new soldering iron
 

i was at rs yesterday and i pick up the duel wattage soldering iron(15w and 30w)and i was soldering for 2 houurs straight last night and the tip turned all gold and purple in one spot how bad is this

I think every soldering iron I've ever owned has turned colors, I haven't been blown up yet:D

Me too, they've all discolored. I used to have the same dual wattage iron, it's great because it comes with the stand and power is switchable at the base, instead of having to unplug it all the time. And it doesn't break the bank either.

specking on batteries blowing up...i was chargering my 6 cell stick pack on a amp charger (lol) and i forgot about it and it blow up!! so i went outside to see what happend and there was half the battery still there then all of the sudden it blow up! i was like 2 feet away from it....damn that hurt.. i had metal shaving stuck in my arms and neck for a long time..

ohhh hey is that 15/30 watt iron any good (from rape shack)...?

i used my buddies soldering iron last nite to fix a wire... variable voltage all the way up to 300... @_@ ... scared the crap outta me, cuz i've never soldered before...

but yeah, anyway... is that iron from radio shack a good deal?

i used to have a radioshack iron and it works fine for bits. as far as the discolored stuff, you need to keep your tip clean which can be done by applying some solder on the tip and then wipe it off on a wet sponge. do this often. it will make the tip last longer and more importantly will make soldering easier.

lightly sanding the tip is good too

yeah its good and i also have a 300watt soldering GUN but thats just crazy the 15/30 watt is great and i got it for like $8 or $9 and i bought led free solder(me dont like cancer and poision)
also like the whole metal part was changing color

I have that same 15/30 iron.... mine changed all kinds of colors too

i dont think led free solder is as conductive or strong. but ya it is toxic(especially for little kids) so clean up right after you are done.

led free toxic or leaded?
edit: do you think im to little im 11 and my first soldering job i fixed a steering wire am i a born solderer?????:D :confused:

Im 13 and the second time I soldered I was duel cellin my car. Im prolly gonna get a butaine solder soon, my bro can get em cheap from the snap-on guy at the ford dealership where he works! But anyway mine changed gold so now my soldering pen is all blinged out :D !

i saw a butane at raidio shack for $15 was so good about them?

they heat up faster, or at least thats what i heard.

heat up faster? humm maybe.. i know that if you get a good soldering station (iron) that has the variable wattage. some of which run up to a couple hunderd dollars... they heat up instantly...

sanding the tip is good. but after you do this, put some solder on it and wipe it with a wet sponge.. this will help you hold solder on the tip of the iron. which will allow you to just touch the iron to the parts you want to solder.. just touch, the solder will leave the iron, and then remove almost immediately... works great for me.

discoloration is normal.. this is what happens to metal as it is heated and cooled. its also called tempering.. if youve ever heard of tempered steel. it kinda goes through the same process.. heated up to a certain temp. and then cooled. sometimes cooled extremely fast by using water... or other cooling liquids.. anyway tempering is different for different metals and applications...

why do you need your solering iron to heat up immediatly? just wait 2 mins. my buddy is an ee who runs a repair shop and he uses a weller iron. the tips are so nice and easy to work with. it takes time to heat up but once it does its totally reliable.

um the tip of my new iron dosnt melt solder any more ive try wiping it off bit somthing is blocking it up

i got the iron now! its a mac tools St 120, its awsome it heats completely in like 20 seconds and also has a torch end, and an end for adding shrink wrap. i dunno how much it cost though, my bro got it for me to share wit him. im kinda afraid of burnin myself on it tho..

Beware of the butane soldering irons. I've had one for ten years, and it gets FAR TOO HOT for working on Bit pcbs, unless you have mad quick soldering skills. I could probably light my fireplace with mine. It aint no 15 watt jobber!!!

Well, even if i had my 15 watt pen I would still completely trash my pcb board :D

lol i was lookin for a pen but i didnt see any :(

you guys are seriously making soldering sound like open heart surgery.

its not that difficult. take an old broken stero or vcr and rip stuff apart and reattach wires and all kindsa stuff or get creative and make something dumb.

I know soldering isnt hard, i do it all the time. my hands are just waaay to shaky to hold the iron on long enough without snaping off other wires.

yeah im 11 and im really shacky

then rest your hand with the iron on the table and hold the thing you are soldering to the iron.

is it common for there to me liquid stuff around the solder when u solder on a battery

ya

yeah that orange looking gooie crap? lol ive seen that alot also

yo hog, open heart surgery is overrated.:p

are you saying "lead-free" solder is still toxic? I just wanna confirm this cuz "lead-free" would seem misleading.