Electronics > Beginners

Should I be worried about tip lifetime when buying my first soldering station?

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David Hess:

--- Quote from: stj on May 07, 2019, 10:27:48 pm ---in theory if you use a wet sponge then every time you wipe the tip you deposit a microscopic layer of minerals and possibly flouride on the tip.
flouride is severly corrosive - it's one of the few things that will eat concrete!!

use brass wool. :-+
--- End quote ---

I have never noticed a problem using tap water over more than a decade but later to make the sponges last longer, I switched to distilled, deionized, or reverse osmosis water.

Shock:

--- Quote from: tooki on May 07, 2019, 07:15:36 pm ---I remeasured using calipers this time instead of a ruler, it's actually 50.6mm on the Ersa i-Tool, so just 2.6mm longer.

So I'm not sure if you're being facetious about the "superior front end" or serious about it, but to be clear, the Ersa iron is very svelte and comfortable. I just wish it had a rubber grip and even softer cable.

--- End quote ---

I didn't realize the i-Tool was micro pencil size, I thought it was little larger as it has a PCB. For me personally though even if the i-Tool had cartridges and could hot swap easier I'd still stay away because I'm not a fan of embedded electronics in tools, the Chinesium TS-100 makes me gag a little actually.

I was being a little facetious though, I meant by "superior front end" the part where you grip on the Pace TD-200 iron is just aluminum and the tip. Actually the whole iron is really just a piece of aluminum but that's why I like it.

Nice comparison image you did, it makes the Pace TD-200 look huge heheh. Would be interesting to see those two with the JBC T245 and the Hakko FM2027/2028 in that line up as well with their tips in. Then you could do break downs below that or on another image.

CJay:

--- Quote from: stj on May 07, 2019, 10:27:48 pm ---in theory if you use a wet sponge then every time you wipe the tip you deposit a microscopic layer of minerals and possibly flouride on the tip.
flouride is severly corrosive - it's one of the few things that will eat concrete!!

use brass wool. :-+

--- End quote ---

In high concentrations fluoride is corrosive, if it were corrosive enough to be a problem in water then you'd notice it, your teeth would fiz every time you had a glass of water, as for minerals being deposited, nah, not an issue.

I believe the main problem with a wet sponge is thermal shock and steam damaging the plating, not an issue I've ever come across but I'm happy to accept it could be a problem on very fine tip irons and/or low quality tips

Shock:

--- Quote from: CJay on May 08, 2019, 05:49:51 am ---In high concentrations fluoride is corrosive, if it were corrosive enough to be a problem in water then you'd notice it, your teeth would fiz every time you had a glass of water, as for minerals being deposited, nah, not an issue.

I believe the main problem with a wet sponge is thermal shock and steam damaging the plating, not an issue I've ever come across but I'm happy to accept it could be a problem on very fine tip irons and/or low quality tips

--- End quote ---

Tap water will definitely be a factor, micro deposits of minerals/chemicals left after evaporation. If you are immediately dislodging any by adding a fresh layer of fluxed solder it's going to reduce. Visually however you would assume that it makes no difference at all.

Purified water has the opposite effect it actually removes more contaminants than it leaves. That is why purified water is still used in electronics cleaning, we know for sure tap water is corrosive. How corrosive depends where you live.

I think it's more a case of what is known already, the sponge material, too much water and thermal shock, type of water, plating quality, solder/flux used and overall cleaning technique and frequency. This would make a good thesis for someone who uses sponges. ;D

Anyway not so much an issue or cost when you have just a mains banger but when you have dozens of tips you don't want to wreck the lot.

OwO:
Are there unplated tips? I have been using a cheap temperature controlled iron and the tip it came with for 5 years. I've grinded one side of the tip to add a "flat" face, and the newly exposed face adheres to solder just as well, so I think this tip has no plating at all.

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