How hot do I solder?

[mertmo]

Probably the stupidest newbie question ever, and I'm sorry...

I'm just kinda clueless, even though I've been reading the threads over at the Lab for like a year straight.
Strangest feeling about DIY, knowing I can do this, but being so intimidated, knowing I don't know fuck-all.

So, uh, anyway, I bought a hakko 936-12 to solder with. Got an old empty pcb and some bulk resistors to practice with, but how hot do I run this thing?

Thanks.

[Professor]

Most standard electrical solder melts between 360-400? or so. Of course, if you hang right there it will take a longer time to heat up the components to that temperature so the solder flows evenly. I think that for delicate work you're safe in the 550-600 range (using appropriate heat sinks & such for semiconductors). For stuff like thick metal on connectors, especially on 1/4" plugs you might push up to 700? or a bit more.

Perhaps some of the pro builders out there will have different values, but that's worked pretty well for me.

-Jeremy

[mertmo]

Professor Jeremy, thank you thank you thank you.

[Scodiddly]

I run my Weller at 750F for just about everything. Lower temperatures require a longer touch from the iron, and results in more heat getting into the delicate parts of a circuit. Better to work fast so that only the joint heats up.

[brianroth]

I have a 700 degree tip in my Weller W-60 iron and it works for just about anything I do.

There are exceptions, like banana plugs, when I have to break out the Weller gun.

Bri

[mertmo]

Thanks for the replies, gentlemen. I really appreciate it.

Brian, I grew up in OKC. Dad still lives there, finding the last bits of oil in the ground and selling deals to investors...

Makes me smile to see your posts so I just wanted to say YO.

[klett]

it depends on the solder - I am not sure what the exact deal is with lead free solders - I need to know that myself but I don't have the hard data... so I am happy to see this question...

I am still working my way through a box of two pound tin/lead solder spools and I use a soldering iron with a variable temperature control (Edsyn). I set that to 700 degree F.

I also use a Weller WP60 with a 700 degree tip and that works great for most things. I have a number of them... I don't always carry tools wherever I go and so I have a collection of Radio Shack heated nails (horrible but better than nothing) and Weller WP-60 irons that I bought when I had an unexpected need to solder and the tool bag nowhere nearby...

The lead free stuff seems to work fine with the same temp settings but it would be good to KNOW for a fact what the best temp is.

I have a book that covers soldering in excruciating detail and if I can dig up the title I may come back and post it here

[honkyjonk]

I have that very same Hakko unit. You sure picked a good one.

I usually keep it around 700F even for PCB work. Just my past experience w/ using a weller needle that didn't get hot fast enough, and subsequently I've botched up a few points on pcb's, which i feel is due to longer exposure to low/medium heat, which is worse than short exposure to hot heat.

[brianroth]

Thanks for the replies, gentlemen. I really appreciate it.

Brian, I grew up in OKC. Dad still lives there, finding the last bits of oil in the ground and selling deals to investors...

Makes me smile to see your posts so I just wanted to say YO.

Hehehe...good to run across another "local", if only in the past tense....

Bri

[brianroth]

Lead-free solder worries me, at least at this point in time. My limited experiments have resulted in what consistently look like a "cold 60/40" joint, and it seems to require more heat. In addition, I keep seeing various "white papers" from various sources describing odd problems I've never heard of before, like corrosion, brittle joints that crack, "tin whiskers", etc. Try a Google search with various search terms.

IMHO, lead-free soldering process are NOT ready for prime-time except by perhaps very sophisticated manufacturers with elaborate lab facilities to run quality control. I have this nagging dread of satellites or airplanes falling out of the sky due to "time released" solder failures.

"Until the dust settles", I will stick with 63/37 tin/lead solder and Just Say No to licking the wiring <g>. Better to stick with a product with a multi-decade track record vs. these Johnny-Come-Lately solders that at best have only a year or two of time on the market.

Bri

[brianroth]

ALSO...to John Klett, it's great to see you here! Welcome aboard. I decided to take on the task of moderator after watching the threads for awhile, deciding there was enough "meats and potatos" of interests and questions to make it (hopefully) a useful forum.

Bri

[ulriggribbons]

I'm also a 700 degree person, except for soldering to the current crop of dpdt mini toggles. Too much heat and the pins start to move, which will totally hose the switch.

Turn down to 550 or so for those, and happy day.

ju

[Family Hoof]

I solder PCBs all day, every with a temp contol station and 63/37 solder. I too find myself working at 700degrees F for just about everything, but make an effort to work lower, say between 625 and 650, whenever possible. Ideally there is a eutectic temperature for the best joints that is 600something, but many other factors such as power, ground planes, gold pads, size of joint, amount and type of flux, etc. prevent this from being practical.