Soldering Iron not melting solder

Thread Starter

Miasto

Joined Apr 16, 2018
3
I only recently bought a new soldering Iron, Its a 3x1.5V (8W) Soldering Iron from Maplins. It suits perfect for the type of job I need it for, but very quickly after I used it (about 3 hours), it would struggle to melt the solder completely. After placing a dab of solder or melting pre-placed dabs I always wipe the tip on a cellulose sponge, then put a small amount of solder back on the tip. (Pic of tip below)
I've replaced the batteries and attempted just keeping the heat on for a time but it only fixes it momentarily
I've seen online some people use rosin to help clean the solder, Is that all I need?

I appreciate all the help I can get, I'm extremely new to electronic engineering and know theres a lot to learn, TIA

-Miasto
 

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Alec_t

Joined Sep 17, 2013
14,280
Its a 3x1.5V (8W) Soldering Iron from Maplins. It suits perfect for the type of job I need it for, but very quickly after I used it (about 3 hours), it would struggle to melt the solder completely
That's not surprising. If the batteries are AA size and have a capacity of, say, 2000mAh, then even if they managed to stay at 4V (3 x 1.5 minus losses) you would expect only a 1hr life, since the 8W iron would be drawing ~2A.
 

BR-549

Joined Sep 22, 2013
4,928
The cost of batteries will soon reach the cost of an ac powered unit. Are you working somewhere without ac power?

Have you ever used a small pencil torch?
 

Thread Starter

Miasto

Joined Apr 16, 2018
3
The cost of batteries will soon reach the cost of an ac powered unit. Are you working somewhere without ac power?

Have you ever used a small pencil torch?
Yeah, for now im working in my shed so theres no power yet. At the same time I'll be moving around to friends houses to work on projects so its "easier" to have a battery operated one. Are the pencil torches any good? If not I may as well revert back to plug in one.
 

Thread Starter

Miasto

Joined Apr 16, 2018
3
I'm a broke student, so I'm trying to keep everything cost effective. I have a cheep non-temp controlled soldering iron, I could hook up to a 6V heavy duty rechargeable battery, Should do the job right? Thank you all for the help. I'll try not to melt circuit boards in the mean time
 

Reloadron

Joined Jan 15, 2015
7,501
I'm a broke student, so I'm trying to keep everything cost effective. I have a cheep non-temp controlled soldering iron, I could hook up to a 6V heavy duty rechargeable battery, Should do the job right? Thank you all for the help. I'll try not to melt circuit boards in the mean time
While I can appreciate the impoverished student position I have never come across a small battery powered soldering iron suitable for doing bench work. Not for any extended period of time. The cheapest solution likely would be to invest in a cheap soldering pencil and invest in a cheap SCR lamp dimmer which can be used to power the pencil. There are also large numbers of cheap Chinese controlled heat soldering stations available at reasonable prices. The Hakko brand among others. A cheap 30 watt pencil is under $10 USD and a cheap lamp dimmer is also about $10 USD.

Ron
 

buffumjr

Joined Mar 24, 2018
52
Power to the shed can be as simple as one of those Horror Fright Tools orange extension cords. That's cheap enough for any budget. You don't even need a building permit (big grin).
 
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