Soldering Iron tips

[Srbel]

Well, you can buy 1$ soldering iron just for that. :/

[BradC]

I've been known to use  4" nail and a gas stove in a pinch.

[stj]

you can get the whole iron for about $5

[Srbel]

And get the same shit quality tip.

[DimitriP]

so could i file down the leftover nubs and reuse them? ....

Yes

[timsatx]

Personally I would never file down a tip. If I had to use any method other than a damp sponge and the brass pad and multiple applications of solder, I would toss the tip.  Assuming that your soldering iron is working correctly then you will need multiple tips based on the type of soldering you do. If you are doing projects with very large heatsinks you need a very large tip. Smaller jobs require progressively smaller tips.  I also have usually soldered at 650F/343C  +/- 25F/4C. Of course that again depends on what you are soldering on and the tip size you use. Soldering at 400C/752F is at the extreme end. You use that and you are bound to use up tips quickly and if soldering to a board you are also bound to burn up some pads. Also, if using that high of a temp you will not be able to leave the tip on the board long enough to properly get flow to the other side of the board (assuming thru hole components) without either burning up the solder too quickly or destroying your pads.

[suicidaleggroll]

Soldering at 400C/752F is at the extreme end. You use that and you are bound to use up tips quickly and if soldering to a board you are also bound to burn up some pads. Also, if using that high of a temp you will not be able to leave the tip on the board long enough to properly get flow to the other side of the board (assuming thru hole components) without either burning up the solder too quickly or destroying your pads.

Not really.  Why are people so afraid of high temps?  750 F is not extreme, it will not burn up tips quickly (unless your definition of "quickly" varies dramatically from mine), and you won't burn up pads unless you're soldering like an imbecile (in which case the temperature won't matter).

From what I understand the NASA/military standard is 700 F, and the few guys I've worked with who did assembly work for NASA used 700-750 F exclusively.

Remember, the STANDARD temperature Metcal tips run at 775F, the "temperature sensitive" is 675F, and the high temp is closer to 900F.

[timsatx]

I certainly can't speak to your experience, but when I became NASA certified, there was never any documentation that specified the temperature to solder at. The was predicated on the work you were doing, the material you were working on and the soldering iron tip you used, but in general we found that 650F to be the best temp. So far as I know the techs I still work with use that temp and across the street where they do mainly NASA soldering that is also the temp they use, +/- a bit depending on what you are doing.

As far as the Metcal tips, my understanding is that two of their series have very high maximum temps (905F and 880F) whereas the rest range from the upper 500's to the upper 700's, that is as a maximum. You don't want run your tips at maximum all the time if at all possible. What they call their standard application tips, the Series 700, are listed as 775F for a maximum temp. Also, considering when working that  you aren't always using your iron. You might have a few minutes where you are using it then you put it down to prepare more components for soldering. During the wait time you really shouldn't leave your tips running at 750. But that is just in my experience and those around me, YMMV.

[GreyWoolfe]

To throw my tuppence into the pot, my Hakko FX-951 is set at 650F and I use the 600 series on my Metcal MX-500.  No issues at those temps.

[rrinker]

 I have a Xytronics 369, the older analog one. The knob is marked in temperature markings but I have no idea how well calibrated it is. I usually set it to 38 (which I assume is 380C) for most soldering work, if it's going to be a while I will turn it down to the minimum, otherwise I just keep going. I also use it for more than electronics, such as soldering model railroad rails. I will usually turn it up to the 41 marking for that.
 I am still using the original tip it came with - over 8 years ago. I did just buy some more, because I wanted some different sizes and shapes. I usually use fine solder, and SuperSafe brand water soluble flux.
 Xytronic never seems to get mentioned much, everyone seems to be up on the Hakko and the Hakko clones. The basic similar Xytronic models are quite inexpensive and I've been more than happy with mine. I'm considering getting one of their combination units with soldering, desoldering, and hot air capabilities and shifting this one to my model railroad bench.

[neo]

i dont recommend getting a 3 in one, just off of experience (but what do i know i have been making spectacularly bad soldering iron decisions lately)

[stj]

seperates are best.
what if you need to solder a new heater into your hot-air unit??

[Ian.M]

OTOH Soldering a new heater into your iron using the bit of your desolder station or with a hot air pencil is going to be a real PITA.   

*EVERYONE* who's serious enough to get a soldering station should have a spare iron, either that 15W or 25W direct mains powered iron you put aside when you got the station, or something that extends its capabilities.

e.g. a high wattage soldering gun with relatively cheap bits you can use for component recovery, screening cans, tough joints to planes without thermal relief on the pads, or what I personally favour, a portable gas iron that's safe to use on battery terminals under 50V because the bit isn't grounded, and is small enough to fit in a pocket toolkit for field work.

If you do get a multifunction station, get one that can take more than one iron, and get a spare iron which you normally will keep a large heavy duty bit in.  It saves a lot of faffing around with hot parts and risking heater damage to simply be able to unplug the hot air wand or desoldering iron and plug in the extra iron.

[daybyter]

You could also ask a friend to solder the heating element. Or visit a local hackerspace. Or the local ham radio club.

[stj]

You could also ask a friend to solder the heating element.

done that, it was not fun traveling 6 miles to a friends shop after asking him to stay open late , just so i could rewire the cable on my iron after it failed where it leaves the handle!!

better to just buy a cheap backup.
like a Bakon or something.

[BradC]

or what I personally favour, a portable gas iron that's safe to use on battery terminals under 50V because the bit isn't grounded, and is small enough to fit in a pocket toolkit for field work.

I keep one of these in the toolkit in my car. It gets used more at home in the workshop that out in the field. Need loads of heat fast? Use gas. Need an isolated iron for changing the backup battery in your "whatever" (hp 3457A for example)? Use gas. Need to selectively heat up components to test for thermal issues? Use gas. No problem doing work live and 2 to 3 times the heat capacity of a standard soldering station (80-140W depending on the tip/iron).

Nice not to have to drag an extension cord around when doing automotive work, or find power when helping mates out on the farm. Plus the hot "air" blower is awesome for heatshrink and the hot knife is great for synthetic rope. Everyone should experience a gas axe at least once.

[stj]

you can do a lot of damage with gas irons - i will never touch one again.

even changing the orientation from vertical to horizontal causes a large temperature shift.