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    Solder balling up and not sticking

    I don't solder much so all I have is a couple cheap harbour freight 40w soldering irons. The first is old and the tip looks bad so I bought a brand new one, but I am having problems getting the solder to stick. It just balls up and doesnt seem to want to stick very well.
    I have tried 2 different generic rosin solders. 1 says lead free and is .8mm the other doesnt say if its lead free or not and is 1mm.

    I have tried tinning the tip of the new iron with solder but it just wont take. the solder balls up and drips off. same thing happens with the old iron.

    Would 63/37 or 60/40 solder work better? do I need to buy liquid flux? if so what kind and where can I get it?

    or is it just not possible to solder with a cheap harbour freight iron?

    thanks

    #2
    Re: Solder balling up and not sticking

    I use Kester 63/37 solder is good Use flux pen 951
    Last edited by 1supertech; 12-17-2013, 02:09 PM.

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Solder balling up and not sticking

      Your iron tip is too oxidized.. you need to clean the tip, use some rosin, add some solder..
      Those irons are cheap and shitty, don't expect to have solder stay on tip, they tip will be either too hot or too cold.

      63/37 or 60/40 doesn't make a difference when it comes to how the solder stays on your tip. Difference is 63/37 is euctetic, meaning it has a very narrow region in which it stays semi-liquid.
      The moment the solder goes below 182-183c, it goes hard. Almost instant, In contrast, the 60/40 solder will stay semi liquid between 180-190c. But if you move the lead/pin/whatever as the solder is in that transitional state, it can result in a bad, weak solder joint.

      So 63/37 is better if you want the solder joint to be done fast and get hard in short period of time (good thing if you solder somewhere where there are vibrations which could move the leads or cause imperfect solder jobs).

      60/40 may be better if you want to add solder and heat up several joints and have the solder still stay semi-liquid for a short period of time, for example when you'd want to solder a connector with several pins (you just add solder, heat up all pins and then you can remove connector, with 63/37 it's harder to do this)

      My advice to everyone would be.. stop buying those fire sticks and buy a cheap temperature controller solder station.
      For example even this one will be good enough: http://www.newark.com/tenma/21-10115...60w/dp/56T2208

      Note that there are cheap solder stations but you have to be careful because those cheaper stations don't actually have a temperature sensor in the tip to detect temperature and dynamically increase or decrease power to the tip to keep the set temperature. The temperature adjustment on those is basically just changing a fixed amount of power sent to the tip.
      Depending on the thickness of the wires, where you solder the wires, the tip will get colder when it touches the wire or the surface you want to solder. A good solder station monitors the tip temperature and actually increases the power to warm up the tip back to set temperature while the cheaper stations just keep pumping the same power in the tip (so the tip will heat up much slower to your desired temperature)

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Solder balling up and not sticking

        thanks for the info guys.
        I will definitely save up and buy a decent station after my funds recover from the holidays.

        thanks again

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Solder balling up and not sticking

          A very brief, but excellent soldering video. Sometimes it is not the tools, but the technique.

          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_NU2ruzyc4

          If you have more time, these are excellent soldering videos (lessons 1-9).

          http://www.youtube.com/user/paceworldwide
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          Comment


            #6
            Re: Solder balling up and not sticking

            awesome info in those videos.

            I think part of my problem (besides using crappy equipment) is I am afraid to heat the part I am soldering hot enough in fear of damaging the component.

            thanks for the links

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Solder balling up and not sticking

              Try and find an old bit of any electronic board and practice on it.
              Please upload pictures using attachment function when ask for help on the repair
              http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=39740

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Solder balling up and not sticking

                Dave from EEVBlog has a couple of very good soldering videos:

                EEVblog #180 - Soldering Tutorial Part 1 - Tools - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5Sb21qbpEQ

                EEVblog #183 - Soldering Tutorial Part 2 - Through Hole , other chips - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYz5nIHH0iY

                If you want to learn a lot about soldering, you can also watch Pace's soldering lessons.

                They seem outdated but the information in the videos is still very valid and current soldering stations make everything even easier than as shown in those videos :

                Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL926EC0F1F93C1837

                Some worth watching first:

                Basic Soldering Lesson 1 - "Solder & Flux"
                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIT4r...3C1837&index=1

                Basic Soldering Lesson 6 - "Component Soldering"
                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY5M-...3C1837&index=6

                Basic Soldering Lesson 7 - "Integrated Circuits: The DIP-Type Package"
                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgcPx...3C1837&index=7

                Basic Soldering Lesson 8 - "Integrated Circuits"
                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTv3g...3C1837&index=8

                ... and like selldoor says.. just get some broken device, open it and practice soldering on it.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Solder balling up and not sticking

                  I ordered some 63/37 solder and a flux pen. maybe that will help some.
                  I know I need a solder station but I don't have $70-$100 to spend right now.

                  thanks for the videos. very informative. now I need to practice..no electronic in my hose will be safe! lol

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Solder balling up and not sticking

                    It seems like your solder station has very bad heat control. I would recommend maybe spending the extra money and getting a better one. I have a hakko 888-D and really like it. It has great temperature control and comes with pre-set and sleep modes, which come in handy too. Hakko seems like a good dependable brand that lasts also. (more for your money is always a plus). I found one here and it comes with two free tips:
                    http://www.gotopac.com/Hakko_FX888D_...d-23by-hak.htm

                    Practicing is also a really good idea and helped me alot. Hope that helps and good luck!

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Solder balling up and not sticking

                      Your advice would seem more credible if you didn't have only one post and if you weren't located in "Eden Prairie", the same place where that gotopac store is located :

                      Minnesota Corporate Office
                      Production Automation Corp.
                      6200 Bury Drive
                      Eden Prairie, MN 55346
                      This being said, I agree, the Hakko FX-888 is very good, but you can find it for better prices (or same, but free/cheaper shipping) at other stores. For example see Sparkfun , or see Adafruit (and reward them for making open source hardware and projects)

                      Or get it for around 90$ on eBay from authorized seller like here (and with reasonable shipping outside US, but note they're 120v units):

                      http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hakko-FX888D...item58a51fd08a

                      http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hakko-FX888D...item2582ac6d77

                      They're also cheaper on Amazon:

                      Hakko FX888D-23BY Digital Soldering Station FX-888D
                      https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ANZRT4M...07QFF2DP2TYFF&

                      Digital FX888D & CHP170 bundle, includes FREE CHP170 cutter
                      https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AWUFVY8...PV9XQJBCVN4PH&

                      Hakko FX888D-KIT - Digital Soldering Station w/Free Spool of EasyBraid Solderwick OS-A-5AS
                      http://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FX888D-K...s=hakko+fx-888
                      Last edited by mariushm; 12-19-2013, 04:42 PM.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Solder balling up and not sticking

                        I just grabbed a Pro Line 70W Soldering Station from Radio Shack. They seem to be on sale at $39.95. And if you are worried about replacement tips becoming unavailable - the Hakko 900M tips work as a replacement.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Solder balling up and not sticking

                          That Pro Line is probably an Aouye model adapted for Radioshack... the case is very similar to these models:

                          http://www.aoyue.com/en/ArticleShow.asp?ArticleID=374

                          http://www.aoyue.com/en/ArticleShow.asp?ArticleID=373

                          Should be good, IF it properly adjusts temperature using temp. sensor in the tip (it should). Yeah, hakko tips should work, if not there are atten/aoyue tips on eBay.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Solder balling up and not sticking

                            thanks for all the info guys

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: Solder balling up and not sticking

                              Your problem is likely the lead-free solder, this requires higher temperatures and is harder to work with. That combined with your hesitation to heat the part up too much.

                              Make sure the iron is clean and hot enough. 40 watts might actually be too much, if it doesn't have control. You can end up with tips oxidizing faster and more problems.

                              I wouldn't go any higher than 30-watts for an uncontrolled iron.

                              I started out with a 25-watt iron and had no problem on single sided boards or with tip oxidization. But something like that is no good on multilayer though - you do need a high-power station with precise control, and sometimes even a preheater as well.
                              "Tantalum for the brave, Solid Aluminium for the wise, Wet Electrolytic for the adventurous"
                              -David VanHorn

                              Comment


                                #16
                                Re: Solder balling up and not sticking

                                My soldering has improved 100% and it was the solder that made the difference.

                                I took 1 of my cheap 40w irons and ground the tip (bad tip anyways) into a small chisel shape.
                                Next I got an excuse to try it out when my LG W2252TQ refused to power on this morning (had 2 bulged caps).
                                Using Kester 63/37 and my cheap 40w iron, the solder flowed onto the cap legs and board pads like it was being attracted by a magnet.

                                I think using the leaded solder instead of the lead free made all the difference in the world.

                                thanks for all the info guys

                                Comment


                                  #17
                                  Re: Solder balling up and not sticking

                                  I thought both of my irons were 40w but it turns out my new harbor freight special is only 30w. The tip is getting really bad on my 40w iron so I thought I would try using the new 30w iron.
                                  With the 30w iron the solder is back to balling up and not sticking.
                                  I've tried cleaning the tip with a brass brush, tried tinning the tip with solder(will not stick at all).
                                  Even though I am now using leaded solder its not working on the 30w iron. Is 30w not hot enough?

                                  thanks

                                  Comment


                                    #18
                                    Re: Solder balling up and not sticking

                                    Originally posted by Gorrillasnot View Post
                                    I thought both of my irons were 40w but it turns out my new harbor freight special is only 30w. The tip is getting really bad on my 40w iron so I thought I would try using the new 30w iron.
                                    With the 30w iron the solder is back to balling up and not sticking.
                                    I've tried cleaning the tip with a brass brush, tried tinning the tip with solder(will not stick at all).
                                    Even though I am now using leaded solder its not working on the 30w iron. Is 30w not hot enough?

                                    thanks
                                    Have you waited long enough for it to heat up before using it? 30 watt should be enough - I used a 25 watt for years.

                                    Although mine wasn't some made-in-China thing, so if that's what you've got, maybe that's why. Unless you have some way of measuring the tip temperature, you'll never know.
                                    "Tantalum for the brave, Solid Aluminium for the wise, Wet Electrolytic for the adventurous"
                                    -David VanHorn

                                    Comment


                                      #19
                                      Re: Solder balling up and not sticking

                                      Yep I let it heat up for 20 minutes before trying to use it. I think it may be junk. hopefully I can reuse the tip on my 40w iron.

                                      Comment


                                        #20
                                        Re: Solder balling up and not sticking

                                        20 minutes is far longer than you would need to wait, in fact if you waited that long, perhaps you have oxidization or even too much heat, or the thing is just junk.
                                        "Tantalum for the brave, Solid Aluminium for the wise, Wet Electrolytic for the adventurous"
                                        -David VanHorn

                                        Comment

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