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What is the best soldering iron temperature?


LAP

Question

I was wondering what the best temperature to set my soldering iron or desoldering tool to ?

 

Is it different for circuit board work to soldering coils ect under the playfield?

 

Does it differ from make or game (possible different solder used)?

 

Thanks

 

LAP

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Depends on a variety of factors.

 

Soldering iron / solder /what you're working on etc.

 

I don't pay attention to numbers, just set it hot enough to easily melt the solder wire. Hard to explain but you'll develop a feel for when you don't have enough heat or have too much.

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I was wondering what the best temperature to set my soldering iron or desoldering tool to ?

 

Is it different for circuit board work to soldering coils ect under the playfield?

 

Yes.

 

It can also differ on the same board depending on the size of the traces and the components involved.

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Soldering quickly at a higher temp can be better than taking a long time to get the job done at a lower temp.

 

Dry joints can also be caused by low temperature and/or lingering far too long on the joint.

 

If the solder doesn't flow cleanly almost instantly as you apply heat, the temp is too low, the solder is unleaded or you're using the wrong technique.

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While it won't be an issue for PCB work tip size is something to consider as well if doing other odd jobs, too small a tip and you'll struggle as the heat is sapped out of it quicker then it can heat up.

 

Also get yourself something half decent and not just a generic iron on the end of a mains lead.

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Yep, high temp and be quick, Butane gas iron for the coils, ( I run mine at about 600c so it melts in seconds). Take to long and the plastic coil bobbin starts to melt and I have seen a few of those butchered. I prefer leaded solder myself. While it is higher temp to melt it doesn't suffer from cracking like the low temp leadfree solder does. It also cools bright silver rather than grey.

 

Boards, totally different story, Desoldering iron for parts removal and temp controlled 30 watt iron for soldering but again, be quick, Better to hot and fast than to cold for longer. The longer you have heat on the chip legs, the more heat going inside the chip.

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Personally, PCB work about 300 degrees, desoldering need to be careful not to concentrate heat on a pad for instance or it may lift from the board.

I use a fine tip for trace work and a wider tip for say edge connectors.

Ideally both the item being soldered and the what it is being soldered to need to be the same temperature and having a little solder on each (tinned) helps heaps. And as easy as it is blow on it to make it cool quicker as your fingers fingers might be getting hot, depending on what you are doing, it can cause cracking of the join. You can see the solder change as it cools from being a liquid to a solid.

Also using 60/40 tin lead minimal flux for clean boards and a solder with more flux for not so clean work.

Have 3 soldering irons and maybe 10 different types of solder.

What 10? why so many? If you are doing say edge connectors I don't find it economical to be feeding a heap of thin solder to fill/join a large area as opposed to a thick solder.

But that's only 2......I have various sizes of solder with different amounts of flux.

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I love the detailed Fact Spew that ensues on Aussie Arcade following what may have been expected to result in a single two line monosyllabic answer..... thanks guys.

 

LAP

 

Pinball Pinot & Pizza Appreciation Society

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Have a look at one of the many YouTube videos of the soldering done on the assembly lines. Huge electric soldering irons on the terminals for about 2 seconds, done.

 

As for boards, it varies depending on the wattage of the iron. The more watts, the easier it is for the iron to maintain the heat it is set to.

 

Example, if you try to solder a through hole connected to the ground plain, the moment a 20 watt iron hits it, heat will drop alarmingly and the solder will never take successfully as the iron can never regain the heat while it is touching such a large area dissipating the heat. Make it the same temperature but using a 60 watt iron and a totally different story.

 

This is one example of why there is no absolute exact temperature because it is a mix of temperature and wattage of the iron depending on exactly what you wish to solder.

 

Another would be chip replacements on the CPU board that will naturally require less heat than a 5 volt regulator on the driver board for example. A 20 watt iron would be fine for the chip replacement but absolutely useless for the regulator.

 

For these reasons I doubt there is any hard and fast rule what temperature. It becomes more of learning to work with the equipment you have to do the different jobs.

 

You have a small wattage iron and you are trying to solder a regulator, you would turn it up to max as the heat is going to drop quickly. Large wattage iron, lower temperature because it is likely to maintain that temperature.

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Not to derail the conversation too much, but any suggestions for what type of soldering iron/station to purchase? I’m in need of a new one...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Aussie Arcade

 

 

as a general guide. ...buy the weller you can afford

http://www.radioparts.com.au/Category/service/soldering

 

but it depends what you do, you need the right tool for the job.

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I have always used Wellers but after having a couple of different models over the years that are all still sitting here needing parts that are no longer available, I have given up on the over priced Weller product because not only is a product as good as it is working, it also needs to have spares available in years to come which I learnt, they don't.

 

Now days I just use Jaycar soldering equipment that is cheaper, easier to get and the saving I buy a heap of spares when the product is current.

 

The way I see it is every iron will die and need parts sooner or later to keep it going but if you can't get the parts it becomes a throw away no matter how much you payed for it.

 

I have an excellent Weller temp controller iron here that needs a temperature sensor for the tip. The iron was over $500 10 years ago but it is a door stop now without a working sensor that can't be bought.

 

For less than $500 I now have a Jaycar temperature controller soldering iron....

https://www.jaycar.com.au/48w-temperature-controlled-soldering-station/p/TS1564

A de-soldering station...

https://www.jaycar.com.au/80w-desoldering-station/p/TS1513

And a butane solder iron for doing large solder jobs like coil terminals but I also use them for battery terminals and other large soldering jobs as well as "working from the tool box".

https://www.jaycar.com.au/pro-piezo-gas-soldering-tool-kit/p/TS1318

 

I bought collection of tips, heating elements, temp sensors etc for each of the tools.

 

With these three tools, there isn't much soldering jobs I can't do and considering I usually have a soldering tool in my hand a couple of times a week, if I can get 5 years out of these tools I'm ahead.

 

If I was still at a bench for hours on end and the iron was going 24/7 I could justify possibly a Weller or Harko and when the company pays, who gives a shit but these days it is me paying and I prefer the diversity of tools over one specialized expensive tool.

 

By the way, nothing beats that butane solder iron to do 5 volt regulators or coil terminal wires. Quick and fast.;)

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Jaycar isn't that bad, just a bit expensive for what it is, especially when exact re-branded equivalents can be purchased for half the price.

 

That said, having spare parts available locally is an amazing luxury.

 

Their desoldering station works brilliantly.

 

They do have really good sales on soldering gear, just not very often. I picked up a Thermaltronics station with free tip and tin of tip cleaner for $280 at their last sale, best station I have ever used.

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Jaycar isn't that bad, just a bit expensive for what it is, especially when exact re-branded equivalents can be purchased for half the price.

 

 

Their desoldering station works brilliantly.

 

 

Before I stuck my neck out I looked at this guy's review in a similar OEM solder suker... I love this guy. No bullshit and just the facts with a sense of humor...

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What weller part number can’t you get @Autosteve?

 

The iron is buried here someone mate. Both Element 14 and RS Spares said part no longer available. It was the second reprieve for that iron.

 

The first part to go obsolete was actually the tips but I was lucky enough to be at Altronics and they had a dump lot of 5 "Weller tips" I recognized would suit. That kept the iron going for another year before the temperature probe failed.

 

I even tried a new complete iron/ cable assembly but they were all gone as well. Seems I wasn't the only one thinking that way.

 

The story goes it was the last iron to have the temperature probe in the neck of the iron before they went to the probe being in the tip itself.

 

When the new step up come out, the old was made obsolete. Shame, it was a nice iron.

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