Soldering station idle temp

[SteveNielsen]

Probably been answered but I can't find it.

What do you guys set your temp controlled soldering stations at for idle periods and for how long?

[mariushm]

Re: Soldering station idle temp

If it's less than 5 minutes, I just turn the knob close to minimum, about 200-220c. I usually solder at 350-400c.
It it's more, I turn it off.

A Pace soldering station i hope to get in a few days lowers the temperature to about 150c when the iron is put in the cradle/support/whatever that's called.

[SteveNielsen]

Re: Soldering station idle temp

When I was a city tech the supervisor had us turn on the soldering stations in the morning and leave them on, set at soldering temp all day. He thought the tip and element would last longer if not heating up and cooling down so much. I can see some logic to that but I'm curious what others think and do. Personally I don't leave my station on if I'm not using it for an extended period and only crank the heat way up when needed for multi-layer boards, etc. Otherwise I have it set at 350-370c when it's on.

[momaka]

Re: Soldering station idle temp

If it's less than 5 minutes, I just turn the knob close to minimum, about 200-220c.

Same here.

I usually solder at 350-400c.

For me, it depends on the tip type I'm using. My Aoyue 2900 uses cartridge-type tips with built-in heating element and temperature probe, so those I can use at 250-300C without problem even on many multilayer boards. The only time I have to crank it is when doing the CPU VRM caps on motherboards. Usually 330-350C works fine.
Now my KADA 852D+ uses those cheap Hakko clone tips and on that I really have to crank the temperature up to do work. Usually 350-400C, like you. I found that the reason for that is because those cheaper tips have the temperature probe sitting very far from the tip (typically on the opposite end of the heating element). That's why their response also tends to be sucky. Also, the tip doesn't cover the entire heating element, so the heat transfer from the element to the tip is somewhat poor (or at least it could be much better, IMO). I'll post a thread with pics when I get time when I'm done with school. If you don't believe me, open yours and you will see (assuming you have one of those cheaper Hakko clone stations).

A Pace soldering station i hope to get in a few days lowers the temperature to about 150c when the iron is put in the cradle/support/whatever that's called.

I've used a JBC CD-B before, and it does the same thing too - it lowers the idle temp to 150C. Why that temperature?... I don't know. But if JBC does it that way, there must be a good reason. That station is a dream to use. Really the Rolls Royce of soldering stations.

When I was a city tech the supervisor had us turn on the soldering stations in the morning and leave them on, set at soldering temp all day. He thought the tip and element would last longer if not heating up and cooling down so much. I can see some logic to that but I'm curious what others think and do.

Makes sense, but the tip surface usually degrades a lot faster with high temperature than the heating element. So I think it's best to turn down the heat when not in use.

[SteveNielsen]

Re: Soldering station idle temp

Thanks for the info and advice. I kinda thought the tip suffers more fatigue than the element. You don't have to convince me though, I have a 10-pc set of the cheap Hakko tips for my cheap Radio Shack 70w Pro-Line station and know exactly what you mean. On my iron there's a 2mm gap between the end of the heater and the top inside of the cylinder. I've considered to file or grind off the open end of a tip and see if that helps with the heat transfer, if it doesn't somehow ruin the tip.

[clearchris]

Re: Soldering station idle temp

On my hakko-888d with ebay clone tips there is no gap, heat transfer is still bad. I bet most heat transfer occurs through the sides anyway, more surface area...

Sad to say they are just stinkers. They are ok if you just want to try different tips and dont mind waiting a minute or so for the tip to reheat.

[Pentium4]

Re: Soldering station idle temp

I solder at 382C, if it's idle for more than 5 minutes I turn it down to 285C. Any longer than 10 minutes and I turn it off. I use a Weller WD1

[ben7]

Re: Soldering station idle temp

I don't usually turn mine off unless I won't be using it for another 20-30 minutes.
Not sure which thing to do is best... but the filament is similar to a lightbulb - turn it on and off often, and the filament gets stressed out and has a shorter lifespan. If a layer of oxide does build up on the tip, then it IS insulating it from any more oxidization. Also, could the thermal cycling of the tip by turning on and off the soldering iron cause stress to the tip? Like micro-cracks? I don't know but it would be interesting to see!

[SteveNielsen]

Re: Soldering station idle temp

From what little I think I understand, if the heater is a true ceramic element like molybdenum disilicide (MoSi2) and not a ni-chrome wire dipped and coated in ceramic material it would not be subject to aging like a lightbulb filament. I am not sure what is really used in soldering irons, if some are true ceramic or not.

At eevblog in the thread:
http://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/wh...ating-element/
there is a link to a Hakko patent that describes a ceramic dipped ni-chrome construction:
http://www.patentgenius.com/patent/6054678.html

I would think the tips would be of a high enough temperature alloy that micro-cracking shouldn't be an issue. I'm with the understanding that oxidization is what eventually does tips in.

I should probably clarify that the 10 tip set I bought are real Hakko tips. It is my Radio Shack soldering station that's the cheap clone of something or other (I recall someone said maybe Auyou rebranded?). Anyway, at high temps the solder tinning on the tips will oxidize faster but I've not noticed the metal of the tips themselves oxidizing at all and wipe off clean and shiny.

[momaka]

Re: Soldering station idle temp

Not sure which thing to do is best... but the filament is similar to a lightbulb - turn it on and off often, and the filament gets stressed out and has a shorter lifespan.

Similar it is, but not the same. A light bulb filament gets much much hotter and is much thinner. The fillament in these soldering irons doesn't usually get hot enough to even glow and is much thicker than the one in a light bulb, so there is no danger of it breaking or degrading.

Just think about heating elements in everyday appliances. Electric stoves, electric AC furnace, etc. Some of these (particulalrly electric AC furnace) may be cycled multiple times a day and for many years. So I don't think cycling your iron ON and OFF does that much damage

On the other hand, failure to clean the iron's tip properly and running it at high temperature will kill it pretty fast. I actually know someone who managed to kill one of those JBC tips by not cleaning it and thus making the surface of the tip useless (solder wouldn't stick to it).

[eccerr0r]

Re: Soldering station idle temp

I've heard of many stoves, hot water heaters, and electric dryers that fail to heat up, requiring a new heating element. But in either case yes, there is temperature related expansion/contraction that can cause failure.

I've had two (temp controlled) solder iron heater elements die on me already. I tend to do a 30-min delta for cycling but I got the heating elements second hand - no idea what the previous usage pattern was...

[momaka]

Re: Soldering station idle temp

I've heard of many stoves, hot water heaters, and electric dryers that fail to heat up, requiring a new heating element.

Yes, but it takes a while before it gets to that stage. Usually the change is very very gradual. My grandmother has an electric stove in the countryside house that is 40+ years old. The original burners lasted about 30 years before becoming "too slow" for everyday use. And that stove was used almost every day and usually cycled multiple times a day to heat food (no microwave).
I say 30 years is pretty good for a heating element. My cheap unregulated 35W Radio Shack iron is about 14 years old now. I still use it as my primary iron when it comes to single-sided PSUs and small SMD component work.

[SteveNielsen]

Re: Soldering station idle temp

I've also got a 35W Radio Shack pistol grip iron that is over 25 years old with a copper tip that gets up to 350c. It takes it a few minutes but it gets there.

[momaka]

Re: Soldering station idle temp

^ I think we have the same thing. I love that pistol grip design. Very comfortable handle (so much, that in fact, I often hold other things in my hand as I hold the iron).

Yeah, the copper tip on mine has carved in badly. Actually, the first two times it did that, I had to cut it and re-grind it because it was shaped like a "C" too much. But it's a good thing that the tip is carved-in. Very useful for removing small SMD components (especially SOT-23 devices) - I simply put a big blob of solder in the carving and then put the entire tip on top of the SMD component I'm trying to remove. Much easier and less painless than hot air. Not messy either.

Too bad the tip has such a small heat capacity. I still use it for most small projects, though.

[SteveNielsen]

Re: Soldering station idle temp

Yep, same here, very nice grip and lightweight. Mine has done the same kind of pitting but that shape does have uses and inside the pit is quite hotter than the tip surface. I filed mine down to a pyramid shape but I haven't had to do that in a while. The tip is long enough to keep reshaping and will probably last longer than I will. Even though I mostly use my soldering station I still love the good old thing. What did they cost, something like $8 back in the day?

[momaka]

Re: Soldering station idle temp

Yup, $8 back then and still $8 now. It has more than paid off itself with the number of repairs I've done with it. At one point about a year or two ago, Micro Center was selling the same iron for $3, just without the RS brand. Thought about buying another one and just using the handle to attach a different iron. Not sure why I didn't. If they still have them, I might get it.
And yeah, I don't really clean the tip on mine at all. Maybe every once in a while, when enough dirty solder and burnt flux accumulates after a bit of soldering, I just use a piece of metal and scrape that stuff off. Also, if I have burned plastic or rubber by accident (usually wire insulation), I'll take a piece of sandpaper and lightly sand some of the affected areas. But other than that, I don't clean it.

[SteveNielsen]

Re: Soldering station idle temp

I had another older RS pencil about the same power before I got the pistol grip that went through the tip pretty good in a few years and I found a brass screw that threaded perfectly into the thing so I cut the head off and filed it to a point and viola! The tip outlasted the cord as I recall and eventually threw it out. I think... for all I recall it could still be floating around in some box here. The brass did pit much quicker than the original tip but I just filed it down, tinned it and kept going. I figured it was old school when we had horse-leg sized soldering "coppers" and had to clean and tin that copper tip before and after every use. I love the smell of burning pine sap. I've been an addict of pine sap since the 7th grade.

[dj_ricoh]

Re: Soldering station idle temp

idle? turn on when you go to work ... drink coffee until it heats up ...
turn off later that day when we go home!
you know why? because that iron tips are cheap compare to the jobs they do!

so if you think on better thinks how to conserve your iron, that means you don`t work or don`t know what to do.

"when I started to understand electronics I started not to turn off the soldering iron"


ha! a good motto

[stj]

Re: Soldering station idle temp

people think about this too much.

i turn it on when i'm about to start,
i turn it off when i'm done - exept when i forget for a few hours!
beween those times it sits at 310'

and when i stop for coffee - it doesnt.

the element is being constantly pulsed anyway,
and the tip is worn by flux, not heat.
so changing temps / turning off saves nothing

[Kiriakos GR]

Re: Soldering station idle temp

people think about this too much.

Yes the smart ones.

so changing temps / turning off saves nothing

I bet that you are using home made Solar Energy.


Instead of explaining how a modern soldering station behaves regarding fast heating in just 8 seconds .. programed sleep mode etc etc.
I would suggest you to visit this link. http://www.ittsb.eu/forum/index.php?topic=646.0

My start up temperature 320C ..