steviejr92
Authorized Vendor
The soldering iron you suggested in your first post is the one I have and it works perfectly fine.
Which soldering iron do you like?
- Thread starter Locrian99
- Start date
Guardians of the analog
Papi Fuego
And finding the right solder was the other part of the equation. Once I found my favorite solder and had a quality iron my technique got to a point where I didn't have to think about soldering and I could focus on more important parts of building
Harry Klippton
Well-known member
I adjust mine all the time depending on what I'm doing
Passinwind
Well-known member
Out of those I use 4-5 routinely, but these are my daily drivers:
^ 1.2mm screwdriver
^ 1mm elliptical
Top one for all surface mount components save the ICs and 0805 or smaller components, which I use the bottom one for. Easier to pre-tin the pads with the bottom one too, especially for the ICs. Then I use the standard 1.6mm chisel tip for most through hole components, 2.4mm chisel for jacks and heavier wires, and the bigger ones for chassis grounds, desoldering ICs and pots, and tinning big power traces or very heavy wires, and the smallest conical for rework such as clearing solder bridges or repairing broken traces. I'm also trying to keep a few dedicated for lead free soIder work only. I rarely need to change my heat setting, going to a tip with more or less thermal reserve usually works better for me.
Passinwind
Well-known member
For me, only to adjust for different solder types, of which I have several.
Big Monk
Well-known member
At the risk of demonstrating my ignorance, mine just ramps to 750 °F and Stays there.
All the time.
Phil hodson
Well-known member
What’s your secret solder? You said you don’t have to clean your boards and they look truly fantastic. Mine scrub up ok but a lot of flux is left after the Initial solder.
Laundryroom David
Keyboard Cowboy 🤠
Curious as well.
I know this may be controversial, but I like using rosin core sac305.
Alan W
Well-known member
if you’re getting good results at 750, no need to change. It depends on the specific solder you’re using, the type of tip you prefer, and how much heat sink the parts you’re working with have. As long as you’re getting good results, no need to change anything. Some parts are more heat sensitive than others, but speed tends to trump lower temperatures, so getting in fast and getting a good flow is your goal.
Just yesterday, @Guardians of the analog posted a video on removing pots; one of his tricks was to up the temp to 850 for desoldering—a good example of when you might want a different temp.
For years I used the Hakko 888 knob version, and slowly bought a number of tips for it. Heavier, wide tips for larger components, etc. A few years ago I got the bottom feeder Pace station, and it is a definite upgrade. (I think the Hakko 9xx is very similar.) it comes up to temperature in a second. I end up using the same tip most of the time, but do find myself hot swapping tips with some regularity. It comes with a little gripper—you pull the hot tip off, plug in a new one, and before I have the iron at the board, it’s up to temp. The Pace tips are about half the cost of the Hakko tips, and I have both a larger and smaller chisel tip that have heat reservoirs at the tip end that act a bit like a turbo charger.
Sure—it’s a luxury. It’s also great to realize that a tip with a bend in it would make it easier to reach a pad, and just switch to one, without breaking your stride.
RetiredUnit1
Well-known member
The techs at Paramount studios (my friend Bob worked there for 30 years) keep their set at 743f/395c. I figure they have Master's degrees, probably know more than I do. I use one tip for everything, never a problem. As a mechanic my dad used to repair radiators, you should have seen his 200w iron!!
Tip life: don't use the brillo pads, they eat tips. Tips cleaned with wet sponges last ten times as long. I'd rather buy sponges than tips. And on that note, I'm overdue on about 20 hours of house work. See you guys tomorrow, lol....
Tip life: don't use the brillo pads, they eat tips. Tips cleaned with wet sponges last ten times as long. I'd rather buy sponges than tips. And on that note, I'm overdue on about 20 hours of house work. See you guys tomorrow, lol....
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Locrian99
Well-known member
Sounds like the Hakko is the way to go.
Funny thing is I never had any problem with the 15$ one I started with. It had a temp control, worked great but did take a bit to get up to temp. Feels like it just doesn’t hold temp anymore though.
Great info in this discussion though.
Funny thing is I never had any problem with the 15$ one I started with. It had a temp control, worked great but did take a bit to get up to temp. Feels like it just doesn’t hold temp anymore though.
Great info in this discussion though.
Laundryroom David
Keyboard Cowboy 🤠
Sounds like the Hakko is the way to go.
Funny thing is I never had any problem with the 15$ one I started with. It had a temp control, worked great but did take a bit to get up to temp. Feels like it just doesn’t hold temp anymore though.
Great info in this discussion though.
andare
Well-known member
I set my Pinecil to 350C, if I hold down the + button it boosts to 400C and injects as much power as possible. Useful for turrets and any connections with a large mass.
As soon as I put it down it cools down to 150C, which preserves the tip's life. It ramps up to 350C in 5 seconds when I pick it up. I use a small hoof tip. Looking to get some of the new shorter tips, which should be even faster.
Still trying to find 63/37 solder.
As soon as I put it down it cools down to 150C, which preserves the tip's life. It ramps up to 350C in 5 seconds when I pick it up. I use a small hoof tip. Looking to get some of the new shorter tips, which should be even faster.
Still trying to find 63/37 solder.
Harry Klippton
Well-known member
Guardians of the analog
Papi Fuego
I use this. It has less flux than the no clean stuff. The only thing I clean is the little bit on the tip side of the board around pot and switch lugs.
Kester 24-6337-8800 50 Activated Rosin Cored Wire Solder Roll, 245 No-Clean, 63/37 Alloy, 0.031" Diameter https://a.co/d/bO6g9EF
