Soldering Iron Tips

[gamefreak]

Hey, I have a bit of a problem with my soldering iron, the tips pit out extremly fast and make it difficult to solder, are there any special tips i should look for the are less likely to pit?

[Kohanbash]

Make sure to tin your tip before using it and occasionally when your using it for a while.

[gamefreak]

by tinning, you mean put solder on it?

[ed1380]

yep. thats wha tinning is

[Darkbluestar]

This has been pretty good for me. It always leaves the tip clean and tinned.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062721&cp=&sr=1&origkw=tip+cleaner&kw=tip+cleaner&parentPage=search

[Rebelgium]

Don't clean the tip in a too wet spunge, the temperature shock causes metal fatigue.
So make your spunge wet, and then squeeze it out so it's only slightly moist anymore.

[gamefreak]

Last time when i didint use a sponge after every solder my tip was gone in less then an hour, yay for disintegration.

So is there anywhere to get cheap tips, or should i not use rosin filled solder or something along those lines?

[airman00]

thats really wierd

i never had to change a tip yet and i've been soldering for a long time now! ( like 1 1/2 years) and i solder at least 10 times a month for long periods of time.

I use a sponge and i always tin the tip 

[paulstreats]

Your soldering iron might be running too hot. The cheaper ones dont have temperature control so you have to guess when its hot enough and unplug it, then plug it back in when it starts to cool. Then unplug it when it gets hot enough............

It can be a nuisance but its better than killing all of your tips.

[gamefreak]

lol, i knew there was a reason I wanted to look for a better iron, but no..... lazt shoppers grab what they see and throw it in the cart.

Yea that is a huge pain in the butt, especially since i am a person who expects things to work without requiring constant monitoring and changes.

[Rebelgium]

Yea that is a huge pain in the butt, especially since i am a person who expects things to work without requiring constant monitoring and changes.

Then WTH are you doing in robotics !?

JK 

[paulstreats]

Dont forget that if you allow the iron to get too hot, you risk damaging the components that you are soldering aswell

[Admin]

I 2nd paulstreats, keep the heat lower. I tend to operate between 600F and 700F, but sometimes vary it for special stuff.

Also, use less force when you solder.

[SmAsH]

i have a farely old soldering iron..with no temp control.how do i know when it gets hot enough?

[airman00]

when it can melt the solder   

[paulstreats]

Another reason why to keep the heat low:

Its easier to solder, trust me when I was 14ish I was rubbish at soldering and went through tips like nobodys business. Then I learnt to regulate the iron(before i got a proper station), Not only does it save on tips but the solder transfers to the board easier. When the iron is too hot, the solder runs onto the iron tip and sticks there instead of on the board and component.

[Admin]

I judge it on how long it takes to solder a component. I aim for about one or two seconds.

If it takes much longer (ie your tip isn't hot enough), you end up overheating the circuit component and burning off the flux.

[gamefreak]

what about a wattage, today I got a variable( 15 or 30 watt) iron.