Soldering station and flux

Thread Starter

fixit7

Joined Jun 2, 2019
11
This is my soldering station.

smWork_Bench.jpg

The manual that came with it only covers the smd work station of which I know nothing about.

Nothing about the soldering iron section.

I have only had it a couple of months.

The highest temp it goes to is 480.

Not sure if that is Fahrenheit or Celsius ?

I used that setting for my previous post in soldering those wires.

And used a flattened tip for that.

How can I gauge the temp I should use based on the gauge of wires I am working with?

I use the sharp pointed tip for chips, resistors, etc.

Should I use flux for all electrical soldering or just for circuit boards?

https://www.zeny.us/products/zeny-8...elder-with-11-piece-soldering-tip-kit-model-4

Thanks,
Andy
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,839
The highest temp it goes to is 480.

Not sure if that is Fahrenheit or Celsius ?
It has to be C.
How can I gauge the temp I should use based on the gauge of wires I am working with?
The temperature should be based on the type of solder you're using. I use 700F for 63/37. Unleaded require higher temperatures.
Should I use flux for all electrical soldering or just for circuit boards?
If you're using solder with a flux core, that's sufficient for most cases.

clipimage.jpg
 

Thread Starter

fixit7

Joined Jun 2, 2019
11
I am using some old Radio Shack solder.

It seems like soldering 10 gauge wires versus 22 gauge wire would require much more heat.

There is more surface area wicking off heat.

Just thinking.
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,839
It seems like soldering 10 gauge wires versus 22 gauge wire would require much more heat.

There is more surface area wicking off heat.
You need a tip that has more thermal mass so it doesn't cool too quickly; not a higher temperature.
 

dendad

Joined Feb 20, 2016
4,451
Very small tips are a bit of a trap.
I use wedge tips for most work, and never the real tiny tips that are available.
Those small tips cannot conduct enough heat to rapidly solder so mostly the temp will have to be wound up to far and risk causing damage.
Do not confuse enough heat with high temperature.
A more solid tip is able to transfer the heat quickly to the work so soldering is easier. A very thin tip cannot conduct the heat well. Look at is as a resistor.
I've been designing and building electronics for around 45 years. The wider tips work very well on the surface mount parts too. Being able to solder a number of SMT IC pins at a time speeds assemble up, and good thermal conduction helps make good joints.
Once again, stay away from tiny pointed tips.
About 350 C is ok, depending on the solder.
 

jpanhalt

Joined Jan 18, 2008
11,087
Those side cutters and vise grips look just a little large for SMD work.
1592985833896.png

Do you also use that "station" for welding farm implements? ;)
 

Irving

Joined Jan 30, 2016
3,843
Most soldering irons of that size will struggle with 10AWG wire into a ring terminal or solder cup. Best solution is to use lots of liquid flux to stop metallic surfaces oxidising while heating. Make sure joint is mechanically stable - I often crimp terminal to wire loading joint with pieces of solder wire too. Then lots of flux, micro-blowtorch or heat gun with narrow nozzle and feed in additional solder. Try not to overheat or solder wicks up out of connector and leaves a fragile area where cable can fracture.
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,839
Could you be more specific please.
You need to pick a tip appropriate for the piece being soldered.

This information is from Weller:
clipimage.jpg
My 48W iron uses these tips. I use PTP for most things; even joining pieces of copper clad to make boxes.
clipimage.jpg

EDIT: Add attribution.
 
Last edited:
Top