ENGINEER SS-03 Solder Sucker Device. Made in Japan. Professional Grade Desoldering Pump.

Purchased this solder sucker after using a cheaper one I bought on Amazon. This solder sucker actually works! It’s built well, and feels like a quality made item. Sucks solder on first try and ejects it easily and is ready for the next solder joint very quickly. Love it.

This will definitely do the job. Comes with extra silicone tubing. Great suction and feels extremely solid. Did not realize it was made by Engineer out of Japan which makes it even better. The front tip unscrews so if you have to open it to clean it out, you can. Has plenty of suction. Glad I purchased it.

I’ve gotten “suckered” more than once by trying to save money on solder suckers. I tried one that had its own heated tip - garbage. I tried another that looked and felt just like the Engineer - it barely worked when it did work, which wasn’t for long. After just a few lackluster uses, it refused to stay in the “cocked” position. And yes, I cleaned it out per the manufacturer’s instructions. I’d have to press the plunger 10-12 times, hoping it would stay down and be ready to suck up some solder. It “sucked” alright, but not in the way it was intended. I switched to solder wick for a while, thinking it might be a better method. It’s ok in certain situations, but I realized what I really needed was a solder sucker that actually worked. So I decided to do some research beyond Amazon reviews and what I found, in testimonial after testimonial going back over a decade, was that the Engineer “SS-02” was the gold standard. After face-palming myself, I headed back to Amazon to search for one. Unfortunately, it was out of stock, but they were offering this “improved” “SS-03” model. I honestly couldn’t find any information on the SS-03, even on Engineer’s website. But I took a flyer on it and I’m THRILLED that I did. If it’s possible for part of your soldering arsenal to be “life changing,” this was it! I have a lot of electric guitars that I’m always upgrading or building. So I do a lot of soldering/desoldering. Some places that can get tricky without a good desoldering solution is with potentiometers. For one thing, if you have wires grounded to the back of the pot and you want to desolder them - the longer you hold the soldering iron tip to the back of a pot, the greater the chances that you’ll ruin it. That’s because it’s a lot more delicate inside than one would think. The “resistive element” inside a potentiometer is often just a thin layer of carbon based INK. With a hot soldering tip being held to the back of the pot, it doesn’t take long for the whole pot to heat up and destroy that carbon “ink.” I found this out the hard way while trying to remove solder with a wick. With the ENGINEER SS-03, I was blown away by how much solder it cleared from the very first actuation, and when I pushed the plunger down to reset it and eject the solder, I was astounded to see it push out a 1.5cm long, cylindrical piece of waste solder! And it does it every time. This also makes it ideal for soldering potentiometer lugs. If you’re not careful (or your desoldering tool of choice sucks (or, in the case of an inferior solder sucker, I guess that technically would be “doesn’t suck”), you can be left watching in horror as the melted solder it didn’t catch slides down that lug and enters the potentiometer where (you guessed it) it could easily land and re-harden right on that carbon paint! My excitement was only tempered by my regret of not having gotten an Engineer sooner. So this comes down to learning from my mistakes. You may see thousands of 5-star reviews for a product that looks identical and is half the price and take a flyer on it, but this is a classic example of spending good money after bad. Save yourself the hassle. This is one instance when “you get what you pay for” doesn’t even begin to tell the story. You’re welcome.

I just purchased this and used it once, the action is smooth, and it does the job. Fit and finish are high quality aluminum, and it’s a sturdy tool. The anodized red color is a very nice touch. Sometimes pressing the plunger expels bits of previously pulled solder, and this can be unexpected, because not necessarily all the solder expels from a single plunge/pop piston cycle. Sometimes no solder comes out after plunging, or a refrozen tube or flakes of solder will be stuck partway inside the silicone tip, so it could fall out or be plunged out unexpected and drop onto your work if you’re not careful. Expensive, since it comes from Japan, but seems worth it as I haven’t found a cheaper alternative as nice as this one seems. The silicone tip does not seem to melt or get burned by 703°F soldering iron tip while very briefly heating the solder to pull off the board with suction, but the tubing is rated for 350°C/662°F. Two tubes are included, a few inches long each, having different hole diameters, and can be cut to length to replace damaged tubing. Packaging description is written mostly in Japanese, but has some English as well. Instruction manual does have adequate English to describe intended operation and usage. Silicone grease, not included, is recommended during reassembly after disassembly for cleaning, for the screw threads the and inside shaft. It also says to never unscrew the top plunger or else the suction capability of the tool will fail.

Replaceable silicone tip and aluminum body make it longer lasting and more effective than cheaper units. It's more compact, has great suction, and has pinpoint accuracy for smaller through holes. Fits comfortably in the hand, and is as ergonomic as anything else. It's self explanatory, grab and go. Gets only 4 stars because it's still a solder sucker, but it's undoubtedly the best of its type on the market.

I heard about this for many years but never used one. when I did I had to own one. it clearly took lessons for all the prior hand held solder suckers like SOLDAPULLT and clones. however, most use plastic parts and are problematic over years. the nozzle deforms from heat, doesn't make as good a seal like the silicone tube used by the SS-03, and the plastic case deforms with age or if its accidentally burned by a soldering iron. If you have to desolder by hand with a sucker, this is the one to own. the only thing better is a powered desoldering tool. while there are clones out there of the SS03, Engineer makes other wonderful products and all have been top quality, plus the made in Japan ethos insures you're not likely to disappointed, so why risk a clone? Pros durable construction, aluminum body, and shaft, steel spring easily replaceable silicone tubes easy to disassemble and clean would easily buy again Cons none

The SS-02 is peak-engineering and design realized. It saves time, effort, & yields better results than the cheaper alternatives. I really only regret not buying this sooner. Desoldering ~65 switches with a cheap-o solder-sucker resulted in 3 or 4 instances of binding and needing to stop, open, & clean the tube. it took forever. Whereas, when using the SS-02 for an even larger amount of switches to desolder: i was able to work uninterrupted by tool maintenance and cleaning. The work became enjoyable! My attached photo is the end result of non-stop desoldering with no interruptions needed for cleaning or unbinding - though i did so afterwards to protect it from neglect. The only area for improvement i can think of is with the silicon tip - which i place directly on the ~350°C soldering tip when desoldering (a debated practice, from what i've researched): after doing this a few dozen times the silicon tip does show wear and functional degradation; though this is easily remedied by rotating the tip 180° &or flipping the silicon to it's unused side. You can do this 4 times per sectioned tip, so it'll still be a long time before i need to shop for silicon tubing. But I think this tool is an example of what peak-engineering and craftsmanship looks like and it would be easy to take it for granted had i not suffered through the less costly alternatives. An easy add to my short list of favorite tools for electrical work.

this is the best solder sucker i have ever used, by far. very well made, solid feel. sometimes takes a few extra presses to clear because it picks up so much, but i wouldn't change a thing.

Glad I didnt buy the cheaper version because the quality and feel of this in the hand is undeniable. Proper Japanese quality. Cant wait to use it. Game changer from my crappy old teflon one.

The classic solder sucker. This will do the job and do it well. The average home user or electronics workshop technician won't need anything else... industrial users will pay a lot more for a more complex tool. I wouldn't be without this one.

Excelente funcionamiento, no decepciona, funciona muy bien, lo mejor que puedes comprar

This is the best solder sucker I have ever used by a VERY large margin. It delivers an amazing amount of suction, and the soft silicone tip is super effective at maximizing how much of that suction is actually useful. It can pull off a huge amount of solder, especially considering the size of the thing. That's really the only potentially contentious thing about this tool. Compared to a typical cheap-o solder sucker this thing is tiny. The whole thing from the tip to the extended plunger is only about 15 cm (that's only 6 inches for you few remaining imperial idiots). When the plunger is engaged and it's armed and ready to fire, it's only about 12 cm (~4.75 idiot units). When you're used to the big ol' plastic cheap-o ones this can feel a little small in the hand at first, but you'll get used to it soon enough. At like half the size, this thing works better than twice as good. It is of all metal construction (precision machined aluminum) except for the silicone tip which is replaceable with standard silicone tube (the package even comes with enough spare tube to make a dozen or so new tips from). The spring is nice and strong, and the plunger/piston assembly is extremely smooth to use. The amount of suction is on the very high end of all the suckers I've tried and its effectiveness is completely unchallenged. Engineer branded tools are made to a level of craftsmanship and quality that is completely unknown to most manufacturers. Yes, they're not the cheapest option to be found, but they still offer the best value for money because the value really is just that much higher than the cheaper alternatives. I hate to make the unilateral claim that the made in japan badge is a universal sign of great quality, but so far in my experience that statement has never proven to be wrong. I'm sure the Japanese do make some cheap, low quality products, but if they do they're sure not exporting them. Engineer is hands down my new favourite brand in hand tools. I've since bought some precision nippers from them as well which are of equally high quality. They'll be getting a similar glowing review from me. TL/DR: This thing is absolutely great and well worth the extra money. Order one right now. Trust me, you'll fart rainbows every time you use it.

Probably the best manual desoldering pump I've used.