ATTEN ST-1016 Solder Smoke Absorber

Solder smoke is not just “a bit of haze”. Rosin flux at 350 °C makes an aerosol that settles in your airways, and the one person guaranteed to get it is whoever is leaning over the board.

The ST-1016 solves that the simplest way there is: it stands beside the work and pulls air towards itself, so the plume goes sideways instead of up past your face. Inside is a fan, and in front of it a carbon sponge that takes out some of the resinous haze and the smell.

What it does not do

It is not an extraction system. It does not vent anything outdoors and it does not make the air clean — it moves the smoke away from your face and filters part of it. For real filtration with a HEPA stage and an intake right at the tip, the ELESHOP ELE-FU1 stands next to it.

The ST-1016 is what you take for a short job: light, folds flat, no hose to arrange.

How to use

1. Unfold the stand and put the absorber behind the board, on the far side from you, 10–20 cm from the joint.
2. Switch it on before you pick up the iron.
3. Check the direction: the smoke should go into the grille, not around it. If the plume misses, move the absorber closer, not further away.
4. Switch it off when you finish. It is quiet, and easy to leave running all night.

The filter

The carbon sponge comes out of the frame at the front. Fresh and black, it smells of charcoal; spent, it smells of flux, and that is the clearest sign it is due for a change.

If it is clogged enough that the airflow has visibly dropped, tell us. Soldering on with a dead filter achieves nothing — the fan just stirs the smoke around.

Safety

• The absorber removes smoke; it does not replace ventilation. For a long session, open a window.
• Do not stand it right against a hot tip and do not blow hot air into it: the sponge burns.
• It runs on mains. Do not stand it in a puddle of flux and do not wash it under a tap.

Access

The absorber is at the soldering bench in the hackspace room, so a plan that includes hackspace access is required. No induction is needed.