I am a serial tip destroyer- please help

[Skippy]

Bit of an Agony Aunt type question this, but....

When I get a new soldering iron tip, it only lasts for a very short amount of time before it gets covered in muck and won't melt solder. My current one for instance is a chisel-type- I've managed to keep a silver patch on the the two flat sides of the chisel, so solder melts OK on there, but on the rest of the tip, if you touch it to solder, it either just sits there, or the solder balls up and doesn't wet the iron.

I see videos of Dave and others touching the soldering iron to things and it actually getting hot! I'm so jealous.

I've got a sponge and one of those golden wire wool things. Using them does help keep the iron clean, but it still gets steadily worse. I'm using lead-free solder.

Basically, I don't want to keep buying tips since I'm obviously doing something wrong and destroying them.

[madires]

Sounds like an oxidation problem. Are you tinning the tip after cleaning and before powering the soldering iron off?

[jahonen]

Lead free solder tends to eat tips due to much more aggressive flux, using traditional leaded solder is much better in that regard. Here are some things I have also found out to be useful:

- Don't use tap water in the sponge, it might contain contaminants which stick to the tip.
- Make sure that the tip temperature is as low as possible (350-370°C should be enough). Use proper sized tip, do not try to compensate by increasing the temperature.
- Turn the iron off as soon as you don't need it for any longer period, if it does not have a sleep/hibernate function.
- When you put the iron to the stand, apply a small amount of fresh solder to the tip, make sure it wets the tip completely and then gently tap the excess away, but don't wipe it with the sponge or brass wool. This helps to preserve the wetting.

Regards,
Janne

[Skippy]

Yeah, I think with a new tip I'm going to get it covered in solder and try and keep leaving it tinned.

I've got an FX-888 and I've only got it at 330 C, which seem to melt the solder OK.

[mikeselectricstuff]

The first thing you should do when you get a new tip is give it a good smothering in solder - if it gets hot when dry it will oxidize very quickly. 
Avoid leadfree solder, and abrasive cleaners unless essential.
Also get into the habit of wiping the tip on the spnge on the way out of the stand, NEVER on the way back in, as a layer of solder helps protect the tip. A 'clean' tip left hot for long periods will oxidize rapidly.

[Neilm]

Lead free solder tends to eat tips due to much more aggressive flux, using traditional leaded solder is much better in that regard.

Very true. Also check that the tips you have are designed to be used with lead free solder. Due to the more aggressive flux using a tip designed for traditional lead solder with lead free will cause problems. Those tips designed for use with lead free will last better.

Neil

[Short Circuit]

Often, you can recover an oxiduzed tip with tip cleaner like this;
http://nl.farnell.com/multicore-solder/ttc-lf/cleaner-tip-ttc-lead-free-15g/dp/1115477


Also, get rid of the sponge and use one of these metal wool things;


The water in the sponge cools the flux remains and 'freezes' some of these onto the tip.
I have had the same problem for a long time, but much much less since using these metal cleaners.
As been said Turning off or a soldering station with standby mode helps a lot too.

[AndyC_772]

Whilst I've no doubt much of this is good advice, for some reason I don't seem to have this problem to any significant degree.

All I use to keep the tip clean is a damp sponge - tap water is fine - and very occasional use of a TTC1 tinner & cleaner block.

Maybe the problem is just poor quality tips? I use Metcal, and normally when they fail it's the heating element packing up, not oxidation.

[jahonen]

I think that tap water is different from place to place. But for example here, after 10 years of use or so, the sponge holder starts look like this:



I'm pretty sure that that even thin layer of that white stuff (limestone deposit) doesn't do any good for the tip. So I think there is a reason why all soldering iron manufacturers recommend using deionized water or brass wool instead. Have been using that (actually both, depending on the case which one) for some years now and no white stuff anymore

Regards,
Janne

[AndyC_772]

Ew... it's OK to clean your tools you know, just once in a while!

I do make a point of rinsing out the sponge each time I wet it, rather than just letting contaminants build up. Whatever might be in tap water, I'd much rather drink that than distilled water that's had the residue of hundreds of solder joints dissolved into it.

[robrenz]

I know I am going to get crucified for this but here goes.  I have had a tin of Nokorode zinc chloride paste flux sitting right next to my soldering station for the last 47 years.  Listen carefully, I don't flux the solder joints with this stuff. When my tip is looking anything other than perfectly bright and wetted all over, I dip it in the Nokorode and then a quick wipe on the sponge. This makes soldering a breeze as your tip is always showroom perfect.  I have had no adverse affects on tip life and I have stuff that I have soldered from some of my first Heatkits (45 years ago) that show no signs of of abnormal corrosion from this technique. When I see people struggling to solder using some crusty tip I am screaming inside "get some Nokorode"

[Christopher]

I know I am going to get crucified for this but here goes.  I have had a tin of Nokorode zinc chloride paste flux sitting right next to my soldering station for the last 47 years.  Listen carefully, I don't flux the solder joints with this stuff. When my tip is looking anything other than perfectly bright and wetted all over, I dip it in the Nokorode and then a quick wipe on the sponge. This makes soldering a breeze as your tip is always showroom perfect.  I have had no adverse affects on tip life and I have stuff that I have soldered from some of my first Heatkits (45 years ago) that show no signs of of abnormal corrosion form this technique. When I see people struggling to solder using some crusty tip I am screaming inside "get some Nokorode"

I used to use a tub of old flux. So old that the tin was rusted and the stuff was the consistency of peanut butter. Rolling the tip around in it gave a lovely (deadly) smell and the tip came up sparkly clean!

[pauln]

Often, you can recover an oxiduzed tip with tip cleaner like this;
http://nl.farnell.com/multicore-solder/ttc-lf/cleaner-tip-ttc-lead-free-15g/dp/1115477


Also, get rid of the sponge and use one of these metal wool things;


The water in the sponge cools the flux remains and 'freezes' some of these onto the tip.
I have had the same problem for a long time, but much much less since using these metal cleaners.
As been said Turning off or a soldering station with standby mode helps a lot too.

I use both the tip cleaner/restorer and brass filling/wool for tip cleaning - and have done for years.
Great advice.

[Psi]

You aren't using sandpaper on the tips are you, because that will kill them instantly.

[T4P]

Depends on what grit of sandpaper ... i had to resort to sandpaper for my original tips because they had a coating (NOT OXIDATION!) over time ... some odd material dark purple coating that just completely insulates the heat from an area

I think that came from my tip refresher 

[Rerouter]

also had a shade of purple appear on my gas iron, i am almost certain it comes from too much heat at the tip for sustained periods of time,

[Smokey]

I abuse my Metcal tips and they never seem to have any oxidation problems.  They all work fine until they die completely, which has consistently been long after their rated spec.  It could be that there are a lot of cheap Chinese knockoff Hakko tips out there of questionable quality, but I think all the Metcal tips are authentic Metcals.

It is kind of hard to get that layer of burnt plastic off the tip sometimes though when I accidentally touch a connector.

[T4P]

I abuse my Metcal tips and they never seem to have any oxidation problems.  They all work fine until they die completely, which has consistently been long after their rated spec.  It could be that there are a lot of cheap Chinese knockoff Hakko tips out there of questionable quality, but I think all the Metcal tips are authentic Metcals.

It is kind of hard to get that layer of burnt plastic off the tip sometimes though when I accidentally touch a connector.

It's easy for me  just rub it against a metal wool cleaner thing
Note : Hakko original tip, not some OHL tip

[nanofrog]

You aren't using sandpaper on the tips are you, because that will kill them instantly.

I've resorted to a brass brush before without killing the tip (not horribly aggressive with pressure, or gone on so long I hit bare metal either; just enough to get the black scale off/smoothed down on areas above the wetting area).

[robrenz]

Please guys, do yourself a favor and just try the Nokorode paste zinc chloride flux to clean and tin the tips.  It pains me to hear all this struggling when the answer is so simple.  The only reason I started soldering this way is because the guy that taught me 47 years ago used it and I followed suit. I just dab the very tip of the iron in it for an instant and then to the joint.
If you are paranoid about some ppm of corrosive flux getting into your joints just use it to clean and tin your tip and then do a good wet sponge wipe. before you solder with it.

[nanofrog]

Please guys, do yourself a favor and just try the Nokorode paste zinc chloride flux to clean and tin the tips.  It pains me to hear all this struggling when the answer is so simple.  The only reason I started soldering this way is because the guy that taught me 47 years ago used it and I followed suit. I just dab the very tip of the iron in it for an instant and then to the joint.
If you are paranoid about some ppm of corrosive flux getting into your joints just use it to clean and tin your tip and then do a good wet sponge wipe. before you solder with it.

I'd have never thought of it, as it seems to be sold primarily for plumbing use (would normally presume it's an acid based flux).

Looking into it, they make a water soluable version which should allow for easy cleaning from the tip prior to soldering using a wet sponge.

[robrenz]

I would stick with the regular stuff myself.  There is no visible trace of it on the tip and no evidence of corrosion on joints over 4 decades old.

[nanofrog]

I would stick with the regular stuff myself.  There is no visible trace of it on the tip and no evidence of corrosion on joints over 4 decades old.

Might give it a go then if I remember to pick some up next time I'm in the hardware store (memory like a screen door these days  ). Thanks Rob.