Testing JBC soldering cartridges from C245 range - which for what? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: thikone
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2025, 08:39:38 pm
content: Last year I treated myself to the JBC CD-2B station. And while I am a master of soldering, I used only bevel and chisel style tips for 3 decades. So, given how many shapes are available in the C245 cartridges range and also how little information I could find even here, I decided to test some. Right now I have 20 original C245 tips from JBC and here is what I found so far.Chisel tips are of course always useful. I've got big ones and small ones, to use depending on the task's size and demand for heat:1. C245774 Chisel Cartridge 1.2 x 0.3 mm2. C245741 Chisel Cartridge 2.4 x 0.6 mm HT3. C245908 Chisel Cartridge 4.8 x 1.5 mm HT S14. C245966 Chisel Cartridge 6.6 x 1.8 mm HT - chisel tips of various sizes. Small ones are good for SMD parts. Big ones are good for big jobs with thick wires and big copper planes. Also big ones are good for desoldering electrolytic caps and similar two legged parts when the tip is wide enough to heat two legs at once. Though, knife shaped tips often are more convenient for their more slim shape.5. C245963 - Chisel Bent Cartridge 1.8 x 0.8 - as was already recommended here. Useful for SMD and for through hole parts of smaller size.6. C245789 Knife Cartridge 3.8 x 0.37. C245939 Knife Cartridge 6 x 0.48. C245914 Blade Cartridge 109. C245913 Blade Cartridge 21 - knives and wide blades are good for desoldering. I also experiment with knife tips for soldering chips with many legs. They do work nice with enough flux. There are more blade tips of different sizes to choose from. They can be purchased when needed but I just wanted the big one for testing.10. C245912 Bevel Cartridge Ø 3 mm11. C245766 Bevel Cartridge Ø 5 mm - these are bevel chisels (often called B shaped tips). I use them rarely now because I found yet better tips for the same jobs as you see below.12. C245790 Barrel Cartridge Ø 0.813. C245785 Barrel Cartridge Ø 1.514. C245763 Barrel Cartridge Ø 2.5 - I use the small barrel 0.8 mm tip for through hole parts almost exclusively. It does take some time to get used to it as it is not always clear when it is covered with solder where the notch is exactly, but I do like the good contact to wire and pad that it has. Now, when I was small and had iron with copper rods as tips, I used to bevel them and also I would cut the notch with a saw. That was so nice for the through hole as wire would fit into that notch while the bevel touches the pad. This small barrel allows me to do exactly this. But nowadays don't try to change modern tips with a saw - they are plated outside to protect copper and will dissolve in the tin quickly if you do that. Other two of 1.5 mm and 2.5 mm are not tested yet but should be a better match for thick wires as advertised.15. C245965 Mini Spoon Cartridge Ø 1.916. C245067 Spoon Cartridge Ø 2.3 (slightly bent)17. C245931 Mini Spoon Cartridge Ø 2.7 - these are for drug soldering, as they say. I had moderate success with them and probably not enough time with them to say much. Also 19 is supposedly good for that, too.18. C245754 Drag Cartridge 0.75 - I saw it in use in Marco Reps video. This is just soooo nice for soldering on rows of Arduino headers and such. Highly recommended.19. C245102 Bevel Cartridge Ø 2 - tip with only face tinned, means solder can only adhere to the flat surface only. I got it recently and want to test how it works with soldering chips (QFP package). This one and the small knife C245789 have a smaller tinned surface and both supposedly work nice for chips. To be experimented.20. C245017 Chip Cartridge 2.2 - tip for desoldering SMD resistors and such with package length up to 2 mm. While a wide enough chisel or knife (or better yet tweezers) can be used for this, I just wanted to see what it is good for. Unfortunately, I haven't had an opportunity to test yet. And I did get recently Sequre HT-140 tweezers and a couple of knife shaped C120 cartridges from JBC to use with them. So again something to experiment still.I distaste conical tips. I get the idea that it is like one tip for all sizes - depending on which part of it to use you get a tip of different thickness or diameter. But I can match a better tip for all my tasks. Besides, I have a small chisel tip that is almost like pointing anyway. Perhaps as do all tip for rare soldering it can be. But I personally never used it for soldering. Otherwise, I have TS-100 soldering iron which comes with such a tip if I ever need that.Now that I have all of these tips, which ones I would buy again, you might ask? Most used as of now are 2, 5, 12 and 18, followed by 7 for desoldering. But then again, chisel and bevel tips of appropriate size can do a lot, too.Any more thoughts or applications of particular tips to share?

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2025, 11:16:07 pm
content: ~$800 in tips, damn.Other than the regular chisel cartridge, recommendations are quite use dependent on what tips one person likes IMO. But its interesting that you prefer the bent chisel, maybe that is superior to straight chisel?I use bent conical for fine rework and its great, looks like this:https://www.jbctools.com/c245034-conical-bent-cartridge-o-04-product-363.html

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2025, 04:18:41 am
content: A lower contact angle makes a stronger joint so rather than the barrel tip I'd just use a chisel and dab a little solder to bridge to the component leg if it was a problem.Explained in this video:Edit:I'm not saying there isn't a marginal case for those barrel style tips as custom tips are needed for certain applications but I'd not replace chisels for them. It probably makes the average solderer perform worse joints.

author: eleguy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2025, 06:07:31 am
content: Thanks for the extensive listing. I got inspired from this and going to buy and try (one) barrel cartridge to see if feels any different/better compared to "normal" chisel.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2025, 06:21:13 am
content: Quote from: Shock on March 03, 2025, 04:18:41 amHuh? How do you figure? A larger contact area with the tip means better heat transfer, as well as causes the tip to pull back more excess solder.

author: thikone
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2025, 01:40:19 pm
content: Quote from: thm_w on February 28, 2025, 11:16:07 pmYes, pricy, and they do cover all the holes in station and additional cartridge holder that I have.And now the compact station CD-2B price pales in comparison...But I couldn't find out otherwise what difference of having those special tips do. (Lengthy rant in my mother language would be here.)Those who buy them for production and such do not make reviews, unfortunately.Quote from: thm_w on February 28, 2025, 11:16:07 pmI did use mostly bevel and chisel tips in my life. Starting with an old iron with a nichrome heating element and a pure copper tip. But then I also did some modifications to those copper tips. Yes, their life span was limited and they were dissolving in tin after a dozen of hours, but at lest you could shape them without regrets. The one mod that I liked to do the most is to make a notch with a hacksaw to the tip of bevel tip. It makes a better contact when soldering through hole parts - the face touches the pad and the wire goes into the notch. Also the notch acts as solder reservoir, like with those spoon shapes for drag soldering.Bevel or hoof with a notch:Chisel with round notch (similar shape happens with degradation of copper tin too), it was good for tinning and soldering wires:I guess these experiments gave me motivation to buy all those tips. I knew there can be something better than bevel or chisel for a given job. That is why I like C245790 Barrel Cartridge Ø 0.8 so much:As for the bent chisel, it is equivalent to chisel at 90 degree to the pad when soldering SMD, but more convenient to hold, of course. It has slightly better contact to the pad and the part than when put at an angle to the pad. Not by much, you might argue. But there is also gravity at work here. I like to use resin as flux and it somehow flows better with the bent chisel.Quote from: thm_w on February 28, 2025, 11:16:07 pmI wanted to try this bent conical tip, though maybe more slimmer version. Might be my last shape to try.

author: thikone
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2025, 03:23:04 pm
content: Quote from: Shock on March 03, 2025, 04:18:41 amThat is again gives a reason to search for a better tip, isn't it? For one, bent chisel tip has a better contact, as it touches at once the leg or the wire and the pad, with parallel surfaces.And this video got me thinking about solder and flux again.First of all, this is a good weather case - the parts are fresh, PCB is fresh, no oxidation. No problem occurs and no problem solving is shown. Efficient for production, probably, as certification suggests.And I guess I am not big fan for feeding solder to a joint either. First time I saw this technique on YouTube I did try it too. But then it didn't stick with me. It requires two free hands and coordination of two things at once. Carrying solder with iron and concentrating only on one hand is much more relaxing. That also means that I have to use additional flux in some form as whatever was in solder is gone in a second. I tend to use solid resin (with a nice smell as in good old times, I suppose?).As for the barrel tip, I wish it had bigger surface to contact the pad and I also wish it would be more obvious where the notch is for the smaller 0.8 mm size (it is hard to tell when it is filled with solder). And then I first take some solder, tip the resin and then touch the joint, if that would make any difference...

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2025, 11:18:01 am
content: The dabbing technique is meant to be superior for wetting as it distributes flux over time. It's also to control the amount of solder applied (along with the wire size).Same goes for external flux, not saying you can't get an acceptable joint without it. It's more just for optimal wetting.For soldering wires I use a large chisel (one of these shown below) and make a small molten pool on the side of the tip. I have a notched chisel it's primarily sold as a smd chip removal tip as far as I'm aware. Many ways to skin a cat.