Shoutout to the guy who showed me how to reflow BGA chips without a proper rework station

Last week I was stuck on a laptop that kept shutting down randomly. A retired repair guy at a local meetup in Austin told me to try hot air from the top and a preheated skillet underneath. I set the skillet to 190 degrees and used my cheap 858D on full blast for about 2 minutes. The board came back to life and I haven't had a crash since. Has anyone else cooked up a hack like this with stuff you already own?

2 comments

2 Comments

jordan_webb4918d ago

Whoa wait, "preheated skillet"? Like a literal pan from the kitchen? That's wild man, I can't believe you actually did that. I mean I get that BGA chips need even heat from underneath but putting a motherboard on something you cook eggs in feels next level sketchy. Did you not worry about the solder paste or flux getting all over your cooking stuff? And 190 degrees sounds really low for a skillet but I guess it worked so I can't even argue with results. Props to you for having the guts to try it, I would've been too scared of ruining the board AND my kitchen gear.

milap3518d ago

Respectfully gotta push back here @jordan_webb49... it's really not that sketchy if you think about it. I used an old beat-up nonstick pan I was gonna toss anyway, so no harm to my cooking gear. And solder paste doesn't just fly everywhere, you tape the board down and keep it steady. Plus 190 is perfect for a skillet since it sits right at the solder's melting point without going crazy.