Keeping your soldering iron tip clean

[UP_Phill]

I posted this over on Trainboard as well.

Over time you will find that your soldering iron tip gets extremely cruddy. Even wiping it on a damp sponge won't get all of the deposits off. Over time the solder won't flow smoothly (balls up) and it becomes increasingly frustrating to get a decent solder joint.

Well, Sal Ammoniac (Ammonium chloride) is the answer. It comes as a solid block, is white in colour and doesn't give off any toxic byproducts. After a soldering session, just wipe the tip over the block a few times, add a tiny bit of solder, another wipe and your done. The tip will look like new. I found this stuff about 3 months back and it has definitely increased the life of my tips. It's also extremely cheap and will last you a lifetime.

You can get it in the US here => http://www.glassmart.com/salammoniac.asp

In Aus => http://www.glassworld.com.au/shop/prod1242.htm

[DKS]

Yes, this tip cleaner works very well;I had one tip last me about 15 years using this stuff regularly. I used to be able to get it at Radio Shack in a small tin that you can attach to the soldering iron stand. Not sure if they still have it; Radio Shack seems to be useful only for batteries and cell phones any more.

One "don't" on tip cleaning: some folks use a file to get the crud off. Most good tips are plated with an iron alloy for longer life, and filing removes the plating, which in turn severly shortens the life of the tip.

[Chris333]

I used to file   :-\

smarter now   

[tom mann]

What iron do you guys recommend?  And what brand flux and solder?

[diezmon]

hmm, I've always just lightly scraped the crud off with a single edge razor..( picture the same motion when you're peeling a carrot )  I've been using the thing for years and it still works like a champ

[DKS]

What iron do you guys recommend?  And what brand flux and solder?

I've had several different irons, and actually I've found the brand is not as important as the type: thermostatted is recommended. Currently I have a model that has a digital readout of the tip temperature, which is very handy. Temperature control not only allows very precise soldering (crank it up for larger parts, keep it low for fine electronics), but extends tip life by years. Previously I had a simpler one with a fixed temperature setting and no readout; I had it for over 15 years, and never replaced the tip. It still works, but I needed something with much finer control so I could work with SMDs and such.

I also have a big old non-thermostatted clunker, a cheap Radio Shack unit, that I reserve for big ugly soldering jobs where I need brute force and my thermostatted iron just can't deliver enough heat.

[sparky]

I have a Weller thermostat controlled unit for general soldering.

For fine work like decoders and SMDs, I use the pencil unit from Ngineering.  This is a nice, professional quality unit and makes soldering miniature joints much easier.  I also ordered a selection of tips.

http://www.ngineering.com/soldering.htm

[Ian MacMillan]

For irons I use an industrial Weller thermostat controlled Soldering station (its battleship green). And I always tin my tip before I turn it off and have kept my tips useful for a long time. I will try Sal Ammoniac.


For the other stuff I use a resistance unit. Which I found doesn't work as well as I'd like when doing handlaid turnouts.

[DKS]

And what brand flux and solder?

For flux: Stay-Clean. Available from Micro Mark. It comes in a kit with some silver-based solder. Stay-Clean is very fluid, like water, and you only need to use tiny amounts. One little container will last years. It's very active, gets the solder to flow at lightning speeds into every little crevice. Works on hard-to-solder metals like steel. It's also water-based so it's easier to clean up. Once I was introduced to it (many years ago by Rick Spano), I've never used anything else.

http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=80822

Thanks in part to Stay-Clean, I built this Micron Art bridge in an afternoon.

[img width= height=]http://lh3.google.com/dks2855/R2KjW_wJRxI/AAAAAAAABeQ/Zm4_D8uGVbM/s800/IMG_4103.JPG[/img]

[tom mann]

Thanks in part to Stay-Clean, I built this Micron Art bridge in an afternoon.

Wow, amazing.

[justTRAINcRaZy]

A friend told me about wiping the tip on a steel scouring pad like you would do with a sponge. So far, it seems to work rather well at least during use. Long term may need some additional help.

[asciibaron]

i soldered billions of pads in my time as an electronics tech in a prototype design shop.  i used Weller and Pace soldering irons (Pace mostly for SMT re-work) with varible temp control.  i used a damn sponge to clean the tip during work and used an X-acto to remove the scale that would form over time.  after i scrapped the scale off, i would dip the tip into flux paste (gray tin with GSA numbers/coding) and then re-tin the tip. 

i was taught this technique in my Mil-spec soldering course.

as for solder...

the new solder is going to be very problematic down the road with the high tin content - whiskers grow, ask AT&T and Intel.  i'm buying all the old 60/40 solder i can get my hands on at hamfests.  there will be a black market for this stuff once people run out and have problems with the new stuff.

-steve

[Dupesy]

For the other stuff I use a resistance unit. Which I found doesn't work as well as I'd like when doing handlaid turnouts.

Does that mean I can get it back soon? ;D

[Bob Bufkin]

I need to get a new soldering iron - any suggestions on which one to use.

[Ian MacMillan]

For the other stuff I use a resistance unit. Which I found doesn't work as well as I'd like when doing handlaid turnouts.

Does that mean I can get it back soon? ;D

Sorry, I dont travel to Mass! ;D