ECN Forum
Posted By: Trumpy Soldering Iron Tips - 04/12/03 10:35 PM
I have a Weller Soldering Station at home here, for repairs and the odd "Foriegner" for friends. [Linked Image]
But, I have noticed that the tip on it, is starting to get smaller and smaller.
I've had this unit for the last 7 years and the tip has been fine, up until a few months ago when I noticed this happening.
Could someone please explain why this is happening and especially why, after 7 years?.
I only use "Sav-Bit" 60/40 solder and keep the tip clean with the damp sponge, when I am using it.
It's like the tip has been dipped in some sort of Acid, it's just being eaten away, before my very eyes!.
This is very strange, any help on this one would be great!! [Linked Image]

[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 04-12-2003).]
Posted By: SvenNYC Re: Soldering Iron Tips - 04/13/03 02:50 AM
The tips do eventually wear out...especially if you use it a lot.

Have you tried contacting Weller about it?

If you replace the tip, I've heard that you should turn the temperature down (you have one of the neat adjustable temp irons, I assume?)when you're not using the iron so that it doesn't damage it, if you decide to keep it warm for instant use on the bench.

Here is Weller's website. They are now a part of Cooper tools (the same people that bought out the venerable Eagle Electric [Linked Image] ).
http://www.cooperhandtools.com/brands/weller/consumer_soldering.htm
Posted By: pauluk Re: Soldering Iron Tips - 04/13/03 01:48 PM
It could be that the outer cladding has finally worn away and that you're down to the base metal below it, which would then erode very quickly.

I replace the tips on a couple of my irons that are in frequent use every year or two.

On the temperature control issue, the fancy thermostatically regulated units are very nice, but for many years I had a very cheap and crude control consisting of wiring the hot supply line through a diode with a switch across it. When I wanted the iron to just "idle" for a while, flick the switch open and the power drops way down. It took only a few seconds to come back up to full temperature upon closing the switch again.
Posted By: Trumpy Re: Soldering Iron Tips - 04/13/03 10:33 PM
Thanks for the advice, guys. [Linked Image]
Paul, I think you are right about that coating on the tip, thank God I purchased a reasonably well-known Brand, at least I can get spares.
That's a good idea, for that diode temperature controller, I used to have a cheap Soldering Iron(before I got the Weller)and it was hooked up to a Light Dimmer Unit.
It worked well, until the Element in the Iron burned out(no spares available, either!).
Such is life. [Linked Image]
Posted By: Trumpy Re: Soldering Iron Tips - 04/14/03 10:55 PM
Sven,
Thanks a heap for that link, mate!. [Linked Image]
Have contacted Weller, they've got the spares, all right.
Thank God for that, that Soldering Station cost an arm and a leg, when I purchased it from RS Components!.
It's an EC3001AESP, in case anyone is wondering what sort of station, I am on about.
So it looks like I will get a few more years use out of it yet, which is good, because I really like the iron on that station, it's nice and light.
Paul, what sort of Iron/Soldering Station do you use?
Anyone else care to join in?. [Linked Image]
Posted By: Bill Addiss Re: Soldering Iron Tips - 04/14/03 11:54 PM
Trumpy,

It took me awhile to figure out that I was better off using the low wattage Iron that I had instead of the Weller Gun. That was after many blistered components. [Linked Image]

Bill
Posted By: Trumpy Re: Soldering Iron Tips - 04/15/03 09:20 PM
Bill,
What wattage was the gun?.
I think we've all over-heated the odd component or two.
I was a real shocker at this when I first learnt how to solder, burnt components lying all around me!. [Linked Image]
It got so bad the tracks would lift off of the PC board, too.
Wouldn't get away with that these days with really small components, over heat the board and 10-15 components come adrift (D**n
SMD devices). [Linked Image]
Posted By: Bill Addiss Re: Soldering Iron Tips - 04/16/03 05:29 AM
Trumpy,

I think the Gun is 100w does that sound right?
And I think the smaller pencil type I have is 25w.

Bill
Posted By: SvenNYC Re: Soldering Iron Tips - 04/16/03 05:49 AM
Bill, yup...you DEFINITELY DON'T WANT to use that 100 watt sucker on electronic parts. You'll cook them. Literally!!! [Linked Image]

I personally use Taiwanese-made Radio Shack-rebranded 30-watt and 40-watt pencil irons.

The 30 is good enough for most electronic work and the 40 is for more stubborn wires that need to be heated up a bit more. I'm looking for a 100-plus watt iron to use for soldering to radio chassis ... sometime in the near future.

I've had the 30-watt iron for about 6-7 years or so now....I'm on my fourth tip. I bought the 40 about three years ago.

The only problem with these cheepie irons is that if you leave them plugged in for a long time, the (bakelite handle on the old 30 and rubberized plastic on the 40) handle heats up...enough to be uncomfortable. That's when you know it's time to cut the power to the socket on the workbench and take a break. [Linked Image]
Posted By: pauluk Re: Soldering Iron Tips - 04/16/03 10:12 AM
A 25 or 30W iron is generally about right for a lot of electronics work. I have a Weller unit with interchangeable tips which is my general "workhorse."

For the really sub-miniature stuff, I use a tiny 12W pencil iron, although I find these days that I need to pull over the illuminated magnifier to see what I'm doing!

Also in the tool box are an old 75W Solon iron with a tip about 5/16", which is good where a little more heat is needed, such as for chassis tags etc. on some older equipment.

Bill,
I have a Weller soldering gun as well, which comes in handy for the really big stuff. Mine's the 200W version, but I have to dig out a 120V transformer to use it, as it's a U.S. version.
Posted By: Texas_Ranger Re: Soldering Iron Tips - 04/16/03 01:05 PM
I've got a stone-aged one, probably from the 1930ies. Wooden handle, black rubber cord, really heavy, 85W. I bought it for 70 cents!
It works great for soldering all kinds of wires, mostly patching phone cords. Phone wire is helluva expensive here, so I use lots of long scraps, and for occasional runs between floors I have to solder 2 of them together. When they renovated our school they threw away several pieces of brand new phone wire, up to 18m in length! Well, our government obviously can afford it. Back then they had the entire building wired twice because nothing worked the first time, and even then the bell system didn't work. The first weeks in the new building all teachers took their own alarm clocks.
Posted By: Bill Addiss Re: Soldering Iron Tips - 04/16/03 03:54 PM
Paul,

I went out and dug mine up and see that I have 2 Model 8200 Weller Guns. They're labeled 100/140 watts. Good for soldering wires I guess, but that's about it.

Bill
Posted By: SvenNYC Re: Soldering Iron Tips - 04/16/03 03:59 PM
Ragnar,

I know I've done it also in emergencies, but isn't just running a continous pair of telephone wire better than to solder old scraps together?

It's more reliable and there's less chance of that splice eventually breaking or generating noises on (at least your part) of the line.

Also, I never trust old station wire. The conductors are so fragile that you never know if there's an internal break until you have the whole system stapled to the wall and ready to test. [Linked Image]

Also isn't there a problem when you use computer modems on such a line (slowing down connections)?

How much is single-pair bell wire in Austria per meter? What about quad station wire and also Category-5?

It can't be that expensive can it?

There's one place where I got a nice big hank of brand new quad (about 100 feet) for $4. That stuff all comes from China now...so it should be cheap!! [Linked Image]

[This message has been edited by SvenNYC (edited 04-16-2003).]
Posted By: Texas_Ranger Re: Soldering Iron Tips - 04/16/03 07:00 PM
I have not exact idea how much that stuff is, but my rough guess would be something like 50 cents or more per meter. The scraps I was talking of were excess wire they just cut off and dumped. The line in question was just a plain phone extension, no modem or such (you wouldn't want that in your living room, would you?. I did a short conrinuity test on all 4 wires and they were ok. And even if they weren't I only needed 1 pair, so I had 2 spare wires.
I don't know about CAT5 bulk, a 20 m patch cable was around $15 IIRC, maybe 18.

What I do most is to patch cables of historic phones. I often get them with cut cords, so I take 2 cut pieces and solder them together.
Posted By: pauluk Re: Soldering Iron Tips - 04/16/03 09:17 PM
The Solon iron I mentioned isn't quite as old as yours Ranger, but it dates from the 1950s.

Bill,
The 100/140W Weller guns have, I believe, a two-position trigger switch. If you squeeze it part way in you get 100W; squeeze it further and you'll hear a second click as it notches up to 140W.

My Weller gun must have come from a government surplus batch of some kind, as the lid of the box has "U.S. Government Property" stamped on it. (At least I hope it was govt. surplus -- Don't want the Feds after me! [Linked Image])
Posted By: SvenNYC Re: Soldering Iron Tips - 04/16/03 09:20 PM
Quote
from Ragnar: What I do most is to patch cables of historic phones.

OK, I think I can say we threadjacked this one... [Linked Image].

Ragnar, I don't know if you might prefer this:

Go to a local variety-discount store (do they have Euro-stores in Austria? [Linked Image]) and get a hank of that $1 (E1) 25-foot flexible telephone extension cords? They have a modular plug at each end, but you can cut these off since you don't need them.

Then get a telephone line cord stripper and a couple of crimping tools - one for crimping telephone wire spade lugs (I assume the cord gets connected to a terminal strip?) and the other one for crimping replacement RJ-11 modular plugs at the opposite end of the cord.

A more sturdier solution for these old phones could be to use black (I assume the monster in question is black?) .75mm lamp flex....and attach a surface-mount telephone terminal block or junction box like this one at the other end with a 10cm piece of modern telephone cord for wall-mount phones(mod. RJ11 plug at each end) to plug into the wall box.

[Linked Image from radioshack.com]


I know it's not the most original idea...but the whole point is to get the relic working again... [Linked Image]
Posted By: pauluk Re: Soldering Iron Tips - 04/16/03 09:28 PM
On the telephone cable costs, my usual supplier currently carries 100m quad reels for £6.30 plus 17.5% VAT. In U.S. currency, that's less than 11 cents per yard including tax. 3-pair works out less than 16 cents/yd.

They're trade prices, so expect anything up to double in the "Big Orange" type stores.
Posted By: Trumpy Re: Soldering Iron Tips - 04/17/03 05:58 AM
Tell me,
How many of you guys own a cordless soldering iron?
I've got 2 of them, one an Scope C60 10 Watt solder gun and a Portasol P-1K butane iron.
Really handy for places where there's no power supply or where I can't be bothered running a flex! [Linked Image]
Posted By: pauluk Re: Soldering Iron Tips - 04/17/03 11:51 AM
I did have one once, a good few years ago, but it was seldom used. I think I got rid of it during my grand clear-out to go to the States.

I'm not a great fan of cordless power tools of any sort. I know they're handy for awkward spaces where it's a hassle to run an extension cord, but compared to AC-operated tools they're still quite expensive and lower powered. You're also reliant upon keeping a spare battery pack fully charged all the time, which adds even more expense.
Posted By: SvenNYC Re: Soldering Iron Tips - 04/17/03 03:09 PM
How about those little torches that supposedly work using ordinary cigarette lighters? Are they any good?

There's one in this surplus merchandise catalogue that uses "Scripto-type" lighters ("Bic won't fit"). Whatever that means.... [Linked Image]

I was thinking of getting it....but what good would it be if I can't find the stupid lighter...maybe I'll wait and spring for a real butane torch that fills from a gas canister. [Linked Image]
Posted By: Bjarney Re: Soldering Iron Tips - 04/17/03 04:50 PM
Remember there are two varieties of “cordless” irons/soldering pens…
http://www.unionel.com/catalog/wahl.html Wahl Iso-Tip http://www.dansdata.com/vulkan.htm Propane powered
Posted By: Trumpy Re: Soldering Iron Tips - 04/18/03 03:43 AM
Paul,
I know what you mean about cordless tools,
that Scope soldering gun is only used as an absolute last resort, it takes 9-10 hours to charge and about half an hour to discharge it, it doesnt have spare batteries either. [Linked Image]
Sven,
Regarding those Mini-Blow torches, it really depends on what you want to use it for?, you can't expect miracles from something that size.
I think a Scripto is a cheap Chinese copy of the BIC lighter, it's a lot thinner than the BIC.
(My apologies to the Scripto Co., if I am wrong at all, here).
But, I do know that the Mini-torches are good for light Heatshrink work and some soft-soldering.
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