4 ms·

> heat the joint for longer than it feels like you should need to. You shouldn’t heat the joint for more than about 2 seconds before feeding solder into it. If

> heat the joint for longer than it feels like you should need to. You shouldn’t heat the joint for more than about 2 seconds before feeding solder into it. If you need longer than that, you probably don’t have a properly tinned tip or a properly cleaned joint, or your tip is too small, or perhaps your iron has low heat capacity. I also highly recommend using lead-based flux-core solder, e.g. 63/37 Kester 44. The lead-free stuff is awful to work with. Anyone trying to learn to solder should watch these videos, especially #1: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL926EC0F1F93C1837 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL926EC0F1F93C1837

throwanem 10y ago
I run my iron cool to avoid overheating joints, a nasty habit left over from years of not knowing what I was doing. It takes six or eight seconds to heat a joint. Running at a higher temperature would probably obviate the need for the extra dab of solder on the tip, too; I add a tiny drop and roll it against the joint, but with a higher setting, I probably wouldn't need to.
- jacobolus 10y ago
  The important thing is not the tip temperature per se, but the heat flow. Try watching that linked video, it’s great!
- kbaker 10y ago
  There's probably not a huge risk running it cooler, but I would definitely try to learn the correct way to save time. I have always tried to explain it like this: the idea is that the iron gets both areas to above the melting point of the solder, so that when solder is applied it cleanly wicks into both the pin and the pad. Try and place the iron so that it heats both the pin and the pad at the same time. It helps to have a tiny bit of solder on the tip. Then, after around 1 second (unless the pad is on a ground plane, then maybe much longer...), feed in a bit of solder. It should melt and flow immediately on application. You don't need a lot to get a good connection, it should make a little 'hill' on the PCB. Remove the solder, then remove the iron. The joint should cool and leave a nice shiny connection (depends on the solder.) Tip for using lead-free solder: when you are done soldering, always leave a big blob of solder on the tip before turning the iron off. This way, the tip doesn't oxidize in air while cooling, and you don't have to clean the tip all the time. Next time you solder, just one wipe of the tip after it heats up and it will be shiny and ready to go.

throwanem 10y ago

I run my iron cool to avoid overheating joints, a nasty habit left over from years of not knowing what I was doing. It takes six or eight seconds to heat a joint. Running at a higher temperature would probably obviate the need for the extra dab of solder on the tip, too; I add a tiny drop and roll it against the joint, but with a higher setting, I probably wouldn't need to.

jacobolus 10y ago
The important thing is not the tip temperature per se, but the heat flow. Try watching that linked video, it’s great!
kbaker 10y ago
There's probably not a huge risk running it cooler, but I would definitely try to learn the correct way to save time. I have always tried to explain it like this: the idea is that the iron gets both areas to above the melting point of the solder, so that when solder is applied it cleanly wicks into both the pin and the pad. Try and place the iron so that it heats both the pin and the pad at the same time. It helps to have a tiny bit of solder on the tip. Then, after around 1 second (unless the pad is on a ground plane, then maybe much longer...), feed in a bit of solder. It should melt and flow immediately on application. You don't need a lot to get a good connection, it should make a little 'hill' on the PCB. Remove the solder, then remove the iron. The joint should cool and leave a nice shiny connection (depends on the solder.) Tip for using lead-free solder: when you are done soldering, always leave a big blob of solder on the tip before turning the iron off. This way, the tip doesn't oxidize in air while cooling, and you don't have to clean the tip all the time. Next time you solder, just one wipe of the tip after it heats up and it will be shiny and ready to go.