Soldering Hints - # - Robert's Photos

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Acid-based flux such as Tix or Nokorode should never be used for electrical work. The 18 gage red wire was dipped in Tix flux and left to corrode for 6 months. The black "control" wire remained shiny.

The MSDS for Tix and Nokorode list Zinc Chloride, a fairly strong acid, as the active ingredient. Use rosin or "no clean" flux, both weak acids, for electrical work!

For normal electronic soldering, a rosin-based flux should be used. This jar of electroonics rosin paste has been in use for almost a decade.

For printed circuit board work, flux pens can be very useful. Residue can be removed with isopropyl alcohol, a spray can of flux remover, or by washing the board in an ordinary dishwasher (presuming that there are no water-sensitive parts such as speakers or potentiometers.)

Use a good rosin-core solder. The 0.031" diameter spool on the left is 62% tin, 36% lead, 2% silver. The 0.015" diameter spool on the right is the classic eutectic 63% tin, 37% lead. The smaller diameter is needed for soldering surface-mount or SMD devices. Eutectic solders transition directly from liquid to solid without going through a pasty phase.

For surface-mount jobs a very-high quality temperature-controlled iron makes the work a joy instead of a chore. A temperature-controlled iron idles at low power but can throttle-up to full power when the tip temperature begins to drop.

For SMD I use this WD1001 with a fine-tip 65 watt pencil iron that lives on my home workbench. The tip comes up to temperature in about 10 seconds and cools very quickly. The 850 degree setting is used only for stripping the insulation from heat-strippable magnet wire.

The smallest tip I use for SMD work is about the diameter of Lincoln's nose, 0.010" diameter. Between his chin and the date sits a yellow 0603 SMD LED. 0603 means 0.060" long by 0.030" wide. I prefer 0806 and 1206 parts because 0603s can induce temporary clinical insanity. Forget the 0402s!

Order a selection of spare tips when you buy an iron. The blobs of solder on the right three are no accident; one should wipe the tip only before using it, and re-tin the tip before it touches the board. Leaving excess solder on the tip when it sits in the holster lengthens tip life by reducing oxidation of the plating. I cleaned the smallest tip for this photo to reveal the small diameter and iron plating. The rest "rode back to the barn wet."

This vintage Weller WES50 50 watt temperature-controlled iron has served faithfully for more than a decade. It has been ridden hard and put back in the barn wet.

This iron now lives in my A&O work session toolbox, as it is well suited for almost any job from layout wiring to decoder installation. A built-in shutoff timer saves the tip and gives peace of mind should I forget to turn it off for the night. Unfortunately the smallest available tip is too large for some fine surface-mount work.

This model is no longer made, having been superseded by almost-identical and fully-compatible models WES51 (thermostat knob) and WESD-51 (digital readout.)

Although variable-wattage irons are an improvement over a fixed iron, they are nothing more than a light dimmer hooked to a regular soldering iron. They can't regulate a precise temperature. Who today would install a "variable heat" furnace in their home that didn't have a thermostatic control? This iron uses a thermostatic control that works very well, instantly switching to maximum power when the tip drops in temperature.

Note that there are some irons from Weller that look simple, but actually have a sophisticated thermostat built into the tip and heating element. These regulate temperature using the Curie principle, whereby a metal alloy normally attracted by a magnet suddenly loses its attraction due to heat, allowing a spring in the handle to open a switch to the heating element. In such Weller irons, the opening and closing of the magnetic Curie switch can be plainly heard as click sounds in a quiet room.

Tips don't last forever and this one is shot! The plating is worn and flaking off. Solder will no longer smoothly wet the entire surface. It was already making soldering miserable when it was removed from service. This one goes in the trash.

Obviously these tips can't be filed without instantly ruining them.

Acid-based flux such as Tix or Nokorode should never be used for electrical work. The 18 gage red wire was dipped in Tix flux and left to corrode for 6 months. The black "control" wire remained shiny.

The MSDS for Tix and Nokorode list Zinc Chloride, a fairly strong acid, as the active ingredient. Use rosin or "no clean" flux, both weak acids, for electrical work!

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III |

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Original size: 1024x1024 |

Current: 600x600 |

filename: Tix_Flux_Destroys |

Keywords: tix flux destroys

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