[sdiy] The case of the sticky solder pt. 2

[Ray Wilson]

The only thing i can think is that the iron is not transferring enough heat 
to the pads and component leads to get the solder to stick to anything other 
than its tip. Is the tip tight in the iron (it should not wiggle at all). 
Usually there is a sleeve that needs to be turned/tightened to bring the tip 
in contact with the heating element of the iron. it can become loose so 
check that. Try buying some solder resin (NOT ACID BASED) which may possibly 
help. But the bottom line is "It don't mean a thing if it aint got that... 
heat transfer". All of my boards are either tin or HAL plated and they seem 
to solder fine for me. These types of things can be very frustrating. Does 
the Rat Shack iron still work for you?


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sam Ecoff" <secoff at execpc.com>
To: "Synth DIY" <synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl>
Sent: Friday, November 10, 2006 9:39 PM
Subject: [sdiy] The case of the sticky solder pt. 2


> So, I did a little soldering tonight, this time at the correct 
> temperature (700 degrees F). I had previous set the iron to only 350,  so 
> things went considerably better tonight. However, the solder is  still 
> misbehaving. It's still more interested to stick to the iron's  tip than 
> to components and pads on the board.
>
> Ken Stone suggested in a private e-mail that the pads may have become 
> dirty or oxidized, but I can't see how that could have happened as I  keep 
> the boards wrapped in anti-static plastic when I'm not working  on them in 
> a temperature and humidity controlled environment (68  degrees F, 30-35% 
> relative humidity). I wash them each time I finish  soldering a few more 
> components and use a gentle nylon brush which  means that each board is 
> getting scrubbed 5-6 times, which I would  guess is enough to remove oil 
> left by my hands. I've had these boards  in my possession for maybe 3 
> months, and none of them are copper  boards. All stuff from Tom Gamble, 
> Ray Wilson, and Ken Stone. Have I  missed something here which could have 
> caused the boards to get dirty  or oxidized? I suppose I could wear latex 
> gloves to keep oil from my  hands completely off the pads, but that seems 
> a tad anal. I just  can't figure how they would get dirty otherwise.
>
> While I appreciate the tips on soldering technique, I know that I  haven't 
> changed what I'm doing, but the result has changed. I used to  be able to 
> go down a row of pins on an IC socket zip-zip-zip, and now  it's 10+ 
> minutes of work to get the solder to stay on the pads.
>
> I just upgraded my Rat Shack iron to an entry level weller, which has 
> helped the problem a bit, but the solder is still more interested to 
> stick to the iron's tip than to pads and component legs. The only  other 
> thing that I can think that has changed since I began my  current projects 
> is that I used up the batch of Kester 331 that I had  originally purchased 
> from John Blacet while building his excellent  kits, and I am now using a 
> reel of 331 I purchased from Mouser. So  here's a question... does solder 
> go bad? Has anyone ever gotten a bad  reel? I'm just left scratching my 
> head here, because I'm eliminating  variables but haven't seen much 
> improvement yet. I guess the next  step will be to try some of the Kester 
> 245 I bought and see if things  are different. I'm planning to solder up a 
> few pots tomorrow night,  so I'll use the 245 and then report back. If 
> anyone has any ideas as  to what the hell is going wrong (or what I'm 
> doing wrong) please feel  free to chime in.
>
> As always, I'm grateful for all of the help and suggestions I've 
> received.
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Sam E.
> _______________________________
> Sam Ecoff
> Secret Society Productions
> 5307 S. 92nd St. Suite 105
> Hales Corners, WI 53130
> (414) 427-0615
> www.samecoff.com
>
>