Building a DIY Solder Fume Extractor

Building a DIY Solder Fume Extractor

 

 

About electronics solder
(60/40 lead-tin vs. RoHS compliant lead-free solder)

 

    Electronics soldering is an important skill to learn for building, repairing, modding, and reworking electronic circuits. Soldering is done with either traditional 60/40 lead-tin (SnPb) soldering compound or with newer RoHS compliant lead-free solder.

60-40 Lead Tin (SnPb) electronics solder

RoHS compliant electronics solder

   Although RoHS compliant solder is safer for humans and the environment, it has some disadvantages compared to traditional 60/40 lead-tin soldering compound. The latter material has a lower melting point, is easier to wet (spread to other components), and has better adhesion; meanwhile the former has a higher melting point to work with the material, is harder to wet, and has less adhesion. More importantly, at higher temperatures, the former material is less flexible and has a higher rate of oxidation (rust), and is brittle at higher temperatures. This makes the material more likely to crack due to repeated thermal expansion and contraction during operation of electronic devices. The brittleness of the material (and design flaws of lack of adequate airflow and thermal heatsinks) at higher temperatures was a major cause as to why many early revision Xbox 360 video game consoles suffered from the Red Ring of Death (RRoD) mode of failure. The main disadvantage to the latter material is it being more toxic (60/40 lead-tin compound).

The infamous Xbox 360
Red Ring of Death (RRoD)

 

Reducing solder fumes  

  Due to these reasons, unless I need the electronic devices to be lead-free for safety reasons, I prefer to work with traditional 60/40 lead-tin solder, since it is easier to work with, is more flexible, and has better adhesion. Regardless of which type of solder you use, inhaling the fumes of the material while soldering is toxic for your health.

  Previously I would use a dedicated fan to blow away the fumes while soldering and building electronics. However, after moving into a new apartment in February 2026, I decided I would finally build myself a proper DIY solder fume extractor instead of blowing solder particles around the house, despite the adequate ventilation in the apartment. A solder fume extractor is a fan that sucks the toxic solder fumes into it, through a filter, and into a waste container to remove any leftover particles. This filter can either be a HEPA filter (more expensive but more effective) or an activated carbon filter (cheaper). Regardless of which type of filter you use, these filters are consumables and need replaced every few months of usage after the filters get filled and too dirty to work effectively. This is similar like with a regular air filter in a car.

 

A professional grade solder fume extractor

 

HEPA filter

 

Carbon filter
 

Building EagleSoft Labs

 With moving into a new spacious apartment in Februrary 2026 and having plenty of room for myself, I finally decided to build myself a dedicated electronics and makerspace workbench with my main tools and supplies readily available. This workspace is now the official EagleSoft Labs 🦅! It is a dedicated table in a corner of the apartment with soldering/electronics and 3D printer equipment.

 

 

EagleSoft Labs 🦅

Equipment:

• Soldering

• X-Tronic 3020-XTS Soldering Station and various soldering accessories

• AmScope SE120 Microsope

• DIY Solder Fume extractor (this blog article)

• Embedded Programmers

• MCUMall True-USB PRO GQ-4X V4 Willem Programmer

• Adapters

• ADP-054 16 Bit EPROM 40/42 pin adapter

• ADP-081 SOIC8-DIP8 adapter (~200mil) SA684  adapter

• Generic UV EPROM eraser

• Power/Signal lab equipment

• Vintage Vizatek Laboratory DC Power Supply (MPS-6003L-1) and universal barrel jack adapter kit

• Vintage Function Generator (Unknown brand) (given for free by a local retired lab technician on Craigslist)

• BK Precision Model 1461 10MHz Triggered Sweep 5" Analog Oscilloscope with XYZ inputs (given for free by a local retired lab technician on Craigslist)

• Emerson PC-6 5.5" Color CRT (with AM/FM Radio)

• Future project to rewind the coil and install a color vector monitor kit (for color vector video gaming)

• v.st color mod 

• DIY Composite/VGA LCD monitor in mini arcade cabinet with stereo system (blog post) (freebie while working at Mega Cat Studios)

• 3D Printing

• AIPOI Industry Ultrasonic Cleaner 0.8L

• Creality Ender 3 v2 3D Printer with BL Touch and Fiberpunk Node add-ons (given for free by a friend to repair and use)

• Sunlu Filadryer S1 Plus Filament Dryer

• Misc

• Commercial Electric 6' 12-Outlet Surge Protector with Coax and USB RJ45, Black

• Many other tools and equipment!

 

 

 Laboratory life be like dis

Building a Solder Fume Extractor

 

   While thrifting at Goodwill during March 2026, I came across a NIB 4" Einttax Wall/Window Type Extractor Fan (EIN-E10). This fan runs in reverse and sucks in air vs. blows it out, for extracting fumes. It is meant for being put into a wall output vent or window to suck air out of bathrooms while showering; however this fan has a large air flow output and would work very well as a solder fume extractor fan.

4" Einttax Wall/Window Type Extractor Fan (EIN-E10)

 

  Since this device is just a fan and an output vent (no HVAC ductwork), I bought some HVAC piping/supplies while at Lowe's and Home Depot.

 

Materials:

• NIB 4" Einttax Wall/Window Type Extractor Fan (EIN-E10, NIB Goodwill thrift store find)
  
• Lambro 4" x 2' Aluminum Semi-rigid duct work
• 4" pipe clamps
• Nashua Bath Fan Installation Air Filter Duct Tape
• Smoke-activated carbon filter pads (bought on Amazon)
  

   Building this DIY solder fume extractor was simple. I deciced to order and go with some activated carbon filters from Amazon. Using the 4" pipe clamps, I attached the duct work pipe to the end of the Einttax fan, and flexed the pipe into a garbage can with bag. This allows both for adequate airflow and for catching any solder particle waste that remains after going through the carbon filter. This dedicated garbage bag/can is meant for any electronics waste while at my workbench. Unfortunately, I poked some holes in the fragile duct pipe while flexing it and installing the 4" clamps, so I patched those up with Nashua duct tape, as well as applied duct tape to seal the fan/pipe connection.

 

   After the carbon filter pads arrived from Amazon, I cut out a circular pad and placed it into the ductwork pipe near the fan output, and held it into place with another 4" clamp. That's all there was to building this DIY solder fume extractor! The soldering work/fan needs placed where I'm working on my electronics, and the solder fume extractor will suck in any toxic solder fumes, filter the particles, and output any waste into the garbage can while soldering.

Einttax extractor fan

 

Cutting out a circular activated carbon filter

 

 Placing the circular filter into the ductwork

 

 

 

 

Final result/waste output

 

    Building this DIY solder fume extractor was easy, and now makes electronics soldering safer on my workbench by extracting most toxic solder fumes. The extractor works very well, has a large ariflow volume, and the fan was a great thirft store find for building this DIY extractor.

- MrTamkis 🦅