JBC Tools CD-1BQF not able to solder ground plane for lead free solder - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: helloThere
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2025, 01:45:29 pm
content: Hello!I just bought a JBC CD-1BQF to replace my 7-10 year old Weller 1010NA. I'm not good at soldering and it's always been my weakness in EE; I usually get all my boards and everything full turnkeyed.I bought this JBC iron to try and make it so I wouldn't be so bad at soldering. I tried soldering a buck regulator board that I have been designing and the solder just won't flow into the joints. It's like it's not getting to a high enough temperature, but the temperature is set to 700F. I use lead free solder and a decent amount of liquid flux, but it just won't flow. ENERSYSTEC lead free solder and DIDOZON liquid flux. The liquid flux feels like it doesn't do anything. I use lead free because I oftentimes touch my laptop/other equipment and I don't want to clean everything thoroughly off after every use.I know leaded solder is much much easier to use.I also find that my lungs always feel not great after soldering even though I have a fume extractor.I bought knock-off tips off of Amazon and during my first use with the iron a "Earth fuse tripped warning" appeared when I tried replacing one of the tips; I checked the fuse and it was fine.I'm just disappointed because I spent a decent chunk of money on this equipment and it didn't solve any of my issues. The tips also oxidized super quickly. Is the station broken or something? It doesn't go up to high/100% power even if it's not getting the solder to flow?If you look at the picture I added, the ground plane through hole capacitor pin was just not flowing. It was like the iron was barely heated. It would melt solder on the iron, but when it came to applying heat to the board it just didn't flow the joint. It would flow to the leg of the THT capacitor and then basically just make a blob on the hole. The pin on the power line flowed into a decent joint, but I couldn't get either ground pins to flow well. I tried applying more liquid flux too.Should I return the iron? I'm very frustrated. Everybody is telling me to buy more equipment to make things easier, but I've already sunken a decent amount of money into this and as a student it's tough to spend more money.

author: shabaz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2025, 02:00:12 pm
content: Hi ,None of the top brand (or even midrange) irons would have any trouble with that whatsoever, but you're using no-name consumables so who knows for sure what's really going on, unfortunately.One small data point, I inadvertently used a clone JBC tip (it came with a portable soldering iron) in my genuine JBC station and it never worked the same after that, it didn't heat up correctly. But I can't be sure if it was just coincidence, it was an old JBC station. I have since got a new JBC CD station similar to yours, and no problems at all (only using genuine JBC tips and brand consumables from a known distributor). Even with a very small tip, it will melt solder on a ground plane very rapidly (as most brand soldering irons can do, particularly when the heater is in very close proximity or integrated with the tip).

author: helloThere
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2025, 02:02:34 pm
content: Should I refund it then? I literally just got it. I am still within warranty period and I could buy genuine tips.

author: shabaz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2025, 02:06:13 pm
content: Hi,You mention you're a student, personally, if it were me, there's no way I'd be buying such an expensive soldering station. You're supposed to be concentrating on learning, so you won't be doing much soldering. There are plenty of low-cost soldering stations especially from ebay (which offers returns too usually).

author: helloThere
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2025, 02:16:58 pm
content: I bought this as a graduation present because I'm going to grad school. I just really wanted to get good at soldering because it's always been my biggest hurdle in EE. I love the design side of things.

author: shabaz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2025, 02:44:15 pm
content: The Weller 1010NA is already a better tool than most students will be using prior to work exposure. It should have no issue with the PCB you've shown.Using no-name consumables (flux, solder) could be the issue, but you're best placed to experiment and try borrowing decent solder/flux from your uni etc.If you're still having trouble then perhaps you could wait for on-the-job training at your future workplace, and see first-hand how others solder and what they use, and then purchase what you need/want for personal use. You'll be earning then, and less price-sensitive with the consumables.

author: helloThere
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2025, 02:59:34 pm
content: I have about 1.5 years of full time work experience during school doing electronic design and everybody just expects you to know how to solder already. I can do basic stuff, but would use a tech for most advanced or harder rework.

author: loki42
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2025, 03:10:48 pm
content: First thing, I don't think leaded is easier than lead free. I just want to squash that myth that's very popular here. There's a ton of different solders and some work way better than others. 100c for me is much nicer than SAC305 or that nasty Pb stuff. Also, I much prefer soldering irons without temperature controls so people can't turn the temperature up. You never need to. I know Dave likes them but I don't know if he's ever done production soldering. Curie point irons do all the temperatures I've ever needed, the one the solder needs. You only need to change temp if you're using low temp solder like bismuth stuff. Always down, never up.What is the actual problem you're having? Either poor solder choice or almost always wrong tip. Get your conical, put it in the special occasions section or the bin. Then put in a nice big chisel tip. Bigger is better. More contact area is better. Make sure the tip is wet and you should be good.Oh and never use tips from Amazon. I'd recommend never buying anything from them and get them from a proper supply shop.

author: shabaz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2025, 03:15:03 pm
content: You're unlikely to be expected to know how to do anything advanced or rework for your first job. You might never need to know these skills.The board you show is not advanced, that can be done with a $10 soldering iron.If you feel you need high-end tools (only you can know for sure) then it's not wise to skimp on the consumables, because you're a beginner and you have no idea if the tools are at fault, or the consumables, or your technique.In summary, the tool you purchased is a high-end one, if it is functioning properly, it would have had no problem with the task that you showed. Of course, that is contingent on using functioning soldering bits too (and if they are not a known brand then all bets are off) and on using at least reasonably quality flux and solder (and again, if you're purchasing unknown brands, or from a no-name supplier, then it's hard to know if they are faulty, or your technique or tools). Whether you return it, retry, or try changing some of the variables, try different suppliers, are things you'd need to decide. I've offered my suggestion.

author: helloThere
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2025, 04:12:53 pm
content: It must be the no name flux and solder. I've never had this much trouble soldering with any other equipment. This is new solder and it didn't work well on my 1010NA either. Debating on returning the iron or not? It seems to function okay, the tips seem to be the issue. Maybe I should just buy new tips + solder + flux?

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2025, 04:46:03 pm
content: With so many variables (no-name flux, no-name solder, no-name tips) it’s hard to name a culprit.But I’d be willing to bet that if you used a quality name-brand flux, quality name-brand solder, and genuine JBC tips, soldering becomes a breeze.Get some good solder like Kester (my favorite for leaded; haven’t tried their lead-free), AIM, Indium, Felder (my favorite so far for lead-free).And good flux like genuine Amtech, Chip-Quik, MG Chemicals, SRA, etc.Pretty much anything you can get from DigiKey or Mouser is good quality, though you’ll likely find it elsewhere a bit cheaper. Just make sure you get either rosin (ROL0, ROL1, ROM0, ROM1), resin (same codes but with RE instead of RO), or no-clean (any of those same 8 codes) flux. Other types are corrosive.

author: helloThere
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2025, 05:01:08 pm
content: Okay I'll buy some more stuff. Y'all have convinced me. I really want to commit myself to finally getting good at soldering.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2025, 09:18:30 pm
content: Even though the Enersystec Sn99 Ag0.3 Cu0.7 is noname and I wouldn't buy it, it has many positive reviews on Amazon and elsewhere. I'd suspect something else is wrong and a video of a soldering attempt might help.As others suggested, maybe the noname tips, the temperature could be off or they could just be crap. Decent clone tips do exist, never heard of "Veco-t", another amazon brand it looks like. Knife tips seem to perform worse than chisel, from my experience (probably just the added length?).Quote from: helloThere on May 30, 2025, 01:45:29 pmWhat are you using for extraction?Quote from: loki42 on May 30, 2025, 03:10:48 pmOf course its easier, the melting point alone makes it easier to use, its a simple fact. "Leaded solder is easier to use, has a lower melting point, is low cost, and causes fewer quality problems with the solder joints than lead-free solder"https://www.eptac.com/blog/leaded-vs-lead-free-solder-which-is-betterLiterally the only thing worse about leaded solder is the health concern, which OP wanted to avoid which is a fine choice.Comparison:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOQJcMRU7kc

author: DavidAlfa
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2025, 10:44:12 pm
content: First of all, which solder are you using? Some flow really bad.Get some decent flux!

author: loki42
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2025, 11:58:38 pm
content: Quote from: thm_w on May 30, 2025, 09:18:30 pmIf the melting point is what matters then we should all use bismuth or indium etc low temp solders. Super easy to melt! Some solder wants to stick to the iron more than the pad, some flows faster and more easily, some let's you move more slowly when doing 0402 metric or smaller stuff. I think flux makes a much larger difference than alloy but alloy does matter too.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2025, 12:40:52 am
content: Quote from: loki42 on May 30, 2025, 11:58:38 pmThe downside to bismuth solders are:- brittle (though BiSnAg is quite good)- more expensive (retail ~2-3x the price)- worse thermal conductivity (19W/mk vs 50-80 for Pb and Pb free)- lower surface tensionI haven't tried indium.Due to the surface tension issue, I don't know if I would say Bi always easier than Pb. But, it definitely is if you have temperature sensitive components (LEDs, cheap plastic connectors).

author: Accu-Sembly
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2025, 06:29:39 pm
content: As it stands, your JBC unit is an excellent choice and should not be the problem. 130W on a T245 handle is high end production level equipment. Also, the "power" chart on the screen does not indicate a problem. I can plow through thick copper pours with no thermal relief and barely scratch 30% power on a DDE unit. All that visual is good for is verifying you are making good thermal contact with your target.I know it's a real long shot, but if you are located anywhere close to us, you can bring your iron and PCB here. I will use our tip tester to verify your tip temps are accurate and let you use a variety of authentic JBC tips, and name brand solder/flux. I can eliminate your tools being an issue. I'd even be willing to demonstrate what tip selection I would use and soldering technique.If you are not anywhere near southern California and you are willing to give some personal information out to a stranger over the internet via email, I will mail you some solder, flux, and a tip cleaner. I can't use them for production because traceability was broken on them. That means nothing to a hobbyist, but it's an issue for our industry.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2025, 09:10:21 pm
content: Quote from: thm_w on May 30, 2025, 09:18:30 pmIndeed, there is no question that lead solder is easier to work with. But I think people WILDLY exaggerate the difference.However, I really don’t think the temperature is the big difference. It’s the reduced wetting action of most lead-free alloys. But some of the newer alloys (the ones doped with germanium, nickel, etc) are actually damned close to leaded.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2025, 10:11:14 pm
content: Quote from: tooki on June 04, 2025, 09:10:21 pmAgree in general yes. If I get a chance I will try this:https://www.digikey.ca/en/products/detail/chip-quik-inc/SMD-SC-CQ100GE-0-031-1OZ/22592571looks interesting, Sn99.2 Cu0.7 Ni0.05 Ge0.006The temperature is a difference in terms of making soldering more forgiving. If you have a good technique and good equipment, or perfectly temperature controlled reflow setup, sure its not much of an issue. But if you are dealing with delicate parts, aluminum/copper PCB, etc. some just are not possible to rework with lead-free using manual processes (see PDF). Whereas leaded or bismuth rework may be possible.https://look.ams-osram.com/m/63b5af20485e09e4/original/Manual-lead-free-soldering-of-LEDs.pdf

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2025, 06:42:14 am
content: I didn’t say temperature doesn’t matter. All I’m saying is that people frequently ONLY blame the temperature as the cause for the difference, and I don’t think that is correct. If it were, then I would need to increase my iron temperature by 44 degrees C when using my 227C SnCuNiGe lead-free, compared to 63/37. But in practice, 0-20 degrees more is typically sufficient.Lead simply wets better than tin. And it took a while to find lead-free alternatives that restore its wetting ability. This point is unknown to many, and lost on many more.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2025, 09:21:09 pm
content: Yes, as seen in the chart above the minimum temperature went up 25C (300C to 325C), not the full 44C as you explain.A 0C increase over the lowest usable lead soldering temperature solder seems unlikely. I assume you are already at 330C or something as it is for leaded.

author: gamalot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2025, 10:23:49 pm
content: I use a JBC soldering station, genuine tips, and Kester 63/37 solder wire. For a simple PCB like yous, there is no need to use additional flux at all.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2025, 10:04:53 pm
content: Quote from: thm_w on June 05, 2025, 09:21:09 pmCorrect, my typical tip temp is 320-330, depending on the tip shape/size.