Best solder sucker?

Hi, I’ve been using (on and off) over a number of years  a solder sucker made by a Japanese  company called “Engineer”. It has a well made aluminium and stainless steel body and I think it comes in many colours (if my memory serves). The product part number is : SS-03. In my experience It seems to be the best  I could find so far.  It has a really good suction power and a very soft heat resistant transparent silicone tubing at the tip and spares can be purchased too. I cannot remember for sure  but chances are that it came with a second spare tubing as well. I did not want to provide a link as they are widely available and easy to find (as per the part number)

@ovi4 Much obliged, that looks like a winner!  And they appear to be abundant.  I’ll order one today, thanks!

Received the SS-03 yesterday, and the quality is pretty impressive.  Beautifully machined parts, and about a 75% increase in suction over my old Radio Shack tool.  Although I haven’t used it yet, I’m confident that this unit could suck a terminal clean if it were using a standard Teflon tip.  With the soft silicone tip that conforms to the joint, it must really be something!

Thanks for a great recommendation, I’m very pleased.  BTW, what kind of life are you seeing on that silicone tubing?  My SS-03 came with two 2-inch lengths of tubing having different inside diameters, and for my work I expect that I’ll be cutting most of my replacement tips from the larger ID tubing.  Would you recommend that I keep extra tubing on hand?

@r-w-parker:  Well… after all this years I never felt the need to buy replacement tubing and still have some spare but of course it is all down to the amount of usage to each individual. As for me  i also purchased  an automatic solder sucker made by Hakko and for more precise and repetitive jobs I use that. However, the rate of usage is fairly low as i find myself (more often than not) reaching out for the SS-03 since it requires no power. it is much smaller and is extremely effective and no cable clutter, virtually no space needed to have it on the bench whatsoever (unlike my Hakko de-soldering tool)  Also clearing out the accumulated solder bits  is also very quick  and no replacement filters required unlike my Hakko tool which was overly expensive and it requires regular manual solder clearing via a small rod and also requires a lot of air filters (solder stoppers) that are a pain to buy and quite expensive (for what they are). And also require various gauge/size tips for various applications and they are also very expensive as well. So the bottom line is that I found the SS-03 to be a great tool and also long lasting if you look after it.

@ovi4 I finally had a chance to put the SS-03 through its paces, and I’m very impressed in every regard.  It’s amazing to find a tool of this quality for under $25 today, and I now see that the silicone tubing will last a LOT longer than I expected.  Thanks again for a stellar recommendation!

Posted by: @r-w-parker

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With regard to spring loaded, syringe-type desoldering pumps, I’d be delighted to hear if there are any of present manufacture that really stand out.  My 40-year old Radio Shack unit is getting long in the tooth and, if possible, I’d like to replace it with a new one that’s well made and delivers a really peppy burst of suction.  I’m primarily desoldering terminals and solder lugs in vacuum tube radios.  Thanks!

My 1996 vintage R.S. solder sucker just needs a new nozzle and an o-ring, maybe every 3 years.

I have a couple of those old large blue things.  I’ve had one for decades.  I take them apart, clean them up and put a little petroleum jelly on the o-rings every once in a while.  It has a fairly large chamber so it really sucks the solder up good.  It does so good, one has to be careful with small components.  I’d likely want to use something else for SMD components.  May have to take the sucker apart to find those little things.  

I went for the Hakko fr300 right off the bat. Only bought one smaller tip for board work. The filter is on the worn side but I still have a spare in the case. No complaints with it once you get the technique down. Bought that and my t12 soldering iron (Amazon) in 2020 and they are just like the day I got them, all original.