Calibrating a solder station

[tony3d]

I noticed that almost all these solder stations have a procedure for calibrating the temperature. Is it safe to use a multimeter to calibrate a solder station? Will the high temps damage the thermocouple?

[chiefengineer]

A standard type K-thermocouple survives 1000 °C no problems at all, so don´t worry 
The tip of your iron is maybe mains earth, but this should´t be a problem if you probe it with a multimeter with thermocouple.
But is there really a need to calibrate a soldering station?

[Rufus]

I noticed that almost all these solder stations have a procedure for calibrating the temperature. Is it safe to use a multimeter to calibrate a solder station? Will the high temps damage the thermocouple?

The need to calibrate a soldering iron is debatable.

A K type thermocouple is good for the temperature, the insulation it is wired with may not be. Getting good thermal contact may be an issue. The commercial tip thermometers have fine wire thermocouples with a little bit of metal crimped over the junction, that metal wets easily. I have a couple of the fake Hakko tip thermometers you can get on ebay for like $10. I am quite impressed with them, you get a pack of 10 thermocouples and if you don't trust the internal meter you can clip an external K type thermometer on to the thermocouple posts.

[pickle9000]

Hakko makes a cheap tip tester. Nothing wrong with using a multimeter probe but use one with minimal mass. Also note that the tip temp will vary with the mass and shape of the tip and calibrating each time you change a tip is not really done. Knowing your tip temp is a good thing but most people will have a few favorite temps with one tip and use those 95% of the time. As a general rule "If you ask yourself the question then act on it". Is my iron to hot? Then check it.     

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/HAKKO-FG-100-iron-thermometer-measurement-solder-iron-temperature-tester-/160980265854?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item257b2beb7e

[M. András]

hehe thats a fake one, the real is over 300bucks

[Shock]

Ah nice little tool just brought one to play with.  Some sellers don't ship the sensors.

[pickle9000]

I actually bought mine locally but yea it looks like a knock off. In any case it's over a year old, don't use it much but seems to work fine. The TC's are very tiny and fast acting. The display looks identical to the real one (maybe it is the same). The price difference is crazy.

[M. András]

i have a clone too its accurate so no problems. it was a cheaper option then the weller service center....