Hi Adam,
What a bummer! I would think the tip should last longer than that. I'm
curious, what model of Weller iron are you using? I have a temp-controlled
Weller WSD80 and have built quite a few modules over the last 18 months; the
original tip (a fine chisel point) is still going strong. I usually keep
the temp set around 600-700 depending on the work I'm doing. I use a bit
more heat for wiring and when using noclean solder. Are you keeping the tip
tinned at all times? If I'm working on inserting some parts or something
that doesn't make use of the iron for a few minutes, I put some fresh solder
on the tip. Then before using it, I give it a quick wipe on the sponge,
then just a bit of re-tinning before soldering the pads. I also tin the tip
just before shutting off the iron. This help prevent corrosion.
You could probably lightly sand the tip with a very fine grit and re-tin to
bring it back to life. After all, waiting until Tuesday to finish an
already in-progress module would induce a bad case of anxiety!
Cheers,
George
----- Original Message -----
From: Adam Schabtach <adam@...>
To: MOTM List <motm@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, May 26, 2002 12:58 AM
Subject: [motm] Care and feeding of Weller iron tips?
> A question for those of you who have done lots of soldering with Weller
> irons: What sort of life expectancy do the tips have? I'm partway through
my
> eighth MOTM kit and the small conical tip for my Weller seems to be
wearing
> out. (I've use it somewhat longer than for these eight kits, but not
much.)
> The first couple of millimeters refuse to wet with solder any longer, and
it
> doesn't seem to heat up a junction effectively any longer. It looks a
little
> brownish, and I can't seem to clean it with the usual damp sponge.
>
> Is there any way to revive these tips? I know that you're not supposed to
> file them. But it's Saturday night on a three-day weekend, which means I
> can't get to the electronics store for a replacement until Tuesday at the
> earliest, and here I am almost finished with a 380 Quad LFO...
>
> Thanks--
> --Adam