Question Question about my soldering iron

[Willmm]

I have started working on an Ashida, and things have been going well so far, except for issues with my soldering iron. I currently have this Merece soldering station:

Amazon product
I have had it for roughly 3½ years, and it worked fine for the basic soldering I did during that time. With my Ashida project, however, trying to melt solder especially on the wii, is really hard, even at 420°C+. I'm making sure that my soldering tip is clean, and I'm using flux. I'm also using the tips that came with the iron I just want to know if it is an issue with my iron, or if it is just with the soldering tips, or other things. I'm willing to invest in a hakko 888dx if it is necessary.

Also, all of my soldering on the wii is with a bricked board I'm using for practice, haven't done any soldering on the actual wii I'm going to use and trim.

 

[WizzardoftheDisc]

What tip are you using on your iron? For ROHS solder it's always much harder to melt and I've found using a bigger tip helps melt it easier.

I've also seen some people say putting regular leaded solder on the tip and mixing it with the ROHS solder as it melts makes things easier.

I had issues with my starter soldering iron too when I started trying to melt ROHS solder, I was using a cheap Radio Shack iron, and eventually got sick of the struggle. I splurged and bought a Hakko FX951-66 and during a flea market trip I found about 15 brand new Hakko tips for $10 so I only had to buy a couple of the smaller tips for finer work.

Ultimately a solid iron makes work a heck of a lot easier, and the Hakko irons having the stand that allows it to rest at a lower temp that jumps back up and soon as you lift the iron off the stand is really really nice. There are so many little things about Hakko irons that I found myself appreciating after buying one, like how easy it is to change tips, that made me happy I went through with purchasing one. That being said even a Hakko will only make ROHS solder a little bit easier, it sucks no matter what and the best thing to do is use a bigger tip. The Hakko made ROHS work easier but it wasn't the leaps and bounds I was expecting until I started using bigger tips. The Hakko keeping a stable temp way better than cheap irons is immensely helpful in my experience though.

 

[Willmm]

What tip are you using on your iron? For ROHS solder it's always much harder to melt and I've found using a bigger tip helps melt it easier.

I've also seen some people say putting regular leaded solder on the tip and mixing it with the ROHS solder as it melts makes things easier.

I had issues with my starter soldering iron too when I started trying to melt ROHS solder, I was using a cheap Radio Shack iron, and eventually got sick of the struggle. I splurged and bought a Hakko FX951-66 and during a flea market trip I found about 15 brand new Hakko tips for $10 so I only had to buy a couple of the smaller tips for finer work.

Ultimately a solid iron makes work a heck of a lot easier, and the Hakko irons having the stand that allows it to rest at a lower temp that jumps back up and soon as you lift the iron off the stand is really really nice. There are so many little things about Hakko irons that I found myself appreciating after buying one, like how easy it is to change tips, that made me happy I went through with purchasing one. That being said even a Hakko will only make ROHS solder a little bit easier, it sucks no matter what and the best thing to do is use a bigger tip. The Hakko made ROHS work easier but it wasn't the leaps and bounds I was expecting until I started using bigger tips. The Hakko keeping a stable temp way better than cheap irons is immensely helpful in my experience though.

Yeah I already bought a Hakko FX-888DX and it is so much better than the one I had before.

 

[WizzardoftheDisc]

Yeah I already bought a Hakko FX-888DX and it is so much better than the one I had before.

Nice! Hakko is a solid brand at a good price for hobbyists. JBC is another good brand but their soldering station and hot air station prices are insanely high. One day I'll own a JBC hot air rework station but that's much further down the road lol.

 

[Megatf]

Joystick modder here that uses soldering irons. Sounds like your tips are not being tinned and they are oxidized which is killing heat transfer from the ceramic core. Google "Solder Tip Tinning" to learn how to maintain soldering irons/tips

 

[WizzardoftheDisc]

Joystick modder here that uses soldering irons. Sounds like your tips are not being tinned and they are oxidized which is killing heat transfer from the ceramic core. Google "Solder Tip Tinning" to learn how to maintain soldering irons/tips

He was talking about melting the solder on the Wii and that's ROHS solder, so it could be a combo of both. I played hell trying to get it to melt with my cheapo soldering irons, they were each about 30, and both were properly tinned. ROHS just sucks to melt with cheapo irons. The upside is with Hakko irons their tops come pre-tinned so you don't have to worry about that.

 

[Megatf]

You have to re tin. Tinning is not a one and done. Im tinning my tips regularly through soldering and before I put everything a way I give all my tips a fresh tinning. He was talking about ROHS yes but at 420C+ he should be easily melting ROHS.

His problem is definitely a tip maintenance problem as ROHS has a melting point of 422C

 

[WizzardoftheDisc]

You have to re tin. Tinning is not a one and done. Im tinning my tips regularly through soldering and before I put everything a way I give all my tips a fresh tinning. He was talking about ROHS yes but at 420C+ he should be easily melting ROHS.

His problem is definitely a tip maintenance problem as ROHS has a melting point of 422C

I've never had to re-tin and of my Hakko tips as long as I've had them and I've used them at max temp the entire time. Idk if Hakko uses some special mixture that doesn't wear off as quickly or if just using it the way I do has kept the tip tinned.

The cheap irons I was using were claiming on their base they were at 420 but absolutely were not when temp tested. They were around 380 to 390 with some spikes in the 400s after not using it for a bit. I think it probably has to do with both the tip, maybe being small or not being tinned correctly, and the iron not keeping a steady high temp.

 

[Megatf]

I agree, as far as Hakko they are great and come highly recommended by professionals but their tip care guides do recommend retinning.

 

[WizzardoftheDisc]

I agree, as far as Hakko they are great and come highly recommended by professionals but their tip care guides do recommend retinning. View attachment 34713

Interesting, I don't think I've ever seen a Hakko tip that looks anything like that. Like ever. All of the ones I'm familiar with are the silver pre-tinned ones and like I've said, with regular use I've not once had to re-tin them.

Edit:
After reading their guide apparently things I thought were common practice and just part of normal soldering, like leaving solder on the tip to protect from oxidization, are apparently care tips and not always practiced. That's my bad

 

[Megatf]

Interesting, I don't think I've ever seen a Hakko tip that looks anything like that. Like ever. All of the ones I'm familiar with are the silver pre-tinned ones and like I've said, with regular use I've not once had to re-tin them.

How to keep the soldering tip in good condition while soldering ｜ MAINTENANCE/TROUBLESHOOTING/APPLICATION EXAMPLES ｜HAKKO | HAKKO Corporation

www.hakko.com

There ya go ⬆

 

[WizzardoftheDisc]

How to keep the soldering tip in good condition while soldering ｜ MAINTENANCE/TROUBLESHOOTING/APPLICATION EXAMPLES ｜HAKKO | HAKKO Corporation

www.hakko.com

There ya go ⬆

I didn't disbelieve you, I'm just wondering what hell they've put that poor tip through. I first though the tip was copper until I zoomed.