Desoldering

[Sectorseven]

What is the highest wattage soldering iron to use for desoldering caps on a monitor chassis? I've read that 15w is the most you really want to apply to a circuit board (12 is really ideal), but it just doesn't feel like enough to remove old solder.

[Slippyblade]

I use a 25 watt iron for most things.  Keep in mind though that a well tinned iron will melt solder quicker and more effectively than a higher watt iron with a crap tinning job.  Has to do with effectively transferring the heat to the leads of the components.

[BobA]

When desoldering a bit of solder wick (copper braid) works wonders.   Just press it to the joint with your soldering iron on top and it will suck up the solder like a sponge. A 25 watt iron should be fine when using the Solder Wick.

Solder Wick

[Sectorseven]

I tried the wick with a 15w iron, it was a very slow process. It seemed I could barely get the solder heated up and when I did, the wick would only take a tiny spec of the solder. I might try one of those solder sucker things.

[HaRuMaN]

I do tons of soldering / de-soldering.  Use a 15 watt iron and a solder sucker.  Forget the braid.