Soldering Iron replacement

[lchyi]

How often do you guys do this? I seem to want to change it every 5-6 hours of soldering cause after that it's pretty black (I have a RS 30w iron).

sorry, I mean tip btw, how often do you replace the tip!

[delbowski]

hi...

i change mine about every couple months or so.  if you keep it clean and tinned it can last a long time.  guess it depends on how often you are using it too.

del

[Peter Snowberg]

I use the same tips for years at a time.

I clean them by applying more solder and taping off the excess along with all the gunk on the tip. If the gunk is stuck, I lightly scratch over it with a screwdriver to loosen it. Once in a while I give it a really good clean using a cleaner that looks like a brass scouring pad for dishes.

Always keep a layer of fresh solder on your tip.

It could be that your iron is a little too hot which causes the flux to burn up into gunk.

When you can spare $40 for a temperature controlled iron, I would recommend Circuit Specialists as a source.

[psiico]

I hate to sound like an idiot (although I do it so often, lol) but I don't understand the whole "clean" and "tinned" thing.  Which should I do, keep the tip clean or tinned?  Either there's something on it or there isn't?  Isn't it?

Okay, I'm just being a jerk there, but how do you keep it tinned, that I don't get.  I started this hobby just over a month ago and I'm already on my second tip (which needs replacing already) so obviously I'm doing something wrong.  I take a new tip, when first heated I tin it, then wipe it on the sponge, now it's no longer tinned.  If I don't wipe it it gunks up.  Either way when I use it wiping removes the tinning.  I should mention I got my second tip from a friend so it was pre-tinned, he said it was done right but I'm still screwing it up.  Now it only has tin on a small part of it and the whole thing is caving in as it melts away or whatever it is that it's doing.  He's not that good a friend so I can't exactly hang out with him and have him show me where I'm screwing up.  So what am I doing wrong?

[scumbag]

I'd like to know more about this too. The state of my soldering iron is utterly disgraceful.

It just always looks black and burned. I tin, I clean, but it always looks awful.

[JimRayden]

Here's what I do:

1. If the tip is new, right at the first heat-up, cover the tip with solder. There's never too much solder on the tip when it's not used.

2. When about to solder, shake off the excess solder and then wipe it on the sponge - lookin' shiny.

3. Solder a component, or if you're quick, two.

4. Tin the tip again. There's never too much solder when you do that. Mine is always almost dripping of solder.

5. When about to use, shake off the excess and wipe it in sponge. Go to checkpoint three.

6. When finishing with soldering, cover the tip in solder again, because it oxydises when it's cold, too.

Be careful when shaking off the excess solder, you might get some serious burns if you get too funky with it. I just do one fast movement towards a sheet of paper, that drops most of the solder off.

When The iron is hot and it's sitting in the holder, the tip is oxydising really fast. If the tip is tinned however, it's the tin that oxydises, not the tip itself. You can notice it turn brownish or black while it sits there. So when you shake/wipe off the solder, a shiny tip comes out from beneath it. If your tip turns black and collapses, you're not keeping a thick enough coat of solder on it.

This might not be the most scientific way but it works like a charm. I have this tip for quite some time and it's not showing any signs of giving up yet.

Scumbag: You only clean it before soldering, otherwise only tin.

------------
Jimbo

[scumbag]

Thanks Jim! I'm about due for a new tip on mine... seems like a good time to start some new good habits with it. 

[RaceDriver205]

If the tip looks a mess, clean it off then set upon it (with malice of course) with a piece of sand-paper until it is smooth and clear. Then cover it with solder and wipe off with the damp sponge. Ive never changed a tip (be like 5 years now) and its as good as new.

[JimRayden]

If the tip looks a mess, clean it off then set upon it (with malice of course) with a piece of sand-paper until it is smooth and clear. Then cover it with solder and wipe off with the damp sponge. Ive never changed a tip (be like 5 years now) and its as good as new.

The problem is that some (perhaps only the cheaper) solder tips have some kind of metal coating on them and the inside is too soft for soldering. I once tried to sand off the tip and it started to evaporate. Each time I soldered, it lost a millimeter until the cone part was totally gone. The inside metal looked alot like copper, the coating metal had a more grayish tone to it.

I bet the high end stuff is solid durable metal, not this kind of a stuffed turkey.
---------
Jimbo

[psiico]

Okay, I see where I was going wrong.  I've been soldering, tinning, then wiping and letting it sit.  Then solder, tin and wipe all over, so my tinning was doing nothing but waste solder.  Doh!  Thanks for the help guys.