Infernal problem- soldering.

[Drummer4gc]

Yes, this once happened to me.

I used to go through tips too quickly. Here is what I do to make them last longer:

-ditch the sponge and use something like this instead: Brass Cleaning Sponge - Small Bear Electronics (mybigcommerce.com) I think that it preserves the tip better than a wet sponge by not adding moisture into the equation and allowing the tip to remain at temp instead of cooling it down and requiring it to heat back up every time you clean it.

-clean the tip with the brass wool often while in use, after every solder joint to start if you'd like to be conservative.

-get a tiny tin of tinning paste, stick it to the top of your iron base, and dip the tip each time after you clean it

-make sure your iron is the right temp. Too hot will burn the tip out quickly. Too cool will make your joints take longer to form, burn out your components, and put undue stress on your tip.

-when you're done, clean the tip, dip it in the paste, melt a good bit of solder onto it, then turn off the iron. Never leave the iron on and untinned for a long time, and don't turn it off without doing this.

-use the screwdriver style tips instead.

-use good solder, not the lead free stuff.

[mhuss]

+1 - what Drummer4gc said.

I had problems like you describe when the tip coating goes bad.

I buy several tips at a time now so I don't have to hesitate if the I think the tip is getting weird.

[Jon Snell]

Looks like the tip is not tinned, possibly too late for that tip but if you use https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/solde...ories/1368300/ to keep the end of the tip clean, soldering is a doddle. A wet sponge cools the tip and causes metal fatigue over time but some prefer that to the non scratch cleaning sponge.
Clean a hot bit and apply solder to it first, then unsolder and solder as you wish. Don't forget, put the solder that has multicored flux iin it, between the work and the soldering iron tip.
Tips get corroded with cheap Chinesium fluxes because they are not like our flux, they are highly corrosive. Always use No Clean flux, like this one; https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/solder-flux/7434756/
Hope that helps.

[nevetslab]

Does your soldering station 'thermal-cycle' (meaning after it's been on for a while, and hasn't been used, it cuts the temperature way down until you need to use it again,then it cycles back up to operating temp)? If it only has two modes....ON and OFF, then you need to change tips more often, as well as getting into the habit of cleaning the tip regularly, until it won't take solder. if it has temperature control, you could turn the tip temp way down so you're not burning up the tips while not using it, then turn it back up when needed. My Pace MBT 200 has a two-stage sleep mode...it will roll the tip temp back down to 350 deg F when not in use regularly, as well as turning it off if the use cycle is extended. Then, once you wake it back up, (which requires patience), you can dial the tip temp as you need, and it cycles at that set temperature nicely. Plus, I have a large selection of tips. As most of us do, I go thru tips....I'll try to get as much use out of them, but, when they fail to perform, change them! All part of the use cycle. I use Tip Clean compound, brass cleaning pads, wet sponge, always maintained, and 60/40 solder.

[nosaj]

Yes, this once happened to me.

I used to go through tips too quickly. Here is what I do to make them last longer:

-ditch the sponge and use something like this instead: Brass Cleaning Sponge - Small Bear Electronics (mybigcommerce.com) I think that it preserves the tip better than a wet sponge by not adding moisture into the equation and allowing the tip to remain at temp instead of cooling it down and requiring it to heat back up every time you clean it.

-clean the tip with the brass wool often while in use, after every solder joint to start if you'd like to be conservative.

-get a tiny tin of tinning paste, stick it to the top of your iron base, and dip the tip each time after you clean it

-make sure your iron is the right temp. Too hot will burn the tip out quickly. Too cool will make your joints take longer to form, burn out your components, and put undue stress on your tip.

-when you're done, clean the tip, dip it in the paste, melt a good bit of solder onto it, then turn off the iron. Never leave the iron on and untinned for a long time, and don't turn it off without doing this.

-use the screwdriver style tips instead.

-use good solder, not the lead free stuff.

I've had the same issues what is quoted helped me but getting a soldering iron like this https://www.amazon.com/Aoyue-9378-Pr...ef_=ast_sto_dp
really upped my game and lessened my frustration.
nosaj

[galaxiex]

Get this stuff.
Works wonders.

https://www.amazon.com/Thermaltronic...dDbGljaz10cnVl

[Chuck H]

Clean tip in good condition/tinned
Flux
And, just because no one seems to have mentioned it yet...

It helps to put a dab of fresh melt NEW flux core solder on an old joint. Melt it on the tip of your iron as you apply the iron to the joint. The Solder will conduct heat to the joint more efficiently than just pressing the dry tip to it.

[g1]

You haven't said what kind of solder you are using and if you have tried different kinds. As others have mentioned, the flux in the solder could be a factor.
Also, sponge should only be damp, not wet. I soak mine then squeeze all the excess water out.

And with an iron like that, you really have no idea of the tip temperature, so that can be another issue. I like 700 deg. Too cool and the solder won't melt well, too hot and tips don't last..

[Sea Chief]

As mentioned above, I think it is because you are perhaps not cleaning and tinning the tip before you turn it off for the day which leaves it in an unprotected state that facilitates quicker corrosion to it.

I think this might well be true, but, if I always clean the tip before & after each solder use (or desolder use/ any few seconds' use of it at all) with the sponge appropriately damped.. which is there for this very purpose.. then I still don't understand what is going on. As far as I know, I am carefully cleaning the tip/ removing the solder crud from it without: going excessively 'at it': without using any abrasive material that might facilitate removal of the tip coating. I am being pretty gentle with it. But in 2 weeks it fails.

I do not understand how my tip is being corroded 100x faster than everyone else's. Atmosphere?? my own breathing on it?? you see how desperate I am clutching at straws here now for a cause.

I can remedy it. I go buy another £6 tip. But in a few weeks I have to buy another, another, another, without knowing conclusively why I am the only person in this position. It is infuriating, let alone spending 3 hours yesterday just to undo/ redo two wires on a switch.

[J M Fahey]

If it makes you happy, it happened to me many times, and for the reasons given above.

I use the cheapest no brand chinese soldering irons, go figure, typically 40W, or 60W to solder pot backs and the like.
Always use a wet sponge or piece of cloth, mainly because it solidifies solder by cooling, and when wiping that crust away it carries all junk with it, leaving clean silver shiny solder behind, which I immediately replenish, too thin a layer is easy to oxidize.

I also keep a pine rosin "stone" on the bench, flux in its most concentrated form, and now and then dip iron tip into it, immediately wiping it with a moist cloth or sponge, on penalty of having the tip covered in carbon 5 minutes later.

Not a controlled temperature power station by any means BUT since forever I wire a 1N5408 diode in series with my irons (I built a little junction box and plug them there) with a bypass switch (just shorting the diode), so my iron is full power while actually working but if I stop for more than a minute I switch it to low power mode.

When/if it gets as corroded/rusty/dirty as yours, I mercilessly wipe it with a steel sponge until I remove the ugly outer layer and see shiny metal below, then re tin it as if just bought.

In fact when hot enough (not fully hot yet) I stick tip into rosin stone until it´s covered with molten rosin and apply solder wire to that, meaning that "first retinning" is done under excess flux.

Tips get a THICK solder layer, then wipe excess, tip gets as good as new and solders flawlessly.

Why don´t I use a controlled soldering station and void all this ritual?

Because of our complicated Customs system, I can not straight buy from USA, China, etc. (I need a new screen for my tablet, an idiot sat on it) , replacement costs $5 , Postage $55 through EMS, or $75 through FedEx, DHL, etc.plus 35 to 75 days delay, , meaning under the same system I can not order spare tips.

Local Importers are after a quick buck, couldn´t care less about Customer service, and typically import a containerload of *one* mystery Chinese brand, sell all for a huge profit, next Month import a different one , and so on.

After getting stuck with various stations without replacement tips (all are different) I learnt my lesson, so I buy simple generic stuff, period.

[Sea Chief]

You haven't said what kind of solder you are using and if you have tried different kinds. As others have mentioned, the flux in the solder could be a factor.
Also, sponge should only be damp, not wet. I soak mine then squeeze all the excess water out.

And with an iron like that, you really have no idea of the tip temperature, so that can be another issue. I like 700 deg. Too cool and the solder won't melt well, too hot and tips don't last..

Hi g1. I have always found one solder that I like/ flows great/ never had one solder failure (this is of course, when I am in the position of having the soldering iron working). So I stay with it. I have tried a good few indeed, lead-free & leaded, cheaper ones & costlier ones, but have found absolutely no difference from one to the next. All flow great. So, as a result, I can absolutely 100% rule out a decade+ ago the reason for my problem having anything to do with the solder.

I too soak mine, then squeeze it out until it's damp not wet. I was taught soldering at a japanese production Co 25 years ago, by a proper cam tech nerd, & remember this page 1 info clearly just as you say, just as I do, just as I've always done.

Now, one thing you hint at here, is "too hot & the tips won't last". This could --possibly-- be the cause. But how on earth can I tell? I should be able, with a temp controllable station you see be able to use the iron without it 'falling apart' across the range of it's temp dial (it's of adequately medium quality, not shoddy at all, but no its not the bugatti iron you might have): it should work perfectly adequately for the occasional use I only ever use it for.. even without a digital display to tell me the precise temp. Besides, when it's useable I put the dial at half to be on the safe/ medium/ average-heat setting to again try being as kind to the tip as I can.

The only time I put it to 3/4 & above.. is when I get this infernal recurring problem starting again, because if I cannot melt a solder spot, then surely surely surely there is not enough temp getting to it: surely it must be a lack of temperature (onto either the solder wire, or, the previously soldered spot to melt), & therefore this is the ONLY absolutely definitive fact here that I know.

W H Y the tip does not seem to have enough temp to melt a few mm's of solder with the dial at max (which should suggest it is too --hot-- if anything/ concurring with what you say above).. is the mystery. It should blitz the solder in an iota at max dial if it (if all sections of it) is working correctly. Then you naturally turn it down.

So all I know is A) it's not working correctly. B) there is a -lack- of temp in the tip, if at max dial, it struggles to melt any solder. But nothing more.

It's simplest to say "iron's fkd.. get another". But if this problem recurrs, from iron to iron to iron, for 20 years.. the likelihood I've been so unlucky to have bought dud iron after dud after dud, mfr to mfr (all the same recurring unuseable-tip-problem-thing).. is pretty much negligeable. Like the solder type: this is discounted too.

thanks SC

[Delta362]

It could also be that your iron's heating element is not making a solid contact with the tip, therefore it's not really heating the tip as it should.

[nosaj]

The answers to they whys and how to avoid have all been provided to you. It is up to you to grasp it.
nosaj
A different style iron would better suit you as it did me. An you can't leave the iron on all the time with the kind you showed. Kind of like you can't leave a pan with water in it on the stove all the time as the water that protects the pan from damage will disapear over time and then the the pan will start to be damaged if left on the heat with no water. Analogy water=solder/flux pot=soldering iron.

[Sea Chief]

It could also be that your iron's heating element is not making a solid contact with the tip, therefore it's not really heating the tip as it should.

Hi Delta,

I have definitely ruled this out straight up. This would make sense if it was a one-off occurance, or very infrequent thing, having prior fiddled around with tips inserting etc. But tip is pushed solidly home, sheath bit solidly locking it in.

The fact that this issue hounds me from tip to tip, iron to iron, year on year.. it would be negligeably likely I hadn't seated the tip in each time.

But thanks for the idea.

[Sea Chief]

The answers to they whys and how to avoid have all been provided to you. It is up to you to grasp it.
nosaj
A different style iron would better suit you as it did me. An you can't leave the iron on all the time with the kind you showed. Kind of like you can't leave a pan with water in it on the stove all the time as the water that protects the pan from damage will disapear over time and then the the pan will start to be damaged if left on the heat with no water. Analogy water=solder/flux pot=soldering iron.

I dont understand why you'd say a different iron would suit me better- if (with respect) you don't know what things I'm using it for. A different iron, as I've said from the start too having had many, makes no difference: the same problem occurs whatever iron I have ever had. Different shape tips I've bought too. From a better quality one than this (a UK made weller station- really solid iron) exactly same thing/ had to bin it. From this through many types like the 'medium quality one now', right down to a cheapo Faithfull £10 job. Exactly the same in each & every case, using various solders from expensive to cheapo £2 tubes: every example, the same thing happens, for 20 years without one exception. I'd bet you've had your iron for 10 years, changed the tip maybe once.

I never leave it on too, just fire it up to use for a half-hour job for eg (sections on my Twin Reverb rebuild for eg) then off. Clean the tip regularly. Worry about the tip (as you might expect) so make sure no crud on, not excessive sponge water, not scrape or use abrasive anything on the end, not excessively on for long periods. Kid gloves I treated this damn one, like all the others.