Soldering apparatus, in particular a reflow soldering apparatus, for the continuous soldering of printed circuit boards along a transport direction, with an entry and an exit for feeding and removing the printed circuit boards, with a process channel including a preheating zone, a soldering zone and/or a cooling zone, and including a main body and at least one cover hood movable between a closed position and an open position, the cover hood enclosing a hood compartment above the process channel in which fan motors are provided. A central suction channel is provided in the hood compartment, in that the first suction elements connected to the suction channel in the hood compartment are provided for the suction of hood compartment air from the hood compartment, in that second suction elements connected to the suction channel in the hood compartment are provided for the suction of process gas from the process channel, and in that a switching device is provided and is configured to switch between an operating mode in which hood compartment air is suctioned via the first suction elements and a cooling mode in which process gas is suctioned via the second suction elements.