Desoldering pcb's

[flester]

I am trying to replace some components from the Honey amp pcb and have great difficulty getting the old solder out of the holes. I just cant get enough heat into the hole and am afraid of overheating the board. Using 40w iron and desolder braid. BTW i bought 3 boards for contingency and still have one good one

[saturated]

Hey how's it going I think there's probably numerous tactics you could try like adding fresh solder and flux, hot air station etc but seems like the big dogs here like to use chip quick (I've never tried it) and a solder pult

[J M Fahey]

Try a vacuum pump desoldering piston.


Or use the very old school trick: suck out as much as you can, melt what remains amd insert a wet toothpick in the hole.
Solder will harden around it, leaving hole free.

[flester]

Thanks everyone. I'll try that. Hoping  I can get 2 out of the 3 boards built up at least.

[flester]

One further question: Whats the best gauge of wire for off-board connections on the honey amp board? I am using 24 awg stranded and silicone coated and its a tight fit through the board.