FR-301 Portable Desoldering Tool

If you plan to reuse a PCB and/ or do repair work on PCBs, this desoldering tool is a total game changer. I have the pipette-style solder sucker, the one you depress the plunger on and then press the little button to make it POP! and suck up a little bit of solder. And I have a plug in solder sucker with a little ball that you squeeze to create the sucking action on the soldering iron style device. The Hakko desoldering tool blows the other tools away. And I almost did not buy it, because let's face it, this thing seems like a lot of money for a job that does not seem like warrants adding another tool to your work bench. But I was quite wrong, because this tool is sooooo very warranted! It will suck ALL the solder from a board if you want it to and it is quick compared to using the other tool options. It produces a very clean through hole and allows for the most effortless removal of old components that I ever saw. I was able to use this pretty quickly without reading a manual. But look it over and find all the switches on it. The finger trigger is one of three switches. There is also a small push button that actually allows power to the heater--- that small button is on the rear of the pistol handle. And on the very bottom of the handle, there is a dial for setting the heat level of the tool. Removing the capsule on the top of the tool so you can empty out the old solder is a little tricky. Be patient and you will figure it out well enough. The capsule has a rubber-like end to the capsule you pop off to access the interior of the tube and can then dump out the solder you sucked up. The sucking action is intense enough that sometimes little trace legs of old components might get sucked into the metal nozzle. When that occurs, the vacuum action will be reduced and you will need to clean out that metal nozzle and tube. I have raw metal wire sometimes referred to as jewelers wire that is similar in diameter to component legs.... I use a section of the wire to act as a plunger with the desoldering tool heater ON, but with no sucking action engaged. It takes some work and you will likely burn a knuckle or finger til, but that is how I was able to clean obstructions in the nozzle. This is a lengthy description of the tool, I know, but hopefully this will help someone decide on buying it and also figure out how to use it. At this point I would never want to do PCB repair work ever again without this desoldering tool at hand. Like I wrote at the top, this is truly a game changer for me. It is so effective it is almost fun to do the desoldering work which I would never have written about using the other tool options. This is highly recommended if you plan to do desoldering work in any amount. Even swapping out one capacitor or pulling one resistor is enough for me to pull out this desoldering tool for the task at hand.

Good value for someone who knows what they are getting. Yes, this is the eastern Japanese version. Eastern Japan's electrical grid is 100v at 50hz. Western Japan is 110/120v at 60hz. Two different power grids on one island country. This can be made to safely work here in North America with a simple, cheap mod. It has been listed here in the reviews, a number of electronics websites like eevblog, and even a YouTube video showing a step by step. You can also use an inverter if you have one, but it should be at least 500 watts at a minimum. The nominal wattage value for this version is approximately 100 watts. However during heatup, it can jump more than four times the nominal value. If your inverter can't deliver that, it will keep blowing it's fuses. You get everything in this version that you do with the US version with exception of the manual. Of course you get the Japanese version of that. This unit works very well for its intended purposes. It's a portable/field desoldering tool. It was never intended to be a bench tool. It is heavy compared to bench based desoldering tools. It will fatigue your wrists quickly if you try to desolder several 40 pin dip chips. I use this on arcade machines that getting the boards to the bench is more of a pita. So I can more easily bring this tool to the machine and it's grat for that. I use a couple of pace desoldering machines at the bench. They are night and day better but used in a different environment because it's the bench. You will want to get a couple of different sized tips, cleaning rods, filter packs, and a hakko 633 stand with the money you save getting this version. You can use this as a one and only desoldering tool at the bench, but be ready to learn it's quirks. It requires more frequent cleaning than a bench model, it's heavy at a couple of pounds compared to 6 to 8 oz of a bench model, and it's balanced very poorly because it needs to have the pump in the unit itself. All of this can really irritate the user unless they are aware of these issues up front. The 1.0mm included tip is a wee bit to large for many leads and you will struggle to make it work. Get a 0.8 mm for things like passive components like resistors, and capacitors. This really is a good value, for a good tool. Just mod it or use a good inverter. If you run it off 120v it will slowly overdrive and kill the pump. The single most complex and expensive item to replace. It's great for bringing the tool to the thing your working on when you can't easily work the other way. ***EDIT*** I just thought I would add in the fact that the heating element is the same one on the American model, and doesn't require modding. It can safely run on 100v or 120v. It's the pump that needs a pair of 300ohm resistors to replace the ones already on the circuit board. Or the power inverter. The pump replacement would have to be the Japanese model if you don't do the mod because of the power differences.

I've used desoldering braid and those spring-loaded pumps, but this alternative blows them away. It heats up very quickly for such a heavy tip, about 30 seconds. And the vacuum is quite powerful, easily sucking up solder pools instantly, even without perfect contact with the board. My only complaint is that it's not possible to see at a glance what temperature range it's set on without turning it upside down, where the numbers are printed on the dial. I melted off several pads when I first turned it on, since there are just tick marks on the side of the dial, which mean nothing. As others have mentioned, this is a Japanese model, so all the documentation is in that language, however given that there's only one control you normally use aside from the vacuum trigger, this isn't the end of the world. I'm just very impressed, and with several decades of experience in electronics it's obvious this is a winner. It is fairly expensive, but for a name-brand tool of such high quality I think it's worth it.

Great heat transfer and excellent suction with the appropriately sized nozzle. Super time savor for cleaning up pads and desoldering components. Great selection of tips for different component sizes. I wish I had purchased it sooner for my toolkit. Replacement parts are easily available and not that pricey. Excellent tool.

THIS IS THE JAPANESE VERSION and is NOT COMPATIBLE with the U.S. energy grid. Hakko USA specifically advises NOT to operate this 100V (98W) version directly from a U.S. 120V outlet. While it will usually power on and work (because both Japan and the U.S. use the standard two-blade plugs), the heater and electronics are subjected to about 20% overvoltage, which will shorten their life. If you do buy this Japanese version, Hakko USA recommends using a quality 120V→100V step-down transformer instead. But they also note that Japanese-market units are not UL-certified for North America and cannot be serviced under Hakko USA's repair program. Don't shoot the messenger, I'm just reporting what Hakko themselves say! DO NOT BUY THIS ONE IF YOU'RE IN THE UNITED STATES! Buy one that says 120V (or 140W). (you can find them on Amazon. They cost a few bucks more and you have to do some digging in the item descriptions, but they're available)

Excellent tool makes desoldering work so much easier. Worth the money.

Makes removing components extremely easy. Works extremely well and worth the money.

Make sure you do not buy the Japanese version. The element will last, since you can turn down the heat, but the vacuum pump runs a lot fast. Japanese version rated at 100 volts. US electrical grid is 110-120. keep that in mind. As far as the unit. This thing "sucks" (pun intended). I have using the mechanical ones for years. I wish I would spent the money years ago. Not sure how long this unit has been out, but WOW its very helpful. Speeds things right now. What use to make me angry, I dont mind doing one bit. I love this thing.

This is an awesome product that works very well. I originally bought the Desoldering Gun S-993A which had a great metal stand. It did work but it didn't suck the solder so well, So i returned and the bought the Hakko fr-301. Please note this the Japan version it was much cheaper then then North American. In Japan is 100 volts and in North America it’s 120 volts. I'm in Canada. It has a 3 prong plug. it works fine. But Some people say it will last one if you keep using it this way. You can convert to 120 volt, just need to replace the one 10 ohm resister with 2 300ohm resisters. Once done this will give you 120 volts. Tones of videos on youtube to show you how to do it. But for $24 I went to the Hakko web site and bought the same board which will already have the two 300omh resisters installed. For a total of $50 bought the parts needed to convert mine to120volts. Look at the pictures i posted. They use the same parts. Even Though I payed $50 for the parts i still saved a lot of money. The Hakko fr-301 comes with a case and a not so great stand. Tools to clean the nozzle and some extra solder Cotton Filtration filters. The tool works and functions well for removing solder off. I used it to remove old bad leaking capacitors from, old consoles, nes, xbox, xbox 360, PSone. Desoldered a bunch of caps really fast. And it leaves a very nice clean hole. I had to download the english instructions. It gets hot very fast and the sucks the solder really well. Pros: It does what its meant to do suck solder fast and Clean. Worth the buy. Cons. The Stand that comes with it is a poorly made, low-quality metal stand that looks like it breaks easily. Only comes with one tip, I did buy a bigger size tip the one that comes with the gun was too small. Overall: A bit pricey even for the japan version but so well worth it. Still Cheaper then then the US 120volts version. anyone who does electronics should have one in their shop or home.

Compré la versión japonesa porque es más barata que la de 120 V. Para poder usarla, tuve que abrir la herramienta y cambiar la resistencia de 10 ohms por dos de 270 ohms (3W). Buscando en internet encontré varios videos donde explican el proceso, aunque la mayoría recomienda usar resistencias de 300 ohms. En mi caso preferí usar de 270 ohms, ya que investigando vi que la bomba de succión trabaja a 98 V, y con las de 300 ohms pierde un poco de potencia. Pero igual si prefieren usar resistencias de 300 Ohms funciona ya que son las rresistencias que vienen con la versión original de fabrica de 120 V.

Excelente equipo funciona súper bien, lo recomiendo esta herramienta me facilita la extracción de soldadura más fácil

These are more expensive than many other manufacturers, but it works perfectly every time and various different components and mechanical devices

This saves so much time desoldering parts from PCBs. I wish I had bought it years ago.