Soldering Iron

[Larry]

Got a question about a 30 watt soldering iron. I've been using this iron for about 5 years. Never had a tinning problem w/it until today. I've replaced the tip twice in that time. The solder just beads up like it's not melting on the tip. I've used a rough pc. of Oak to rub the tip on all these years for tinning & in the past that has always worked. When the tip gets pitted I always regrind the end to make it med. sharp. What am I doing wrong? I looked on the net today for some tips, but was unable to find anything I needed.

 

[dpeterson3]

Does the tip look a little bluish/black? If it does, then it is oxidized. To fix that, I usually take my dike, apply a little pressure along the tip, and scrape it until it is nice and shiny metal and more importantly, will take solder. Clean it every so often while using it and it won't do that as often. If it still won't heat, grind it a little to clean it. Unless the tip is 100% shot, that will fix it.

 

[Larry]

Does the tip look a little bluish/black? If it does, then it is oxidized. To fix that, I usually take my dike, apply a little pressure along the tip, and scrape it until it is nice and shiny metal and more importantly, will take solder. Clean it every so often while using it and it won't do that as often. If it still won't heat, grind it a little to clean it. Unless the tip is 100% shot, that will fix it.

The tip is real shiney. I clean it everytime after I solder something w/a damp sponge. What else could I use to rub the tip on to keep it clean so it stays tinned?
It takes solder OK, it just beads up like it's not hot enough. When I'm tinning a pc. of wire it acts like the solder wants to stay on the tip & not bond w/the wire. Crazy.

 

[Rotorranch]

Larry, unlike 30-40 years ago, many tips now are plated. Sanding or filing removes the plating, which can be detrimental to the tip, and it's ability to tin and hold solder. If touching the tip to paste flux, and retinning doesen't help, go to a GOOD hardware store and get a sal ammoniac block. With the iron hot, wipe the tip on the sal ammoniac block, and retin with solder. Repeat as necessary until the tip is properly tinned.

After soldering, tin the tip well with fresh solder before you turn the iron off.

I always use a damp sponge to wipe the tip before and after soldering, and I always add solder after wiping, especially is the iron is going to "idle" between soldering jobs.

Rotor

 

[Larry]

Larry, unlike 30-40 years ago, many tips now are plated. Sanding or filing removes the plating, which can be detrimental to the tip, and it's ability to tin and hold solder. If touching the tip to paste flux, and retinning doesen't help, go to a GOOD hardware store and get a sal ammoniac block. With the iron hot, wipe the tip on the sal ammoniac block, and retin with solder. Repeat as necessary until the tip is properly tinned.

After soldering, tin the tip well with fresh solder before you turn the iron off.

I always use a damp sponge to wipe the tip before and after soldering, and I always add solder after wiping, especially is the iron is going to "idle" between soldering jobs.

Rotor

Thanks Rotor, I'll do all of the above, plus, I'll get a new tip for my iron.

Larry

 

[Rotorranch]

Hope it helps Larry. If all else fails, the new tip should fix the problem. Just remember to tin the new tip well as soon as it gets hot enough to take solder.

Rotor