Soldering Iron: How hot?

Ok, you got your soldering iron and nothing is going to hold you back, but you have no clue where to start or what to build. There were others before you with the same questions... read them first.
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greaserrock
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Post by greaserrock »

Hey all,

This is my first post and I'm sorry if this question has been answered a hundred times before. I tried practicing soldering last night and I couldn't get the perfboard hot enough to melt the solder. How hot does the iron have to be? I think I had it at thirty watts. May have been 20 though.
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DrNomis
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Post by DrNomis »

greaserrock wrote:Hey all,

This is my first post and I'm sorry if this question has been answered a hundred times before. I tried practicing soldering last night and I couldn't get the perfboard hot enough to melt the solder. How hot does the iron have to be? I think I had it at thirty watts. May have been 20 though.

I've got a Temperature Controlled 35 Watt Soldering Iron which I usually keep set to about 350 degrees C, you want to have the iron a bit hotter than the melting point of standard 60/40 rosin-core solder, which is about 280 degrees C, the extra 70 degrees is needed because the copper tracks and component lead acts a bit like a Heatsink, when making a solder joint, it should take about 5 seconds to complete, about two to heat both the copper track and component lead, one to apply the solder, and two more seconds for the joint to cool down.... :thumbsup

You could try investing in a 48Watt Termperature-Controlled Soldering Station, providing that you've got your soldering technique sorted, you can produce consistently good joints.... :thumbsup


As a side note, the melting-point of solder is controlled by the relative percentages of Tin and Lead that is in the Solder, the higher the proportion of lead, the longer the solder remains in a plastic state before it solidifies, so standard Electronic Resin-Cored Solder has 40% Lead, and 60% Tin and therefore solidifies quickly from a liquid form without staying in a plastic state for very long, Plumber's Solder has a different ratio of Lead to Tin and stays in a plastic state longer before solidifying... :thumbsup
Genius is not all about 99% perspiration, and 1% inspiration - sometimes the solution is staring you right in the face.-Frequencycentral.
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greaserrock
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Post by greaserrock »

Thank you for such a quick reply DrNomis! I'll try turning it up a bit. I think the settings on my iron go up to 50 or 55. (Can't check right now cause I'm at work). Thanks for all the specifics on temperature and technique. I'll try again tonight. I love this board!
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