Dealing with soldering irons.

[Isoleucine]

I'm still a noob. :undecided:

Anyways, soldering iron/gun. One of the most used tools in the laser community, making connections and breaking them. Everyone uses them a lot, whether it be past or present.

I have 2 soldering irons I haven't used for quite a while, for about 3-4 months. This means that it has been sitting on the shelf just being hopelessly oxidizing, even when I tin it before finishing, and even when I use flux or attempt to sand it down, the oxidation returns almost immediately when I heat it up to begin, yet some more awesome laser assemblies... Is there a solution? Its just really hard to fix this problem, and for the past few weeks, when I started using them again, they would just dirty up within only a few minutes of use. Dumb.

The second iron also is useless. Even though sitting in a tightly enclosed area, with new tips on the ready... I cannot tin the tips, cannot. Using some flux to clean it up a bit, and sanding it down, it cannot tin properly. What actually happens is that a small part, very small only gets tinned. With this downside, I cannot solder properly. It just messes everything up. Cleaning it up and sanding it down have been pointless. Nothing seems to work right. Maybe it's the composition of these tips? Probably.

Before I go buying more irons and tips, I wonder if I can somehow fix or repair these tips into a better condition. maintenance

 

[HaloBlu]

To start off, don't sand your tips. Your new tips should be plated, sanding will remove that plating. Then your tip will degrade rapidly & you don't want that.
What irons do you have? Do you normally clean you tip on a wet sponge before / after each connection you solder?

 

[moonreft]

You are going to need a new tip. I tried salvaging old tips and it never worked. Save your self the frustration after all they are disposable.

 

[BShanahan14rulz]

Get a new tip, keep it clean and tinned. After making a connection, I put a bunch of solder on the tip before I set it down and work out the next connection. The solder surface will start to oxidze and form a skin, but better solder than the tip. Then, when I'm ready, I wipe off the solder blob and use fresh solder for the connection.

 

[Isoleucine]

Sanding it down was the last thing I did. It just doesn't seem to tin right, and it plating would leave the solder extremely hydrophobic to the surface of the point.

Sanding it down was sorta a final option. I guess by suggestions on this thread... I think I should probably get a new tip, probably because the old ones... just are completely oxidized and in horrible condition.

 

[Bionic-Badger]

Sanding is what you do when you own a soldering iron you bought at Radio Shack that is essentially a heated nail.

Tips for keeping your new tips/irons in good condition: cover the tip with solder when you're done. The flux helps clean the tip, and the solder prevents oxidization. In fact, I would load up the tip with solder anytime you're going to leave the tip unused for more than a minute or two, whether on or off. Also, load the tip up with solder immediately after you get it.

Your tips should last forever if you treat them right.

The worst thing you can do? Leave the soldering iron on with no solder on the tip. The heat will make it degrade even faster in the atmosphere.

 

[AUSBEN]

i Have no idea if this is off topic lol,

But i stept on a Solder iron >:\ IT REALLY HURT.

 

[ndrew2505]

if you want to try the sanding method the right way heat up your iron then sand the tip. as soon as you sand it tin it. i use a cheapo 12w iron w/ an extendable tip and i keep the tip in good condition by sanding/filing every now and then. if your using a more expensive iron i'd just get another tip.

 

[Uranium]

Best soldering iron for your money.
Amazon.com: soldering station: Home Improvement

Also, NEVER SAND TIPS! Tin dissolves copper, and thus your exposed copper tip.

 

[Isoleucine]

Huh. I was thinking about getting a new tip, but I'm not sure.

I think I should probably get a new Iron after all, its pretty old anyways.

Ill try to keep my tips in good repair next time. :thanks: everybody! :wave:

 

[Fonduman]

my tips are completely oxidised lol, tried to get new tips but the hardware store here sucks. look em up if you want, its homebase. Cant get a firepit for camping, cant get soldering tips... the list goes on of things you cant get that are even slightly specialised and uncommon.

 

[Uranium]

firepit for camping, cant get soldering tips... the list goes on of things you cant get that are even slightly specialised and uncommon.

 

[goninanbl00d]

Wut WTF is that?

Back on topic, I've used one of these and I'd recommend it.

DealExtreme: $44.32 Kada 936D Digital soldering Station with English Manual (60W 24V AC)

The tip is amazing. So is the rest of it.

 

[Pontiacg5]

I sanded tips for a long time because I was too poor for new ones.
One time I left a ball of solder on the tip of one of my sanded tips. I forgot to unplug it and came back in a few hours and the entire tip was gone

Sanding tips works, but it is such a pain. Save yourself some aggravation and get a good iron!

 

[Mohrenberg]

I always stuck with the cheap 20-25 watt soldering iron you can buy for about $7.

then just buy replacement tips for a dollar or two.
I always used solder itself to keep it from oxidizing, and when it did, i would use flux and tin the tip again. If this doesn't work, i would simply file the point down and then flux and tin it.

True, the tip does wear down a lot quicker that way... and eventually i would end up with a crater in the tip where i always put the solder.....when that happened i just filed it down again to a point.

I would still able to get ALOT of use out of it for the money i spent on tips and new soldering irons.

You can also add a little bit of flux to the solder on the tip if it's oxidized...it'll return it to it's shiny self.

 

[Uranium]

Or you could just get a weller...