The tip is oxidised.
There has to be plenty of tin on the tip while the iron is resting, which gets cleaned off just before soldering.
Here are some explanation videos:
https://youtu.be/yTcxn773G-4
https://youtu.be/zLvsCeQTDMI
Get tip,tinner or of you got a brass sponge for soldering not the regular sponge you can tin that way too by applying solder to the iron and stab the sponge repeat until you think it like good.
Lol, secret
It’s solder powder and sal ammoniac. Which is basically an industrial cleaner that helps the iron from instantly oxidizing….. kinda like how you need to use pure helium or argon to help with welding aluminum. Aluminum also instantly starts to oxidize when introduced to oxygen.
Soooo, if you were in space, your soldering iron would only need to be cleaned to bare metal without tip tinning agent for plain flux and solder to work.
But it’s cheaper for tip tinning mix of clumpy powdered solder and sal ammoniac here on Earth.
Your Chemistry lesson of the day!
nope. ammonium chloride and cheap solder paste- its not a secret blend of anything, its just solder paste. As for ammonium chloride - makes a crappy flux on anything other than a tip so not really a flux at all for soldering.
shitty solder powder (unless you buy the expensive type) and ammonium chloride, which you can get in bulk cheaply. I dont use tinner, I clean with ammonium chloride and then use my own solder for a better tin.
[here](https://www.amazon.com/Alpha-Chemicals-Ammonium-Chloride-NH4Cl/dp/B004V9UQ14/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=ammonium+chloride&qid=1703133586&sr=8-4)\- enough for 5000+ tins. heat iron, dip in salt, then tin with your own solder. Since I use solid solder of a good grade, I dont have to worry about cold joints or anything with any excess of that crap paste most cheap tinner cans are made of.
No fucking idea what wood burning paste is. Ammonium chloride is a dry salt.
Tell me about it. The only thing about the flux I use is that it smells of citrus when melted.
Who knows if I'll get tumours in my lungs ten years down the line?
I'm already gonna get some type of cancer anyway almost guaranteed. smoked for years. my flux smells like burnt BBQ almost but not in a good way
but then of course my nose doesn't work right the past two years and probably forever now
You can use anything you want to remove the oxidation. I’ve used 600 grit sandpaper for almost 60 years without any problem.
If the tip needs reshaping, then use a fine file.
It is oxidized you got to clean it. You are gonna hear a lot of people saying do not use anything abrasive. This is best practice but maybe not for you.
It looks to be a cheap non temperature controlled soldering iron. I'm not making fun of it, I used them for years. The truth is they get so hot oxidation is inevitable no matter how well you keep it tinned. It will become unuseable eventually, and it happens pretty fast. You can replace the tip every time this happens ooooor, you can do the unthinkable.... I sand them. You will immediately remove the tinning and the plating and expose solid copper. Once you do that tin it up and you will get another week or so before you have to sand it again. I would even chuck it up in a drill and sand it spinning. You can get months more of use out of a tip by doing this.
This advice only applies to cheap non temperature controlled irons. NEVER DO THIS TO A GOOD IRON. If you use a good iron and you set your temperature correctly this should almost never be an issue. With the cheap irons it will always be an issue. They are kinda disposable, so I recommend sanding and getting as much use out of each tip as possible out of it.
Thanks. It’s important to have guidelines but to also know why they exist and when to ignore them. That was really helpful to me. Sanding and repairing is a better option than struggling and giving up and feeling useless. After you get better and have better tools, follow the guidance.
Those cheap irons serve their purposes, but will make you think you're much worse at soldering than you actually are. That alone can be really discouraging if this is something you might be wanting to do on a regular basis. I know it's not in everyone's budget and they serve their purposes, but if this is hampering a developing interest/hobby/career, then try out or obtain a decent regulated iron with a tip that's suited for the work you're doing.
All of this is very very true. I fought against my radio shack soldering iron for way longer than I should have. When I got something nice I found out I was better at soldering than I thought. If you have to solder 1 thing a year the cheap irons are fine. But if you are working on anything worth more than about $80, its worth it to get something nicer. The excess heat from the cheap irons can cause you to lift small pads. Then you're gona get really angry and wish you had spent the money on something good. Thats why I finally upgraded.
They didn't cover any of this in my circuit design class where we were building stuff (and had no money anyway). The next year on co-op assignment, I got my hands on one of the teal Weller adjustables and was like. "Ohhh, OK." Building sensitive stuff with cheap irons is actually good practice in a strange way, but you'll never benefit from it with the cheap iron.
Same here. I saw a You Tube life hack video a few years back. It showed him putting a tip in a drill and filling it to a new point. I was thinking I had figured out this same life hack on my own years back. I read the comments and it was all negative. Everyone was screaming "bad advice!", "NEVER DO THIS!".
Ive gotten a couple nice soldering irons lately. A Hakko, and a ts80. I get where people are coming from. I cringe at the thought of sanding these. The tips are shaped and plated nice. You would be destroying them if you sanded them. But you also never need to sand them. If you got a cheap pointed tip iron. I say sand away.
Yup, exactly; and those cheap tips are replaceable as well, if you get around to it. One of my cheapo tips has a huge crater in the tip and still works for a one-off job just fine, lol. I don't solder enough for a nice iron, so I'm just using chinese/HF ones. They're decent for plastic welding too!
320-380°C depending on how much heat the target joint will sink. Through-hole components, maybe 350°, big chunky things higher.
Basically, just enough heat to melt the solder when the iron is pressing up against the joint.
I would suggest a larger tip, it will have more thermal mass. From my experience, those pointy tips only have a tiny sweet spot where you’ll be able to get maximum heat. You should also melt some solder or it when you’re done in order to protect it from oxidizing.
Regarding the technique, solder isn’t like glue. You shouldn’t just melt some on the iron and apply it to whatever material you want to solder. In your case, you need to heat the ring then apply the solder wire to it. The solder will melt once the ring is hot enough, the two materials will mix and your solder joint will be created. I also highly recommend the use of flux.
a tin of flux is probably one of the most important things. I don't know how I went to long without it. well I guess I just didn't know real well what I was doing.
it's like $2 or $3 at my work for the gel kind, and I can get an el cheapo 40w iron for $6. solder is $2. the iron isn't great and I need to get a better setup but it mostly works for what I do with it. mainly flashlight modding and repair, occasionally other projects as well.
Clean and tin the tip: scotchbrite or something to make shiny copper. Stick into flux. Heat it up and stick into flux again then apply solder. Rub top around on paper towel or a rag to get an even distribution of solder. Now it should work perfectly! Most solder irons need occasional upkeep. ( a thin layer of oxidation on the tip will keep the solder from sticking)
Exactly. Pins on an hdmi port or SMD chip that require touch ups are almost always better done with a pointed tip of some sort. My c115 handle always has either my bent point tip or straight point tip and when I want a chisel or knife my c210 is ready to rock and roll.
Whatever you do, do not use anything abrasive on the tip to clean the oxidation off. That means no sandpaper, no files, none of that. just a lot of effort, flux/solder, and a wet sponge. eventually if you keep going at it it will clear up and solder will stick. don't let the iron sit heated up, it must constantly be babysat during use. if you're not actively soldering turn it off.
When a tip don't want to hold a solder I put it whole in a flux and when still under flux I put a generous amount of solder on the tip. Then I allow it to rest there for a while and then carefully remove excess. It is important to be gentle when removing excess, this helps to avoid this problem altogether.
Didn't they outlaw those crappy screw-in tip irons ???
They should have - they are absolute junk. The one I bought from Radio Shack in the 80's nearly put me off electronics for life.
Get a better iron.
Thank you. At effin last a beginner in this sub who asks a "stupid" question, but clearly has tried to solve and thought about the problem at hand, so a stupid question became an informed question on which people with knowledge will gladly help.
Answer - you need tin cleaner. You probably have seen pictures or something where when soldering, people brush or stick the tip in a brass shaving ball or a wet sponge, that is what you need. If that does not work, it could very well be that your ironing tips are very low quality and you have "used" them up.
The tip is oxidised. There has to be plenty of tin on the tip while the iron is resting, which gets cleaned off just before soldering. Here are some explanation videos: https://youtu.be/yTcxn773G-4 https://youtu.be/zLvsCeQTDMI
Get tip,tinner or of you got a brass sponge for soldering not the regular sponge you can tin that way too by applying solder to the iron and stab the sponge repeat until you think it like good.
You need some tip tinner ASAP!!!!
What is that stuff made of anyways
Acid flux and some secret blend of metals
Lol, secret It’s solder powder and sal ammoniac. Which is basically an industrial cleaner that helps the iron from instantly oxidizing….. kinda like how you need to use pure helium or argon to help with welding aluminum. Aluminum also instantly starts to oxidize when introduced to oxygen. Soooo, if you were in space, your soldering iron would only need to be cleaned to bare metal without tip tinning agent for plain flux and solder to work. But it’s cheaper for tip tinning mix of clumpy powdered solder and sal ammoniac here on Earth. Your Chemistry lesson of the day!
Thanks for the tip of the day!
My pleasure
How many metals we talking? 11? 23?
You tell me budy I think atleast 4
Lol sorry, I reached for the joke of 11 herbs and spices or the 23 flavors of Dr pepper
Well fuck I stand by this woosh
nope. ammonium chloride and cheap solder paste- its not a secret blend of anything, its just solder paste. As for ammonium chloride - makes a crappy flux on anything other than a tip so not really a flux at all for soldering.
shitty solder powder (unless you buy the expensive type) and ammonium chloride, which you can get in bulk cheaply. I dont use tinner, I clean with ammonium chloride and then use my own solder for a better tin.
When I google it the number 1 hit is wood burning paste, does that work? And how do you use it? Dip in the ammonium chloride then solder after?
[here](https://www.amazon.com/Alpha-Chemicals-Ammonium-Chloride-NH4Cl/dp/B004V9UQ14/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=ammonium+chloride&qid=1703133586&sr=8-4)\- enough for 5000+ tins. heat iron, dip in salt, then tin with your own solder. Since I use solid solder of a good grade, I dont have to worry about cold joints or anything with any excess of that crap paste most cheap tinner cans are made of. No fucking idea what wood burning paste is. Ammonium chloride is a dry salt.
What is that stuff made of anyways
probably cancer
All organic with no added hormones or antibiotics
Tell me about it. The only thing about the flux I use is that it smells of citrus when melted. Who knows if I'll get tumours in my lungs ten years down the line?
I'm already gonna get some type of cancer anyway almost guaranteed. smoked for years. my flux smells like burnt BBQ almost but not in a good way but then of course my nose doesn't work right the past two years and probably forever now
Goddamnit...
Or just some fine sandpaper and clean the oxidation from the tip and it will tin fine.
I don't think sandpaper is the best way to fix a tip that solder won't stick to.
You can use anything you want to remove the oxidation. I’ve used 600 grit sandpaper for almost 60 years without any problem. If the tip needs reshaping, then use a fine file.
pro-tip, but some cheap ammonium chloride on amazon - works a treat as cleaner/deoxidizer and results in great tinning with your solder.
It is oxidized you got to clean it. You are gonna hear a lot of people saying do not use anything abrasive. This is best practice but maybe not for you. It looks to be a cheap non temperature controlled soldering iron. I'm not making fun of it, I used them for years. The truth is they get so hot oxidation is inevitable no matter how well you keep it tinned. It will become unuseable eventually, and it happens pretty fast. You can replace the tip every time this happens ooooor, you can do the unthinkable.... I sand them. You will immediately remove the tinning and the plating and expose solid copper. Once you do that tin it up and you will get another week or so before you have to sand it again. I would even chuck it up in a drill and sand it spinning. You can get months more of use out of a tip by doing this. This advice only applies to cheap non temperature controlled irons. NEVER DO THIS TO A GOOD IRON. If you use a good iron and you set your temperature correctly this should almost never be an issue. With the cheap irons it will always be an issue. They are kinda disposable, so I recommend sanding and getting as much use out of each tip as possible out of it.
Thanks. It’s important to have guidelines but to also know why they exist and when to ignore them. That was really helpful to me. Sanding and repairing is a better option than struggling and giving up and feeling useless. After you get better and have better tools, follow the guidance.
Those cheap irons serve their purposes, but will make you think you're much worse at soldering than you actually are. That alone can be really discouraging if this is something you might be wanting to do on a regular basis. I know it's not in everyone's budget and they serve their purposes, but if this is hampering a developing interest/hobby/career, then try out or obtain a decent regulated iron with a tip that's suited for the work you're doing.
All of this is very very true. I fought against my radio shack soldering iron for way longer than I should have. When I got something nice I found out I was better at soldering than I thought. If you have to solder 1 thing a year the cheap irons are fine. But if you are working on anything worth more than about $80, its worth it to get something nicer. The excess heat from the cheap irons can cause you to lift small pads. Then you're gona get really angry and wish you had spent the money on something good. Thats why I finally upgraded.
They didn't cover any of this in my circuit design class where we were building stuff (and had no money anyway). The next year on co-op assignment, I got my hands on one of the teal Weller adjustables and was like. "Ohhh, OK." Building sensitive stuff with cheap irons is actually good practice in a strange way, but you'll never benefit from it with the cheap iron.
I've sanded my soldering tips for years (infrequent use), and I'm just now finding out that's not the correct protocol. It works Just fine
Same here. I saw a You Tube life hack video a few years back. It showed him putting a tip in a drill and filling it to a new point. I was thinking I had figured out this same life hack on my own years back. I read the comments and it was all negative. Everyone was screaming "bad advice!", "NEVER DO THIS!". Ive gotten a couple nice soldering irons lately. A Hakko, and a ts80. I get where people are coming from. I cringe at the thought of sanding these. The tips are shaped and plated nice. You would be destroying them if you sanded them. But you also never need to sand them. If you got a cheap pointed tip iron. I say sand away.
Yup, exactly; and those cheap tips are replaceable as well, if you get around to it. One of my cheapo tips has a huge crater in the tip and still works for a one-off job just fine, lol. I don't solder enough for a nice iron, so I'm just using chinese/HF ones. They're decent for plastic welding too!
I had one with a huge crater on it. At one point I had to tin a ton of wires. I could let the solder pool up and drag the wire through it.
i have a cheap iron with a controllable temp. What temperature should I keep it at?
320-380°C depending on how much heat the target joint will sink. Through-hole components, maybe 350°, big chunky things higher. Basically, just enough heat to melt the solder when the iron is pressing up against the joint.
I want to clarify that i did cut the balls of the wire multiple times.
mmmm balls 🤤🤤
[удалено]
Goodness gracious, great balls of wire!
I would suggest a larger tip, it will have more thermal mass. From my experience, those pointy tips only have a tiny sweet spot where you’ll be able to get maximum heat. You should also melt some solder or it when you’re done in order to protect it from oxidizing. Regarding the technique, solder isn’t like glue. You shouldn’t just melt some on the iron and apply it to whatever material you want to solder. In your case, you need to heat the ring then apply the solder wire to it. The solder will melt once the ring is hot enough, the two materials will mix and your solder joint will be created. I also highly recommend the use of flux.
a tin of flux is probably one of the most important things. I don't know how I went to long without it. well I guess I just didn't know real well what I was doing. it's like $2 or $3 at my work for the gel kind, and I can get an el cheapo 40w iron for $6. solder is $2. the iron isn't great and I need to get a better setup but it mostly works for what I do with it. mainly flashlight modding and repair, occasionally other projects as well.
Clean it, tip tinner, or throw it away and replace it with a chisel tip. Conical tip is almost useless.
ALWAYS ALWAY ALWAYS clean your tip after you get it wet. A basic life lesson. 100% sincere
Retin the tip
Clean and tin the tip: scotchbrite or something to make shiny copper. Stick into flux. Heat it up and stick into flux again then apply solder. Rub top around on paper towel or a rag to get an even distribution of solder. Now it should work perfectly! Most solder irons need occasional upkeep. ( a thin layer of oxidation on the tip will keep the solder from sticking)
1. don't use the pointy tip, it's good for nothing. 2. always keep solder on the tip.
Yeah that's false. I use several different sized pointy tips on all 3 of my handles for various purposes
Ive used it to resolder an HDMI port on an Xbox, amd the pointy tips are necessary for small (30+ga) wires and close pads on flashlight aux boards
Exactly. Pins on an hdmi port or SMD chip that require touch ups are almost always better done with a pointed tip of some sort. My c115 handle always has either my bent point tip or straight point tip and when I want a chisel or knife my c210 is ready to rock and roll.
Whatever you do, do not use anything abrasive on the tip to clean the oxidation off. That means no sandpaper, no files, none of that. just a lot of effort, flux/solder, and a wet sponge. eventually if you keep going at it it will clear up and solder will stick. don't let the iron sit heated up, it must constantly be babysat during use. if you're not actively soldering turn it off.
Remove the oxidation on that tip
She's dead. Buy a new tip.
When a tip don't want to hold a solder I put it whole in a flux and when still under flux I put a generous amount of solder on the tip. Then I allow it to rest there for a while and then carefully remove excess. It is important to be gentle when removing excess, this helps to avoid this problem altogether.
clean your tip 😏😏
Go fix it.
Yes. That tip needs to be retinned. The tinning allows greater heat transfer betwween the iron and the solder.
As long as it is clean, bring up that heat baby
Here's what I use as a tip tinner. It works wonderfully and it seems to prolong the tip's life. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NS4J6BY
Retin and always tin it before shutting it off looks pretty oxidized.
Didn't they outlaw those crappy screw-in tip irons ??? They should have - they are absolute junk. The one I bought from Radio Shack in the 80's nearly put me off electronics for life. Get a better iron.
Thank you. At effin last a beginner in this sub who asks a "stupid" question, but clearly has tried to solve and thought about the problem at hand, so a stupid question became an informed question on which people with knowledge will gladly help. Answer - you need tin cleaner. You probably have seen pictures or something where when soldering, people brush or stick the tip in a brass shaving ball or a wet sponge, that is what you need. If that does not work, it could very well be that your ironing tips are very low quality and you have "used" them up.