Follow the indications given in this video :
This guy would be fired from the iPhone line Foxconn.
There is also the issue of water causing thermal shock to the tip.
+1, and fyi the solder tip is a piece of fine metal engineering involved there, check the documents pointed in this thread ->
Hakko Patents, though I'm not a metallurgy expert, with those layers of different metals just at the tip, a sudden thermal shock that is applied "UNEVENLY" at the delicate tip will surely have a negative effect in long run.
I used Hakko brass wool tip cleaner, much less thermal shock when you dipped in the scorching hot tip in it, and once in while, applied my heavily used tips with Hakko FS-100 (
Link) for tip retinning and heavy oxidation removal, really, it does work like magic.
Becareful though, its very popular and there are lots of this fakes FS-100 out there, and those dogdy stuff will definitely ruin and eat your tip alive, just buy from reliable source only.
The tip is made of solid copper plated with a thin layer of iron and chrome (several hundreds of microns thick). Water will cause a thermal shock and can crack the iron or chrome layer, this will expose the copper core who will be dissolved by the solder.
Read this :
http://www.digikey.com/Web%20Export/Supplier%20Content/Cooper_72/PDF/CooperWU_ModuleI_Tips&LeadFree.pdf?redirected=1Those problems became quite noticeable with the switch to lead free solder. So if you want a long tip life use :
- leaded solder,
- low temperature
- and be careful of the type of flux you use (in both the soldering wire and the pen flux).
When it comes to Kimwipes + isopropanol, I'm not as maniac as he does, but the advice to wipe the soldering iron tip with a dry Kimwipe to remove excess solder is a good one. Otherwise you will quickly need to replace your sponge or brass wool as they will be filled with solder blobs.
After reading the PDF, I will also suggest not to use Kimwipes to remove excess solder, this might expose the iron tip to oxidation. Use the silicon lip present on some soldering station or maybe gently bang the iron against the table to remove excess solder and after that quickly use some brass wool to spread the rest of solder on the tip.
Damn this subject is more complicated than I thought !
Hmmm. Not sure I buy into that. My gut feeling that the abrasiveness of brass wool is far more of an issue then thermal shock.
With water I suspect there is quite a bit of Leidenfrost effect going on. Not to mention that surely there is thermal shock going on when solder at room temperature is heated to 600F-700F - so I don't buy into that either. All I know is that with a sponge and distilled water, my tips last years - and for such a small cost, I prefer the sponge. It faster and easier for me. Plus....you get that cool "pssssss" sound.
Hi,
you can do lots of "voodoo"-stuff with your Tips. But the question is always: Is it worth it?
I think not.
My Sponges get a little bit of Tap-Water (not soaking, a little bit!) an that's it. If a Tip should be damaged, then it's time for a new one.
As far as I can remember i had one on my old Iron (Weller TCP) replaced and zero (or maybe one) at my new (Weller PU81+WSP80) up to now. And even if... after 4-5 Years of rather frequent use it may die, I would just buy a new one for 4€.
Rather more than bying a special maintenence or whatever-Kit, worth 10 Tips
it is important how to whipe your Tip, just don't (like I see most people when soldering for the first time) ram the Iron into the sponge. Be gentle...
All this stuff maybe important, when using an iron with a fixed Tip. But i would rather think about not buying such a thing
For 99,9999% of the work a good-quality(!!!) iron with a changeable Tip is sufficcient. I own both, and I don't see the great "practical" advantage, more the disadvantages.
I kind of agree with both of you but in my opinion, when it comes to tip life the most important must be the solder/flux/temperature selection and not really the way you clean it... at the condition that you maintain a good wettability.
When I think about it, most of the time my iron is in contact with the solder. If I believe the experiments made by the manufacturers, lead free solder is the culprit as it seems to reduce your tip life by a 2-4 times factor, this isn't negligible.
Now in the document I linked, they said that the cleaning method impacts flux removal... this needs a sanity check and might not be an issue with correct flux selection.
Moving on to the next question does anyone know what kind of flux should be used ?
I would like something :
- not too toxic or not causing too much fumes
- easy to clean with water or a noclean variety that doesn't leave a sticky residue
- that doesn't make black residues on my soldering iron tip
I bought some chipquik flux, works great but I need cleaning otherwise my board gets sticky.
It's not very abrasive at all. We are not talking wire wool of the kind you use for removing paint here. It's definitely kinder than using a sponge.
Well, if you want to split hairs, I can bet you a dollar that brass is more abrasive then a sponge.
As I said, and it's been echo'ed here - doesn't really matter for a cost/time sort of thing. So - it's down to a personal preference thing.
Speaking as an experienced hobbyist, I don't think it makes a whole lot of difference if you use a slightly wet sponge or the brass wool cleaners. I used to use the wet sponge exclusively for many years but have switched to the wire wool wipe thing just for convenience, don't have to have water around the workshop now.
In my view it's much more important how you treat your tips while soldering and when putting the iron in the stand. The important things have been said already.
I've had the wire wool sponge thing for about 5 or 6 years now and I'm on the second wire wool insert now, so they do last a long time.
My iron's been a Weller WS50 (LR-21 + ET series tips) since 2000, btw.
Also remember first time you use a new tip - clean with cloth when cold to remove any deposits, then absolutely cake it in solder as it warms up, making sure it is fully coated on all surfaces.
I just ruined a tip a lil while ago.. when using it for the.first time, should I apply flux aswell, before applying solder-thats what I did.
Also remember first time you use a new tip - clean with cloth when cold to remove any deposits, then absolutely cake it in solder as it warms up, making sure it is fully coated on all surfaces.
I just ruined a tip a lil while ago.. when using it for the.first time, should I apply flux aswell, before applying solder-thats what I did.
Hard to say exactly without the specifics regarding the source of tip & solder (not enough flux in the solder and/or poor quality tip issues), but generally speaking, it won't hurt.