to melt, and then add new additional solder to the connection which will mix in with the older solder, therefore decreasing the melting point.

Finally continue the previous steps using the de-soldering tool to remove the solder, then you will be able to remove the component.