I don't remember exactly when I bought the Ersa i-con Pico soldering station whether it was possible to screw the nut perfectly when mounting a tip. Certainly, for a long time, I had struggled to secure the tip correctly.
The thread of the nut and the stylus were ok, but I could only screw in a few turns (and it didn't have a secure fit).
First image: above how it screwed before my modification (the nut could not screw any further); below the result after the modification, ok nut screwed tightly.
I honestly didn't understand why, the heating element was engaged well, but it's as if it were too long, thus preventing the nut from tightening more.
So yesterday I took over my father's workshop, and without inquiring, I freed my mind and made this modification (second image): first I drilled another 2 mm approximately inside the tip (drill tip diameter 3.5 mm , exactly like the inside tip); then I polished lightly with a 3.2mm Dremel bit. At the end of the work, the tip locking nut was finally screwed onto almost the entire thread.
I then tried to check the temperature of the tip with the multimeter, which was not an easy task, the reading was very variable. Before I had tried an original tip (set 220°, it had reached 206°, room temperature 10°); then I tried the modified tip, alternating various reading sizes, but it obtained a good 214° (out of 220°). See the third image.
When I set off with the modification, without informing myself in the slightest, I didn't know what I was getting into. Maybe I could have ruined the tip permanently. I had no idea if it had a particular surface treatment inside. From the test done it doesn't seem like it. I also very gently 'polished' the heating element.
At the end of the day, I then did the definitive test using the modified tip (2.4 mm): desoldering some solder on very old boards, usually even at 380° I struggled, tonight with 360° after a few seconds it melted the solder immediately.
Then I tried to do some soldering, setting 'only' 320° (at 10° ambient, so it must have been 310°) and I was satisfied, generally the solder often tends to remain on the tip, but today after 1 second it already occupied the pitch (fourth image, my tinnings are the 4 darkest).
Conclusions: has anyone ever had a problem like this? I honestly didn't understand what it was about. I came up with this solution without any research. It seems to work. Or I will have done irreparable damage. Meanwhile, I had fun and excitement using the mechanical tools
