I need a new tip for my iron!!!

[Bill Mountain]

Like many of you I have a Weller (WP-35) Soldering Iron.  I usually buy whatever tips they have at the shop near me but I will be adding one to my next smallbear order.

What size do you like to use and why?  I prefer a fatter tip because it heats up quicker but it makes tight PCB's a challenge.  Is there a happy medium (without investing in a new iron just yet)?

[Mark Hammer]

I don't know what prompted the need for a new tip, but I'll pass on one of my own.

For years I was using a damp sponge (the one that came with the iron holder) to clean off the tip, and it seemed like I had to buy a new tip every 6 months because the previous one had dwindled away to nothing.  Something about the moisture, or perhaps te temperature difference was eating away the tip, wipe by wipe.  Someone recommended using the curly metal pads to clean the tip, so I bought a package of 3 at the dollar store, and have been happily using the same tip for something like 4 years now, with no signs of it being anywhere near its end-of-life.  Electronics places will try and sell you a cleaning pad for eight bucks or something, but the curly copper (or in my case brass) pads do a fabulous job wiping off any crap on the tip.

[Bill Mountain]

I don't know what prompted the need for a new tip, but I'll pass on one of my own.

For years I was using a damp sponge (the one that came with the iron holder) to clean off the tip, and it seemed like I had to buy a new tip every 6 months because the previous one had dwindled away to nothing.  Something about the moisture, or perhaps te temperature difference was eating away the tip, wipe by wipe.  Someone recommended using the curly metal pads to clean the tip, so I bought a package of 3 at the dollar store, and have been happily using the same tip for something like 4 years now, with no signs of it being anywhere near its end-of-life.  Electronics places will try and sell you a cleaning pad for eight bucks or something, but the curly copper (or in my case brass) pads do a fabulous job wiping off any crap on the tip.

I use both.  But I prefer the metal scrubber stuffed in an ash tray.  I'll stop using the sponge based on your observations.  Thanks!


In this particular instance the tip missed holder in the base and got wedged into the side cooling vents.  I wasn't paying attention and in the struggle to remove it from the holder I put a nice 50-70 degree bend into the tip.


I tried to bend it back but it's starting to crack.


I want to order a backup for when it finally breaks.

[davent]

I don't have that iron but i do have various sizes of tips for my particular iron that i'll swap around depending on the job at hand.

dave

[Ice-9]

I don't know what prompted the need for a new tip, but I'll pass on one of my own.

For years I was using a damp sponge (the one that came with the iron holder) to clean off the tip, and it seemed like I had to buy a new tip every 6 months because the previous one had dwindled away to nothing.  Something about the moisture, or perhaps te temperature difference was eating away the tip, wipe by wipe.  Someone recommended using the curly metal pads to clean the tip, so I bought a package of 3 at the dollar store, and have been happily using the same tip for something like 4 years now, with no signs of it being anywhere near its end-of-life.  Electronics places will try and sell you a cleaning pad for eight bucks or something, but the curly copper (or in my case brass) pads do a fabulous job wiping off any crap on the tip.

Strange as it may seem but I still use a wet sponge for cleaning my tips. I did say tips didn't I I'm still on the same tip and it still looks brand new and just like you mine is just under 4 years now on this main iron. I use my iron everyday and it gets about 4 hours min. each day.

I think it is important when fitting a new tip to tin it straight away (even though they are pre tinned) if you don't do this I find for some reason they don't like to take solder properly and are useless within weeks.

I use 1mm pointed tips, but I do a lot of TSOP48 SMD as well as other SMD so the small tips are needed, the drawback with small tips is when soldering anything with large(ish) wires etc. the tip can lose heat quickly. This is quite apparent when I am repairing a PCB that is machine built and uses unleaded solder, I will often have to feed some leaded solder onto the joint before being able to unsolder a component.

Ohh, and I don't know what I would do without my 'Irodo SolderPro 120' portable gas iron with hot air tip. (£39 and it's better than the Weller hot air station I have used at 20x the price.)

[LightSoundGeometry]

google and bing did not satisfy my request - hoping and wishing small bear would carry tips for the Weller WES51 pencil solder station.

[karbomusic]

google and bing did not satisfy my request - hoping and wishing small bear would carry tips for the Weller WES51 pencil solder station.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Weller+WES51+tips

Personally, I'd get a weller or other high quality tip, stay away from the cheapos.

[armdnrdy]

I started out with the same low cost Weller iron.

I was going through tips as well.

I searched the internet and found that temperature control is the way to go.

With the unregulated iron, the tip is constantly exposed to high heat that's above what we really need for general soldering duties.

I found the schematics for a basic Weller temperature controlled soldering station, and built it in a small enclosure with a single 120V receptacle on the front for the iron, and the temp control.

I have not had to change the tip since.

[Bill Mountain]

Cool tip.  Thanks!

[bloxstompboxes]

Cool tip.  Thanks!

I see what you did there.

[LightSoundGeometry]

google and bing did not satisfy my request - hoping and wishing small bear would carry tips for the Weller WES51 pencil solder station.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Weller+WES51+tips

Personally, I'd get a weller or other high quality tip, stay away from the cheapos.

i have purchased from ebay and amazon and believe i got fake tips ..weller tips should not go bad.

if you have had sucess I will give it a shot

edit, the temp control is it I am in agreement with you! sounds very logical

[karbomusic]

google and bing did not satisfy my request - hoping and wishing small bear would carry tips for the Weller WES51 pencil solder station.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Weller+WES51+tips

Personally, I'd get a weller or other high quality tip, stay away from the cheapos.

i have purchased from ebay and amazon and believe i got fake tips ..weller tips should not go bad.

if you have had sucess I will give it a shot

edit, the temp control is it I am in agreement with you! sounds very logical

The first one in the list is by Weller themselves. For something like a soldering tip, I've always hesitated on taking the chance with lowballing it. Seems to have worked, it's the only one I've had to buy thus far and I got it a couple years ago.

[thermionix]

I generally use a WP-25, I clean the tip with a dampened paper towel or two (white only, no ink, it's important) which I discard after a day's use.  I use Weller tips which last for years with pretty hard use.  The sponge never appealed to me, because it gets dirty, and I've never tried the metal stuff.

The temp-controlled irons are awesome, and what the 'real pros' use, but quite expensive.

I also have a super cheap Weller Marksman 40W that gets VERY hot, and it's great for doing chassis grounds in amps, but it eats tips for lunch.  I try not to keep it on any longer than I have to.  Sometimes I variac it for in-between work.

[strassercaster]

I have a radio shack soldering station . 25 bucks still have the chisel tip i use for offbaord wiring and pinball stuff.. I bought a pointier tip at my local electronics store for circuit boards. Both tips have made tens of thousands of solders . I dont use any thing but a small wire brush to clean my tip and only clean it if i knick a wire or get a little black build up usually every 100 solders . I would like to add I really love the radio shack desoldering iron it has a hollow tip its 45 watts and is super easy and fast to use. I have taken 40 pin chips off pinba;ll circuit board in as little as 2 minutes. now those tips dont last long at all maybe a few monthsa i have it on anytime my iron is on for clean up or removal of parts its super handy. My foirst one lasted 9 years . the second one lasted 2 years and i have had this new one for a few months. Leaving these on all the time is bad for the tips however they are only 2 dollars so i buy 5 and that lasts over a year.

[Bill Mountain]

So I ended up buying a new tip and it was the wrong brand.  Not sure how I screwed that up.

But I said f*** it and grabbed some pliers and bent my old one straight.  It held up to about 2 hours of soldering so far so I should be good to go.

I stopped using the sponge and I'm strictly using my wire scrubber now.

I do miss the sizzle of the iron on the sponge so I may have to record me frying some bacon then add it to my play list.

[duck_arse]

Bill, I believe there is a manual for bacon, somewheres.

I too have a "radio shack" iron, found in a bag of stuff, kept as a spare. since the weller died, I dug it out, and set the temp to usable. the original tip became black-ing unusable, and with nothing else to use, I chucked in a weller tip, slightly shorter than the original (and with a different temp control method). which is now destroying itself for plating, and probably fusing with the barrel.

but it gets hot. and doesn't black ALL the time.