Tips on soldering tip care, and usage? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: chconnor
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 19, 2023, 03:37:01 pm
content: I've only ever used cheap old-school Weller irons and stations. I'm about to upgrade to a T3A + C245 tips, and I'd like to know that I'm taking the best possible care of the tips going forward.My current method with my old iron:- pick up iron, clean off tip in steel wool- solder the component- again clean off tip in steel wool- add solder to tip, place back in holderI also add solder to the tip the first time it is heated up, as its heating up. Despite this, my tips always look pretty rough. Certainly nothing like the shiny/clean tips I see in videos of professionals. Sometimes the thin ones break.I wonder if part of the issue is that my steel wool is not brass; maybe the steel is too hard on the tip coating? My thoughts with the new station is to get a brass sponge, use the idling stand, and keep the idle temp low.I used to use a wet sponge to clean, but it always felt like pointless thermal shock to be putting the thin tips through? Any truth to that?In terms of using the new station, I have a feeling that the mistake I will make is to use too much heat. With the old Weller (WLC100 40W) I always use it at max heat -- it never seemed "too hot", and there didn't seem to be any point in turning the temp down because it would just increase the dwell time to no good effect. I assume with the new station this will be a real concern, so I will be on guard.If there are any other pieces of advice you have, I'm all ears. I feel like a kid that is being given the keys to a high-power sports car. :-)

author: Stephen_Pejak
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 19, 2023, 03:44:52 pm
content: Buy a brass sponge designed for tip cleaning. When you are cleaning your tip just gentley rub it across the bras sponge. Don't push it in it. Once you are done soldering, before you turn off your soldering iron tin the tip a litle bit. This will help preserve it. One important thing to note is that no matter how good of a care you take, soldering tips will always break or wear out eventualy.

author: Ian.M
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 19, 2023, 04:59:27 pm
content: You can get brass or bronze wire wool suitable for tip cleaning from specialist woodworking suppliers. Boatbuilders and cabinet makers use it avoid any risks of rust streaks from embedded fragments of steel wool. You can also use a brass panscourer (but not a cheap fake brass plated steel one - test with a magnet) which is likely to be a bit coarser than the soldering equipment manufacturer's official product but still works pretty well.A cellulose sponge, rinsed and squeezed out till you cant get any more water out (i.e. barely damp, not wet) is no worse for thermal shock than putting the tip on an existing solder joint, and as the thermal coupling to the sponge is much poorer than to the joint, may be less thermal shock.

author: Doctorandus_P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 19, 2023, 05:14:35 pm
content: Those video's with extra clean shiny bright soldering iron tips are specially made to make the video look pretty, and do not resemble real life scenario's.In real life it is a waste of both time and material to clean and re-tin the iron each time you put it back in it's holder.I'd say do not clean it when you put it back, but do make sure there is a little bit liquid solder on the tip before you put it back. Have you ever seen one of those video's include the part where they clean the tip?Cleaning the iron when you take it out of the holder is good. The old solder will have oxidized a bit (depending on how old it is). It is also quite normal if only about 5mm of the tip is really clean. On the edge between the "clean" and the "dirty" part, usually a bit of crud accumulates, and beyond that some hard oxide develops over time and you can't wet this anymore, but you also do not need this to be wetted, as it is not used for soldering. Don't interpret this wrong, Keeping the tip clean is a requisite for good soldering, but there is a limit to how far you should take this.That said, JBC also makes an electric solder tip cleaner with rotating (steel or plastic) brushes. Those may add to the tip wear, but if you're getting paid for your time, then they saved time probably outweighs the tip wear. That thing (CMLU-A)mayalso keep the tip squeeky clean without extra effort.I use the stainless steel "lathe shavings" type of cleaner myself. I'm not sure if I it was original, or if I used one of those kitchen cleaning birdsnests, and I just poke the iron into the center a few times. And my (weller) tips last many years. I really see no added benefit with trying to clean it gently to reduce tip wear. The added time over the years you spend on being gentle with the tip adds up to much more cost than the tips. (But I do use the cheap weller tips with the flat end on the 80Watt station. I would not recommend this though. The iron is "ok-ish" but not great. The main problem is that the tips work themselves loose because the stainless steel tube that should fixate them expands and contracts with heating / coolling. It is a design error and I really expected better from weller).

author: rcjoy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 19, 2023, 05:54:22 pm
content: I've been using the Weller Soldering Tip Activator, which keeps your tips looking just like new.Here's a video on YouTube:Similar products are also available from other brands.

author: nigelwright7557
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 19, 2023, 06:43:53 pm
content: I use brass for my tip.I use a Antex 30 watt iron and it has been great, tips last for years.I did buy a cheap Weller iron and tips lasted 3 days !I think the iron was just far too hot and burned the tips.I bought a cheap soldering station it lasted 3 weeks.It was replaced and that one lasted a similar time so got my money back.So back to the cheap Antex iron and no more problems.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 19, 2023, 11:41:36 pm
content: Only buy brass wool refills manufactured by a known brand. e.g. Hakko, Pace, JBC, Weller etc. It's a consumable and needs to be changed out when ineffective. Brass wool wont wear or damage the tips iron layer, don't risk using chinese brass wool.Turn the station on and allow to heat to temp. Clean tip before and as required between soldering (don't be afraid to wet the whole tinned area). When returning iron to the stand for more than a few mins wet the entire tinned area of the tip and if finished soldering turn the station immediately off.Correct cleaning with brass wool is simply poking it in a few times. Over time it may cause a bit of flux residue to accumulate just up from the wettable/tinned area of the tip (shown in image). You can wipe in a downwards motion with brass wool to keep flux from baking on here.It's important that the entire wettable/tinned area is covered in solder periodically and cleaned. Without maintenance flux accumulates on the oxidized tin layer and migrates down the tip causing a loss of surface area and performance (shown in image).

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2023, 12:32:30 am
content: The T3A should come with some decent brass wool, I would think.Your current methods are all good, other than the temperature. With the C245 tip you should be able to turn down the temperature a fair bit and still get way better performance than the weller. That combined with the automatic sleep mode should also help with tip life.If you are using leaded solder, 300-330C, lead-free maybe 330-370C.Max heat on that WLC100 is going to be super hot, probably 400C+ (no temperature control), and it will just sit there cooking in the stand, as it doesn't sleep. Its not surprising tips don't last long with it.

author: JustMeHere
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2023, 01:17:27 am
content: I use these:https://www.amazon.com/Soldering-Cleaner%EF%BC%8CSolder-Cleaning-Coiled-Stainless/dp/B09NL2QTWMhttps://www.amazon.com/Solder-Soldering-Rosin-Lead-Free-Electronics/dp/B08MVXW4RYLast for ever. Simple. Does the job.Biggest thing to remember is to turn the iron off when you're done.And use the biggest bevel, chisel, or knife tip you can fit into your work space. And don't be afraid to crank your iron up to 400-450C if you're working on something that has a lot of metal (i.e. ground pane). You can actually do more damage with too little heat. Higher temps lets you heat up your work area without heating up everything else too.

author: EPAIII
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2023, 07:47:24 am
content: The Weller WLC100 is only a basic 40W iron. It is NOT temperature controlled. It appears to have some kind of control that changes the power level, probably a Voltage control which also controls the current via Ohm's law. So the five positions are just five power levels between 0 and 40 Watts. The temperature is rated at 900°F. But that probably varies widely with different switch settings and different objects being soldered.I have a Weller WTCP soldering station that uses a ferromagnetic sensor to control the tip temperature. Different tips have different magnetic properties that activate the sensor at the temperature stamped on the end of the tip. I purchased this station in the early 1970s so it is over 50 years old. The station AND the assortment of tips that I purchased back then are all going strong. Nothing has gone bad. It all works just like new and I haven't purchased any replacement tips in that entire time. During that time period I first used wet sponges to clean the tips. They worked fine in cleaning the tips. They did NO DAMAGE to the tips. The tips recovered their temperature in a few seconds after cleaning so I could go almost instantly from the wet sponge to the soldering job at hand. It was only in recent years that I noticed the use of brass wool to clean tips. I was glad to eliminate the need for a bottle of water on my bench. I have been using the brass wool for at least ten years now and it also has not damaged my Weller tips or any other brand tips that I use.Weller knows how to make soldering stations. And Weller knows how to make tips.Why are temperature controlled stations THE way to go? It is the temperature that can harm PC boards and the components that we mount on them; NOT the power level of the iron. So the ideal soldering iron has a high power rating but also controls the temperature at the tip to prevent damage to the PCBs and parts. This allows small, delicate parts to be soldered with the correct temperature; not over-heating them. But it also has the reserve power needed when larger parts or the ground or other planes of a PCB will soak up the heat energy and try to lower the temperature of the tip. That reserve power keeps the tip at the full working temperature needed under all circumstances, within reason, of course.When my tips get an excess of build-up on them and the brass wool is not enough to get them clean, I heat them and plunge them into a tub of flux for a few seconds. Then back to the brass wool and a wipe with a wet rag or sponge. That never fails to clean them and it never damages them. Well, at least not in the past 50 years.I don't know what thermal shock would do to other types of temperature irons, but it certainly did no harm to mine.One last thing: why do I like the WTCP models over the ones with that OH SO CONVENIENT temperature knob and digital display? I have often been responsible for purchasing soldering stations for a shop with many users. When a station with a knob or digital controls was on the bench it was ALWAYS set to the maximum temperature. No matter how many times they were told to set it to a proper temperature, there was always some techs that just cranked it up to the max and then wondered why the traces were peeling off the PCBs or the new parts were bad immediately after being installed. With the temperature controlled by the tip, it usually stayed at a sensible level.One more thing about the Weller WTCP stations. I have seen them sit on a bench, turned on for indefinite periods of time. They just work and work and work. The only time I had to repair one was when someone accidentally ripped a cord out of the socket. And Weller did have the repair part. That brings up another point about the Weller WTCP stations. They were so confident in their longevity that my station did not come with an On/Off power switch. The only way to turn it off was to unplug it. I added a power switch some years after I purchased it. Later models did add a power switch and an indicator light.Now, on the second bench in my home shop I do have a station with digital control and a temperature display. It works just fine because I set the temperature to a sensible level for each job, never all the way up. And although the tips are from a manufacturer that is not as well known as Weller and they cost less, they too seem to be very robust. I use and clean them just as I do for the Weller tips and, after about ten years of use, I see no deterioration.I would not recommend a $10, imported iron, even if it does have temperature control. But you do not need to spend several hundred dollars and worry to death about how the tips will last in order to have a soldering station that will work well for decades. There are mid priced options ($40 to $150) that are just as good.I am sure there will be those here who will argue with my analysis. Just ask how many of them have a 50+ year old soldering station with the ORIGINAL tips still sitting and functioning like new on their work benches.

author: Ian.M
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2023, 11:00:10 am
content: +1.I am also a fan of Weller TCP series irons, though the quality of spares for them seems to have declined in recent years and it is becoming difficult to get the original PT series tips with the integral Curie temperature setpoint slug bonded to their back end. Weller's adapters to let you use other series of non-Curie slug tips are far less desirable as the slug no longer senses the actual tip temperature.A $10 imported iron may claim to have temperature control, but all too frequently, if you do a teardown you'll find its just power control, no better than an old mains 'firestick' iron on a light dimmer!If you keep water on the bench for wetting the sponge, it mustn't be hard (or chemically softened) water as the mineral salts buildup, concentrated by the sponge repeatedly drying, is bad for your tip. The sponge should be soaked right through and thoroughly squeezed out daily to prevent mineral salts and soluble flux residue buildup.

author: chconnor
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2023, 08:02:34 pm
content: Thanks everyone -- sounds like I'm basically on the right track and that I'll likely have less issues than in the past. I look forward to a brave new world of slightly more professional soldering. :-)

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2023, 08:43:05 pm
content: As long as you avoid cheap tips, solder alloy and flux (consumables) there's no reason why you can't have great results in an afternoon. It's easy to shoot yourself in the foot, increasing the difficulty unnecessarily.

author: alligatorblues
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 21, 2023, 12:50:48 am
content: I don't know what it is, but some guys run the tip way too hot. I think it's to heat the work piece with the bare tip. I have never set the temp at 100%. There must be a molten solder interface between the tip and the work piece. Otherwise the heat won't reach the work piece, because there's no conduction.I clean my tips in brass wool about once a day, and use tip cleaner about once a year. You have to put a bead of molten solder on the iron tip, touch that bead to your joint, and run the solder wire into the solder bead. Tip cleaner is very aggressive flux that removes buildup. I use M&G Chemicals brand.I've never used up a tip. My station has auto shutdown after 1/2 hour. And it drops the power when the tip is in the holder. It's a $100 Weller station. Running the tip too hot ruins mounting pads, burns up the flux too fast, raises the melting point of the solder the second time around, pits the tip, renders the solder an unusable consistency, makes a lot of smoke, and ruins sensitive parts.I know. People come to me to fix the PCBs they've wrecked. If I need some 'real' heat, I've got a solder pot.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2023, 11:33:41 am
content: Quote from: Stephen_Pejak on September 19, 2023, 03:44:52 pmWhat’s your reasoning for this suggestion? It’s the opposite of what I’ve seen elsewhere, and at least one manufacturer, JBC, puts a rubber guard in front of the brass wool, with a hole for you to insert the tip through, so that theonlyway of using it is to push it in, no wiping possible.

author: u666sa
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2023, 05:27:25 pm
content: Tips wear out when you heat them too high, or too long, or due to corrosive fluxes, or if you use them too much. So,1. Have at least 6 different tips of different sizes so you can switch between needed tip for your particular job. One board might need several tips. And 6 is not enough actually, because you want to have backup for each tip you have -- it's a consumable. In your case C245 are about twice cheaper than my WQ tips, so you can carry a lot more tips.2. Select proper tip size for your job. The larger the tip the more effectively it transfer heat to component and board. You want your selected tip size to solder effectively at 350 - 370 degrees C. There are times though, on large ground planes or on particular solder used, you might go higher on temperature, before you do, see if you can use larger tip. Using larger tip might not always be possible because of component or pad sizes. So you either add 63/37 solder into the mix to lower the melting temperature or add more heat. Usually going to 400C is enough.3. First time you use tip is the most important time. You have to tin it properly. Tip will have oxies on it and those oxides will burn, and might prevent you from properly tinning the tip. So you have to clean tip. For that you have selection of sponge, wool, and chemical tip cleaner.Get mechanic tip refresher or something like it, it's a must have.Basically, you let the tip come up to about 350C, apply solder to tip, clean tip in sponge and wool as needed, and keep applying solder. Tip must be properly covered. If it's not, if there are areas where solder did not stick, use tip refresher, apply solder, clean in sponge and wool.4. Use only filtered water to wet your sponge. This is to prevent white deposits around the tip.5. Don't touch your tip with fingers. Fingers have oils on them, perhaps even flux. So the place you grab your tip will have black oxides. They don't affect longivity, but they do look ugly. Use silicone pad to remove your tips.6. Change often your wool and sponge. Make it a planned precedure to change them every two month or so, amount of soldering you do is dependant. If you running repair shop you might want to do it more often.7. Don't leave your iron on for too long. It's okey to turn it on and off. Unless you doing something important which requires the iron to be on. In that case leave it on. But do have auto off feature enabled to about 15 minutes.8. Don't turn your iron on and off often. If you have to turn it on and off every minute or so you might as well leave it on.9. Don't use chemical tip cleaner too often. Once a month is okey. Once a week or more often is definately not okay.Quote from: chconnor on September 19, 2023, 03:37:01 pmYou solder like this:1. Turn on iron.2. Clean tip in wet sponge.3. Solder. Clean tip in wet sponge or wool as needed. You clean in wool if sponge doesn't help.4. Clean tip in wet sponge and if needed in wool.5. Return iron. Turn off. You don't have to put solder blub on tip, tip will have some solder layer on it. You can check this fact easily, next time you turn on iron, clean it in wet sponge, it will be shiny. Basically at the end of the job you clean your tip to remove any flux and oxides. Flux can be corrosive. By leaving a blob of solder on your tip you are not removing flux, because most solder wire is flux core. If you want to leave a blob, use none flux core solder wire.Quote from: chconnor on September 19, 2023, 03:37:01 pmNah, it's your finger prints and uncleaned oxides. You need filtered water, no touching tip with fingers, cleaning with wet sponge and wool. It's better if wool is brass, brass is softer. But steel is also okey, I have steel right now. Next time I'll buy brass.

author: chconnor
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2023, 06:58:48 pm
content: Thank you for the detailed tips!I have my new T3A + C245 tips now, but haven't had a chance to use it yet. Looking forward to it.In terms of the old Weller, it would seem to oxidize really fast; like I would start by cleaning off the tip, and if I didn't immediately go to the workpiece the tip would start to oxidize into a greenish/blue color. This is why I always applied solder after every joint because it would immediately start to discolor if I didn't, and certainly it would if it sat in the stand for a minute. This is why I wonder if it was just too hot all the time. At any rate, I have a feeling that all the standard soldering advice is going to make a lot more sense with this new soldering station. :-)

author: Neomys Sapiens
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2023, 05:35:09 am
content: - Don't buy cheap tips, but only the multiply plated ones from the equipment mfg. or Plato etc.- keep them clean!- separate tips for leaded and lead-free- you can't compensate with temperature for missing power and/or thermal capacity- if you ever need to go above 350°C, turn it back fast afterwards- if you use a sponge, use only desalinated water- get the fitting tip geometry for your anticipated tasks

author: Ian.M
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2023, 07:05:25 am
content: The O.P's Weller WLC100 is basically a mains 'firestick' iron with a light dimmer in the stand to vary the power. See:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/weller-wlc100/Although it is *possible* to do good work with a 'firestick' + dimmer combo, it requires a lot of skill and judgement to keep the power level adjusted appropriately, with almost continuous readjustment between joints. Leave it on max and you can see the bit visibly oxidise and deteriorate by the minute. If you fail to turn the power down to minimum *EVERY* time you put it back in the stand, or forget and leave it running while you are doing something else, bit life will be hours rather than days or weeks.A real temperature controlled iron with in-stand setback, inactivity timer etc. takes all this burden off the user, allowing their attention to be fully on their soldering, rather than managing their soldering iron.TLDR: its not much better than a traditional soldering iron: a lump of copper on a wooden handled iron rod, heated with a pump-up petrol or paraffin blowtorch!

author: Wallace Gasiewicz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2023, 01:15:26 pm
content: I do some work at a radio shop where the soldering stations get a lot of use and abuse.The Weller TCP stations have done well over the years with the old tips lasting very long.The only station we have not been able to break is a EDSYN temp controlled station. This is an industrial station and not cheap.It seems to work well and is perhaps 30 yrs old with equally old tips. Although it has temp control,there is no digital readoutTip cleaning is with brass wool. No water sponge. I do not think this is critical, however.The station I use at home is an old Pace that is variable but no real temp control. An Expensive "Firestick" These old stations rely on the mass of the heater to maintain something like a constant temp and the older heaters were quite nice. The newer cheaper units do not have the big heaters with any sort of mass that would keep temp relatively constant.I am switching to a dual EDSYN temp controlled unit at home.Comments about tips: The old Ungar and Pace tips last a longtime, I think that the newer Weller tips do not last but am pleasantly surprised by the Plato tips. I wonder if using Plato tips in Weller units would help tip life. I have not broken out the Weller Station (temp Controlled) to see if the Plato tips would help. When I was using it years ago I was dissapointed in the life of the tips.I think Ungar pioneered the plated tips with their iron coated tips and then were bought out by Weller. I do not think the tip quality was quite the same with the exception of the TCP tips. We have some beat up TCP tips that look awful but work just fine.We did try a modern iron like the TC3, Impressive but we broke tips, so we did not use it for very long. We went back to the EDSYN. Different people with somewhat bad habits use these irons and we also repair big things that require a lot of calories to heat up, so I think someone was pushing on the tips too hard.I hope you are happy with the TC3. The newer technology using higher freq current to heat the combination heater - tip seems to be a good way to go . Gotta love the (almost) instant on and especialy the probability of better temp regulation. I wonder about the accuracy of the temp readouts of any Iron. I do not think they are entirely accurate, but this is a minor consideration. Probably close enough.Edit: I wonder how often the new tips should be taken out of the handle and cleaned

author: EPAIII
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 08, 2023, 11:22:52 am
content: I have got to just laugh. I think I have routinely violated eight of your nine points for the past 50 years with my Weller WTCP station and with numerous others of the same Weller line at the places where I have worked. I have said it before and I will say it again, I still have the same tips that I purchased with the iron 50+ years ago and they still work just fine. And at more than one company where I have worked I have seen the Weller WTCP stations left turned on 24/7/365.25. No one ever turned them off. And they just worked and worked and worked. The only time I ever saw a repair on one of them was when someone tripped over the cord and physically ripped it loose.The only thing on your list that I have not done is to use chemical cleaners on the tips. Why would I when either a wet sponge (TAP WATER, not distilled) or the brass wool works just fine? Oh wait, I have actually dipped hot tips in the tubs of flux to clean them. Does that count as a chemical cleaner? That did not harm them either.I guess I am just not a PURIST like so many here seen to be. Everything has just GOT to be OH SO PERFECT or the tips and the iron and the bench they sit on will fall to pieces.Yea, right.Come by my place and I will be glad to show you my 50+ year tips that are still working just fine.I am really beginning to wonder if all you guys work as SALESMEN for the companies that make all these excessively expensive soldering stations and their tips that seem to wear out so quickly.Quote from: u666sa on October 06, 2023, 05:27:25 pm

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 08, 2023, 12:58:30 pm
content: Sheesh, untwist your panties, EPAIII. A list of good practices doesn’t mean one needs to adhere to them 100% of the time without fail.Anyhow, I suspect that the impact of tap water vs. distilled really depends on what your local water is like. Much of the US has fairly soft* water where distilled water won’t do much, but in places with very hard water (like parts of Europe), or with fairly salty tap water (like much of Florida, and many beach areas), the minerals and salts could very well have deleterious effects.*so soft that what counts as “hard” water in USA (USGS scale for “hard” is 1.21-1.8 mmol/L) is on the low side of “medium” in Europe (German scale: soft under 1.5 mmol/L, medium 1.5-2.5). What counts as “very hard” in Europe (above 3.8 mmol/L) is off-the-charts hard in USA.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 08, 2023, 05:03:42 pm
content: Quote from: EPAIII on October 08, 2023, 11:22:52 amYes we are getting filthy rich from telling people how to preserve their tip life. Wait a second, didn't you say to use tap water, which goes against all manufacturers advice? You dirty sob, we caught you in the act.We'll be visiting all right, and we *will* be checking those tips for compliance.

author: alligatorblues
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 08, 2023, 11:13:32 pm
content: Quote from: Ian.M on September 19, 2023, 04:59:27 pmYou can also purchase solldering tip cleaners, a container with a big hole and filled with brass wool. I also use tip cleaner from MG Chemicals once per year or so. The main problem is running the tip way too hot. My tips last at least 10 years, more like 20. I've never worn one out.Just adjust to the heat you require, don't leave it cranked up all the way.

author: DimitriP
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 09, 2023, 12:35:33 am
content: QuoteThat's a good practice