Soldereing Iron Question

[mmais68569]

The soldering iron listed in the WIKI;
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Where can I get replacement tips & how often should these be replaced.

I am using another brand & the tips will not hold a point & need to be replaced after a very short time.

        Mike

[jnealand]

I buy mine from Fry Electronics, but a web search should turn up a lot of them.  I've bought replacement tips, but I only change tips when I want a different size tip.  To me if they still work ok I do not change them and other than getting black and looking bad, they work fine.  A little brush with a brass wire brush cleans them up good.

[mmais68569]

The ones I am using lose the point then I have to put them on a grinder to get it back. The longer I use one the more I have to regrind it. I guess they are just cheap Sears junk.

                    Mike

[bisquit476]

Hi Mike,

By grinding them they lose the coating on the outside which keeps them from being eaten away by the heat. If you look at this picture, the one on the left is one I ground down, it originally looked like the one in the center. After going with a solder station, and buying the different size tips, I haven't had to change one tip, unless I was changing the size.

[thestig]

Ive noticed my small tip has definitely worn out some. i have soldered two LE's and a dongle and I can already see that my point is not as sharp as it used to be. I just plan on picking up extras when I make it back to fry's one of these days.

Im using the cheap weller station and it has worked perfectly.

[Jeffl]

I used to purchase tips all the time from Radio Shack for a pencil.  After purchasing a xytronic station and tips I have not had one wear out yet.

[sebjsan]

Jefl- which one did you buy and where. 

[Jeffl]

This is the one I have and where I got it.  The only problem is its discontinued now.  Sure do like it though.  I would guess that the other models would work well also, I'm just not familiar with them.

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When buying tips you have to search around for the best price but it's nice having a few different sizes for smaller joints, standard size components, a large one for soldering wires etc.

[mms]

I'm not the soldering expert in my family, however my dad is.  Whenever he isn't using or anticipates a slight break in soldering action, he will load up the tip of the soldering iron with solder... lots of solder - and now with his fancier soldering station he turns the heat down too.  He will also do this before he turns the iron off.

I forget why he does it.  I want to say it helps to prevent the tip to from oxidizing and becoming brittle, but for some reason, I feel like I'm making that up. 

Nonetheless, when he's ready to solder again, he'll turn the heat back up, wipe the tip clean and with the freshly "tinned" tip, go back at it.  I can't remember him ever having to replace a tip, unless he needs a different size or my brother breaks it.

As for brands, I have a basic Weller model that was a hand-me-down.  I have another one that I'm guessing came from Harbor Freight.  It has adjustable heat control.  For electronics assembly, you wouldn't want more than 700 degrees for most parts.

That's my 2 cents.  Happy building!

Steve

[Titus]

mms, that is pretty much the same best practices that were taught in my electronics classes many years ago.