Do Soldering Tips Wear Out

Eventually they wear out.

Do soldering tips wear out. It is normal for copper from the soldering iron tip to slowly disolve into the liquid solder eroding the tip. How do you know if a soldering tip is bad. Some of these factors include.

The affect all tips the same way. On tips with heating elements built into the tips themselves IE. Yes I use the a cleaning wire the one for the dishes since the wet sponge cools the tip and corrodes it faster.

I think that this happens because I use a cheap tip and I sometimes lay big blobs of solder on the tip for a while until I finish some connections. Eventually they wear out. Follow these tips to reap the benefits of proper soldering iron tip care.

Tip plating failures for all solder tips can be divided into four main classes. Tips wear out when the plating is damaged so if you 1 never let the tip see oxygen ie by keeping it covered with solder at all times and 2 dont damage it any other way eg thermal shock abrasive cleaning etc it. I started using a soldering iron at age 5 so I know a little bit I am 62 and an electronics technician for over 40 years.

Abrasion from rubbing the tip against pads RF shields component terminations or pressing against trimmed leads. However by taking good care of your soldering iron tip you will be able to boost its longevity significantly hence saving your money and improving your soldering skills. Remember to keep tips always tinned even when you finish your job.

Soldering Iron tips do not last forever. Leaving solder on the tip gives more solder volume for the copper to disolve into. And the hotter the iron the faster this erosion occurs.