Weller De-Soldering Station - how to operate ...

[Superully]

two weeks ago, another package arrived at my doorstep



french fries?



inside, a used de-soldering station



weller vp 801 ec



of course, it also came with a de-soldering iron ...



... and some spare parts (filters etc)!



there's only one tiny problem: i can't get it to work ! here's how i've set it up



the de-soldering iron heats up nicely, but when i push the black button on the iron i can hear the "sucking sound", but nothing happens. i've also disconnected the transparent tube and put my finger in front of the connection, but there's no "sucking power" at all. the seller claims it was working and he tested it, but i caught ihm in a couple of lies and he refuses to take it back. unfortunately, i didn't use paypal (wasn't offered) and ebay does a shit to solve this. perhaps i'm doing something wrong here, but i doubt it. i don't have a manual and i can't find one online, so i'm working with what i've got.

a couple more things: the pump vacuum meter needle doesn't move a bit, no matter what i do. PLUS amongst the spare parts are the following items



i have no idea where those filters have to go (and there are NONE in the de-soldering iron) and i have no clue where those metal tubes on the right are supposed to be used ...

as you can see, i need some input!!! please

[PaulSwan]

I've used one but a few years ago.

Does the front of the vacuum tube connector on the main unit unscrew? It looks like it's a dial and it says "Check filter when vacuum drops". If the filter is behind it I'd take it out to see if there is presure. If so, might just need a new filter putting in.

Paul.

[Superully]

Does the front of the vacuum tube connector on the main unit unscrew? It looks like it's a dial and it says "Check filter when vacuum drops". If the filter is behind it I'd take it out to see if there is presure. If so, might just need a new filter putting in.

it does. here's a picture - as you can see there's nothing inside! the seller told me that neither the metal tubes nor the filters are for the station itself but for the de-soldering iron. however, the tubes would fit in there nicely, don't know about the filters though and i wouldn't know where to put them ...

[Etienne MacGyver]

and there is no suction in that part ?

then take it apart , maybe there is a tube inside broken (between the motor and the outlet

[Superully]

and there is no suction in that part ?

then take it apart , maybe there is a tube inside broken (between the motor and the outlet

nope, no suction at all when i put my finger on the tube connector and press the black button. is there something supposed to go into that vacuum filter "slot"?

[Etienne MacGyver]

my guess is that one of the white round filters need to go in there, mine has an "external" filter:



but if there is no suction at all, you may have a problem "deeper" in the machine..
Open it up , and see if you can "see" something wrong since the motor
when i press the button on my iron, and i "hear" the vaccum pump, i also "feel" suction on the part where i connect the tube

[Superully]

my guess is that one of the white round filters need to go in there, mine has an "external" filter:

i've made a little progress and checked those metal tubes. in some of them are a couple of those white filters



and as i've said before, those tubes slide nicely into the de-soldering station



whne i close it up and put my finger on the tube connection, i can feel the suction and the manometer needle above moves up to -0.2 bar - don't know if that's enough though, haven't tried sucking solder yet, because on the back of the machine there's something similar - have a look

there's a connector in the lower left corner which looks like you could connect another de-soldering iron there ...



... PLUS there's another one of those "open me up and put a metal tube with filters in there" thingy (i've put a tube in for the following picture) of which i don't know whether a tube has to go in there and what the function of the entire thing is - you can't connect anything to it, just open or close it!



it's a shame that there's no manual "floating around". i have the feeling that i'm almost there, just a little more input!

[PaulSwan]

The two vacuum connectors may just be to allow either front or back connection of the desoldering iron for convenience. Likely one should be sealed tight so the suction is either front/back. You may need one of the rubber washers to make the seal tight.

Paul.

[Superully]

The two vacuum connectors may just be to allow either front or back connection of the desoldering iron for convenience. Likely one should be sealed tight so the suction is either front/back. You may need one of the rubber washers to make the seal tight.

rubber washers?

[Etienne MacGyver]

that is a good possibillity, or like mine, (the tube above the one where the filter is attached now) its a blow hole..
(in my station one blows, the other sucks)



also you are on the right track with the metal thingies, there fits exactly a filter in there..

[Etienne MacGyver]

Any news on this ully 

[Superully]

i'm currently in contact with another guy on ebay who's selling one atm and he's sending me pics to compare. what i can already tell you is that there are parts missing and that the seller screwed my big time claiming he tested it and it worked - it couldn't have because of the missing part. ebay is no help here, so i'm thinking about reporting him to the police for fraud! what a jackass!!!

[Etienne MacGyver]

Yeah, that sucks 
well, it does not suck, thats the whole problem 

if you "close" the front "sucking hole" and connect it in the back, does that one also not suck ?

i would open the machine up , and see if there is something wrong in the path to the sucking motor

Good luck Ully with this !

[Arcadegek]

Off topic, but a nice quote. When I bought mine desoldering station the guy who was selling the machine said it din't worked well for him. He was using it for reparing amplifiers. But because his jobs where mainly desoldering lots off tin he needed a larger/bigger machine? IMO Although that's what he was thinking..... When I tried it on side I noticed also that the pump was working but didn't suck the solder. I asked him for a paperclip and cleaned the little metal tube. All kind of hard solder came out and after that it worked out perfect! You should have seen his eyes   I rapidly paid him his asking price before he got the time to think ...... at  least I didn't wanted going home (after driving 220km) with empty hands.

[level42]

Reminds me of when I bought my Ms.Pac....