does my soldering iron suck, or is it just my Skillz?

[ransoman]

First things first, i have never soldered before in my life.

I plugged in my new 15watt pencil iron last night to do a little practice. when it warmed up (enough to make steam on the sponge) (7 minutes of warm up time), touched the solder and............ nothing.

It wouldn't melt it at all, i could feel the heat over the iron so i knew how hot it was (very). but the solder wouldn't melt untill it got about halfway down the tip, then it would melt on the tip for the next 10 seconds but nothing would stick to the tip (it just made balls untill it fell off).

So is my iron, solder (1mm, lead free) or my skills crap?

[dankicksass]

Steam forms at under 200 degrees. (Yes, steam forms before water's boiling point, water is funny like that.) Solder melts at a significantly higher temperature than that. Let your iron warm up for longer than you did, and try again. Also, make sure your tip is not oxidized (brown) and check out the soldering sticky.

[marshallh]

It sounds like your iron tip hasn't been tinned. Clean it off until you get to bare metal, then melt a coating of solder onto the tip. This helps heat transfer when you solder.
If all is working, solder should melt on contact.

[timmeh87]

flux. you need flux for it to stick.

[Krepticor]

YES TIN YOUR TIP IT IS VERY IMPORTANT!

not only does tinning help heat transfer, it also helps keep the iron on the tip in good condition by keeping air from touching it, tin your tip regularly

[ransoman]

Thanks.

Just been speaking to my boss and he suggested tinning as well. Problem is, if i cant get the solder to melt in the first place, how can i cover it in melted solder?? Will speak to my dad tonight about it.

[bicostp]

You need to be very very patient when you use a 15w, in my opinion. I concider anything under 30w not worth the effort. But then again I learned on a 60w Weller. (Wellers are great!)

On your iorn, the solder is making those "balls" because the iorn is not yet hot enough. Most electronics solder melts at roughly 370 degrees Farenheit, and as far as I can tell it should be hotter than that for good adhesion.

Try thinner solder, or a different compound.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solder

[daguuy]

i have a 30/15 watt switching iron and when i accidentally leave it on 15w (i only use 15w for soldering to ICs and stuff) and turn it on later, i always loose patience waiting for it to heat up, it's just not powerful enough. get a 30w one

[vskid]

Tinning helped a ton for my 30/15w soldering iron. Before it would take forever to melt solder on the 30w setting, now it does it faster on 15w than it did on non-tinned 30w.

[Skyone]

I use a 30W/15W for my main soldering, usually the 30W option for more heat dissapation and easier solder melting. 45W is my other iron, which is for large components. I also have a 60W, but I never use it due to too much heat and too much fumes.

[ransoman]

hmmm, thanks for the replies. I might invest in a second iron then, a 30watt one. i bought the 15w because i am intending to put a cartridge slot on a radica (help). Maybe need a 30 for other general soldering.

I saw a 12watt iron in the same shop, i bet that would never melt solder.

[*o*]

i have:

1x60w for big soldering
2x30w one with a chisel tip and one with a needle tip
2x15w one with a chisel tip and one with a needle tip

[ransoman]

Just bought me a 30w, suppose it wouldv'e been a good idea to get one in the first place because i can't see a 15watt being any use for desoldering.

Now, The 15w has a chisel tip and the 30w has a needle tip. Am i right in thinking i will only need a needle tip? The chisel tip seems to big to be of any use when portablising.