First time with New soldering iron, any advice?

[somnif]

I got my last paycheck from my summer gig and decided to buy a Hakko fx-888d. It should be here in the morning, and I wondered if folks around here who have used one could offer some advice.

1) What temperature? I know 63/37 melts at 361F, but I assume I will want my iron hotter than that. I use Kester 245 no-clean, if that makes a difference.

2) Tips? The iron comes with a 1.6mm chisel tip. I've been using a conical "pencil" tip on my 15$ weller for ages. Is the hakko standard good for our purposes? Or should I invest the 10$ and get a replacement.

3) Sponge? The holder has a brass coil cleaner as well as a wet sponge. Is the wet sponge worth using? I know they also sell a silicone rubber "lip" for the brass coil holder, is that useful at all?

Any advice at all would be appreciated.

[alanp]

If I ever buy a soldering station with a temperature control, I'm going to have to start a thread just like this one The datasheet for Kester 245 should have some kind of temperature setting to use.

My cheap 40W pencil iron comes with a tip... and that's about all you get. Give the 1.6mm chisel a whirl for a few builds, and see if it drives you up the wall. (I'm stingy enough that I'd probably still run the tip into the ground before replacing it.)

Don't use the sponge. Use the brass coil cleaner, you're not constantly using water to cool down your tip then. The silicone 'lip' might be useful if you have bad aim and melt the holder for the brass coil, otherwise (stingy man speaks) I wouldn't bother buying it.

[Stomptown]

I've had good results running my Haako anywhere from 600 to 750 degrees.  These days I run it at 750 so I can get in and out quicker (at 600ish you will have to heat the joint for a longer duration). It may seem excessive but I haven't fried an IC yet.  The chisel tip takes some getting used to but I grew to like it more than the pencil tip over time.  It works fine for our purposes and is a better choice IMO if you do any SMD soldering.  I agree with Alan about the sponge and wouldn't waste your money on the silicone thingy since the holder is pretty much indestructible as is.  Then again, maybe it has a purpose I'm not thinking of...

[somnif]

Ah, see, I had thought the iron holder was Plastic, hence my curiosity about the heat protective lip. It certainly looks plastic-y in all the pictures. But apparently its metal! So I don't think I will worry about the "rubber cleaner" lip for now.

I've read around and apparently 245 is happiest in the 600-700F range according to the Kester site, but again I'm not sure if the applications they're talking about match what I would normally use mine for. Good to know its in the ballpark at least.

[pickdropper]

All very good questions:

1.)  I usually solder at 720F.  I find the higher temperature allows to me get in and out with reduced dwell time.

2.)  A small chisel tip is a good basic tip for pedal building.  For every iron I have, I have multiple tips so I can fit the tip to the job.  If you don't want to get extra tips, I would stick with that tip.  If you want others, I would recommend a larger chisel for heavier duty soldering operations and a smaller, conical tip for really small things.

3.)  I find the brass coil to be vastly superior to the sponge for cleaning the tip.  I stopped using sponges years ago.

Hopefully that helps.

[rullywowr]

Congratulations! 

1) What temperature? I know 63/37 melts at 361F, but I assume I will want my iron hotter than that. I use Kester 245 no-clean, if that makes a difference.

I use Kester 245 as well and normally set my iron around 750F.  If you have to solder more than "a three count" then its too long.  I'd recommend a Kester flux pen as well.


2) Tips? The iron comes with a 1.6mm chisel tip. I've been using a conical "pencil" tip on my 15$ weller for ages. Is the hakko standard good for our purposes? Or should I invest the 10$ and get a replacement.

As Pickdropper also said - its great to have an assortment.  A small chisel tip is good as well as a conical.  I prefer a long screwdriver tip with a small slot.

3) Sponge? The holder has a brass coil cleaner as well as a wet sponge. Is the wet sponge worth using? I know they also sell a silicone rubber "lip" for the brass coil holder, is that useful at all?

Got to go for the brass/copper colored metal cleaner.  Way better than a sponge and you don't have to deal with water.  Also it keeps the temp more stable than dunking it in water each time.

[selfdestroyer]

I'm a Weller WESD51 guy. It has been my go to station for years (Even before I built pedals). I run it about 750F since I too am a "get in and out as fast as I can" solderer.

As far as tips go, I use the Weller Long Conical Tip, 1/64". I have used this since I modded my first Playstation 2. I learned to soldier on tiny tiny pads and needed a tip that was precises. Its not "needed" for pedal building but.. its what I'm comfortable with.

Sponge... I don't like using a water sponge, it seems like I used to go through more tips from the constant cooling and heating of the tip from cleaning it (I have no evidence but it just seemed that way) so I use the mesh style cleaner.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FZPGDLA/ref=s9_simh_gw_g328_i4_r?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=&pf_rd_r=783N3NTZHK57GCAVA4E2&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=6aad23bd-3035-4a40-b691-0eefb1a18396&pf_rd_i=desktop

Cody

[somnif]

Well it just arrived, and its awesome! I played around a bit and decided 700F will work for now. 650 seemed a bit on the slow side (though apparently my old weller pencil was around 850-900 when operating, no wonder it turned blue and covered with oxide constantly!). Heats up in ~30 seconds and the tinning stays a lovely fluid silver the whole time, amazing. The lighter weight of the pencil took a little getting used to, but the grip on it is a lot more comfortable.

I think I will get either a type I or type BL tip for it when I can. The chisel tip transfers heat well, but it feels a bit more clumsy on the tighter sections of the board. Now if I could just tell the difference between the two types to actually make an informed decision. Both seem like "fine tip conical" to me.

[BrianS]

I just purchased the same station (which I wished I would have bought to begin with) and it has the same tip. I am used to the pencil type tip and was having some difficulty using the chisel tip. It just seemed large and hard to maneuver around.  I'm getting better with it though.  I have been running mine at 670 and May up the temp to 700. 

I purchased a set of tips off eBay that were knock offs ($4) and I would not recommend doing it. It was $4 so not a great loss and I did read where a lot of people used them successfully.  At 670 the Hakko tip performed really well and the knock offs sort of sucked.  They just didn't seem to heat up well.  I bought a T-18 B off amazon and I'm waiting for it to arrive.  Anyway the station seems to be about 100% better than the last one i bought. Good luck with it.

[somnif]

I couldn't find a flux pen in town, but my local electronics store had a dripper bottle of Kester '44 flux that I picked up and I keep a cheap fine tip paint brush on hand for it. I ended up using it to clean up an accidental hand twitch that filled in a solder hole (along with a bit of improvised copper weave made from old hookup wire). Works just fine, though it leaves a sticky mess. Hooray IPA.

Other than that the station has been great all day. I find myself using more solder with it for some reason, but that may just be me getting used to it.

[pickdropper]

I couldn't find a flux pen in town, but my local electronics store had a dripper bottle of Kester '44 flux that I picked up and I keep a cheap fine tip paint brush on hand for it. I ended up using it to clean up an accidental hand twitch that filled in a solder hole (along with a bit of improvised copper weave made from old hookup wire). Works just fine, though it leaves a sticky mess. Hooray IPA.

Other than that the station has been great all day. I find myself using more solder with it for some reason, but that may just be me getting used to it.

If you ever order parts from Mouser, you can get a flux pen at the same time.  I recommend the Kester 186 flux pen.

[rullywowr]

If you ever order parts from Mouser, you can get a flux pen at the same time.  I recommend the Kester 186 flux pen.

A flux pen IS awesome!

I use the 245 solder and prefer the 951 flux pen as it is also "no clean" and keeps with the "no clean" process.  The 186 is a RMA type flux and while works good, leaves a schticky residue on the PCB if not washed off.

[pickdropper]

Yeah, I don't mind 245 solder but I haven't cared for the 951 flux pens when I've used them (the 186 was more effective, IMHO).  In fairness, I haven't tried them in a couple of years and Kester probably has made some improvements since then.


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[rullywowr]

Yeah, I don't mind 245 solder but I haven't cared for the 951 flux pens when I've used them (the 186 was more effective, IMHO).  In fairness, I haven't tried them in a couple of years and Kester probably has made some improvements since then.


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The 186 does have a better "aroma" than the 951 by far.  Not that you are supposed to be inhaling the stuff... 

186 = Maple Syrup
951 = isopropyl alcohol

[pickdropper]

Yeah, I don't mind 245 solder but I haven't cared for the 951 flux pens when I've used them (the 186 was more effective, IMHO).  In fairness, I haven't tried them in a couple of years and Kester probably has made some improvements since then.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The 186 does have a better "aroma" than the 951 by far.  Not that you are supposed to be inhaling the stuff... 

186 = Maple Syrup
951 = isopropyl alcohol

You should totally write ad copy for Kester.