Soldering iron tips gone black

[flyingnunrt]

Although not having tried this approach myself you could try this.
While you're at DSE, buy the cheapest NON alkaline dry cell battery that you can find.
Carefully cut it open and the paste stuff that you find inside the cell is mostly Ammonium Chloride AKA Sal Ammoniac, you can water it down a little to make a liqiud and this can then be used to clean the tip by plunging the tip in the liquid when the iron is good and hot.
If the tip is nice and hot the sound made by the action of the quench is somtimes quite shrill as opposed to quenching sound with say straight water.
The tip should come out clean as a whistle ready for tinning, which should be done without delay.
It won't wreck the iron/nickle plating like sandpaper.
Avoid breathing in the vapours wear protective glasses etc etc.

 

[marcos.placona]

Well... that's dodgy. I wouldn't crack open a battery just to clean an iron tip. That can be quite dangerous can't it?

 

[eclectic]

Tip cleaner has already been mentioned in posts #13 and 15.

Here's another Aus version:

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=TS1512&CATID=&keywords=tip+cleaner&SPECIAL=&form=KEYWORD&ProdCodeOnly=&Keyword1=&Keyword2=&pageNumber=&priceMin=&priceMax=&SUBCATID=

e

 

[marcos.placona]

Tip cleaner has already been mentioned in posts #13 and 15.

Here's another Aus version:

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=TS1512&CATID=&keywords=tip+cleaner&SPECIAL=&form=KEYWORD&ProdCodeOnly=&Keyword1=&Keyword2=&pageNumber=&priceMin=&priceMax=&SUBCATID=

e

I've been using Maplin's one for quite sometime, and it works like a charm!

 

[Andrew Cowan]

I use maplins too - when I bought it, I was amazed at how little you got gor £5 - but it has lasted a long time. I tend to use the sponge for cleaning solder and melted stuff off, and the tip cleaner for removing black stuff.

Andrew

 

[marcos.placona]

I use maplins too - when I bought it, I was amazed at how little you got gor £5 - but it has lasted a long time. I tend to use the sponge for cleaning solder and melted stuff off, and the tip cleaner for removing black stuff.

Andrew

But it's well worth it. Mine is stuck on my soldering station for over 1.5 years now and can still be used

 

[Dippy]

For the sake of health (and your pockets) why can't you just use the recommended suggestions from manufacturers?

Weller tip activator contains tin and Ammonium Phosphate.

Here's some general info:-
http://www.rapidonline.com/weller/hints/default.htm

Here's an alternative tip cleaner:
http://www.mbouk.co.uk/pdf/lead-free-etamvit.pdf

Here are the ingredients of Henkel tip cleaner:-
http://docs-europe.electrocomponents.com/webdocs/059d/0900766b8059d53c.pdf

More info:-
http://docs-europe.electrocomponents.com/webdocs/0031/0900766b800318f6.pdf


Or, you can grind up the kidney of a dragon at midnight, do some chanting and mix it with the blood of a Unicorn...

And then use your brass thing and damp sponge...

 

[Michael 2727]

Remind me never to go to Dippy's for dinner


If you have a soldering iron that does not have a coated tip, you probably
shouldnt be using it for PCB work. Coated tips clean fairly easily with a damp
sponge, when they don't clean up well they need replacing.

Most Ammonium chemicals eat the copper away. ( and faster when heated )
They use Ammonium Presulfate to etch away copper in the PCB making process.

 

[marcos.placona]

I actually tried the Dragon Kidney plus Unicorn Blood, but now it's being really difficult to find the Unicorn's blood. Dragon's kidney are fine though, but their blood don't act the same magical way as the Unicorn's.

So, I'm just sticking with the traditional solutions from Maplins, and sometimes using some t-rex's poop+pink elephant saliva to tin it

 

[stocky]

Pfffttt - who needs a soldering iron....

After avoiding SMD like the plague - I am now a convert!

http://www.picaxeforum.co.uk/showpost.php?p=71147&postcount=3

 

[Dippy]

Good point Michael re unplated tips/bits. You'd better contact Weller immediately.

Well, I must solder on now.

P.S. Anyone got a 100W ("12V") solar panel they can lend me?

 

[Peter M]

flyingnunrt,
that brings back memories, Ahh the smell of Sal Ammoniac burning........
That's the stuff we used at school for cleaning / retinning the irons in the sheet metal shop after someone had left them in the flame too long.... always wondered what happened to that stuff, it was brilliant!
Probably great for your health too, hence it disapeared??

As for the debate on sponge versus brass curly stuff, have used both, much prefer damp sponge and only resort to brass for difficult stuff (like plastic) must admit, have plastic welded many a non-obtainable cassette door mech back together in my early days as a tech, mmmm, more lovely toxic fumes.....

Protolisk, I'd suggest you get several tips, as they're only available in Sydney, this may mean thats all they have left... (although DSE are normally pretty good)

 

[Michael 2727]

Peter I think Reece Plumbing supplies still sell blocks of SAL
That's where I got mine, was a few years back though.
Not many Plumbers solder anything these days, Silicon
Sealer has seen an end to that and Lead Sheet Flashing
is not the flavour of the month either.

 

[Dippy]

Shouldn't really call them plumbers then.

 

[Mycroft2152]

Shouldn't really call them plumbers then.

Dippy,

OUCH! That one went over their heads, or perhaps down the drain.

Hint: Check the symbol for Lead on the Periodic Table!


Myc

 

[Mycroft2152]

Shouldn't really call them plumbers then.

Dippy,

OUCH! That one went over their heads, or perhaps down the drain.

Hint: Check the symbol for Lead on the Periodic Table!


Myc

 

[Dippy]

It was a test Myc.
You passed.
Maybe it was a bit HEAVY for most. And anyone with no facial hair and spots prob wouldn't understand.

 

[gengis]

Damn! frying pans for reflow soldering? There are some el-cheapo heat guns out that will melt solder and can be used for smd - course if you are using tin solder rather than lead it may not work. Frying pan and the board doesn't ignite or char?

I weld plastic all the time with my iron - and its cheap Chinese iron. Bits and solder et al have changed a lot since I started in electronics. In the old days the connections and wire were so large one didn't have to pay attention to the solder.

Now with micro mini sized solder, there isn't a whole lot of resin in the solder so things have happen faster

The best thing is to re-tin the tip immediately after abusing it. The black stuff is tenacious. Next best is to have a cup of rosin handy, work the tip in some copper scouring pad or plain steel wool (not with soap for dishes, the woodworking stuff) then dip it in rosin and then re-tin it.

I like to wrap the tip in small gauge solder with rosin and then bring the heat up to tin it when starting with a new tip, or sand-papered tip.

Avoid sand-paper - a good (expensive) tip will be hard drawn copper for the core and a thin coating of iron, then copper, then tinning. Iron resists dissolving in lead but doesn't transmit heat well enough for soldering.

Lead dissolves copper - that's a fact. Small wire like 32 AWG guage or higher will dissolve before your eyes in 60-40 solder. But it won't with Ersin "Sav-a-bit" solder - the solder already has copper added to it so it doesn't dissolve more from the tip or wire. It's the only thing to use when soldering 38 gauge wire . . with an iron.

Likewise soldering with 2% silver solder won't eat soldering bits.

Maybe it was a bit HEAVY for most. And anyone with no facial hair and spots prob wouldn't understand. immediately after abusing it

No facial hair (woman) but the spots? Is this a UK thing?

 

[stocky]

Frying pan and the board doesn't ignite or char?

Nope - not at all! Surprised me as well!

Pan has a good "non-stick" surface and the board isnt in there long enough for any damage to occur obviously!

 

[Dippy]

There, full circle.

Plumbers.... assuming you didn't study languages at school, please Google.

 

[westaust55]

soldering and tip cleaning 101

Mwave have a curly brass insert in a rubber holder as a tip cleaner.
http://www.mwave.com.au/newAU/mwaveAU/productdetail.asp?CartID=mAU@5UZ4GYX924YGZLK7YE6ZRYNNEEW3CU8UBNVNMIUS8W485E&sku=53090022

Another cheaper method I have read about is to use a stainless steel pot scrubber and run the tip through that. This is akin to the brass shavings method mentioned several times already.
I think an advantage of the stainless steel would be that the solder will drip to the bottom whereas it could more readily bond to the brass inserts.

These 'metallic" methods have the claimed advantage over the damp sponge methods that I have used in the past in that they do not cool the tip so much.

They don't oil the tip as well as the Sardine can either . . . . . . . . .


Heck there are even lessons in soldering and tip cleaning:

Class Name:......Soldering Equipment 130
Description:......This class provides an introduction to basic soldering equipment selection, including safety equipment.
Prerequisites: ..none
Difficulty:........Beginner
Number of Lessons: 15

Now how many here took 15 lessons to lean to introductory solder ? ? ? (At least its not entitled Soldering 101
Okay, the course does go into details on types of solder methods of soldering and desoldering including metal sponge tip cleaners.

 

[Protolisk]

I rang dick smith and they said they deliver it to a branch and you can pick it up an pay there. And it was $5. I think I might get the 1.6mm and the 0.8mm.

 

[Peter M]

Hmmm... maybe someones been using the Pb in the water supply again.... was good for the Romans I supose, can't of been all bad?