11-25-2015, 11:10 AM
Willie,
Over the years I've replaced several tips but never had to replace a barrel assembly or anything else.
The tips were replaced after what I considered reasonable wear, tear and users inability to insure the tip was tinned. I also changed how I used the iron. In the past I would simply 'leave it on' when soldering a board, which meant that it would be hot but unused for long intervals [10 to 30 minutes] while I did other things and them resume soldering. Now I make sure I have tinned the tip and then shut it off if it will not be used immediately. Yes, that means that I have to turn it on for the next 'soldering session' but it comes up to temperature [600+ F] in what seems like less than a minute.
So the incantation is "populate the board, turn soldering station on, put board into PCB holder ... https://panavise.com/index.html?pageID=1...udatarq=25 ..., clean tip with this ... https://www.radioshack.com/products/radi...5717831429 ..., put on magnifying lense, solder components, clean and tin tip, turn off soldering station, wash, rinse, repeat."
As a side note I'm in the process of converting to SMT and just replaced a DIY toaster re-flow oven with a real ... at least in terms of hobby use ... re-flow oven. Bev decided the DIY version gave off strange odors and forced [yeah, that's the term I will use ;-}] me to get a real one.
Arvid
Over the years I've replaced several tips but never had to replace a barrel assembly or anything else.
The tips were replaced after what I considered reasonable wear, tear and users inability to insure the tip was tinned. I also changed how I used the iron. In the past I would simply 'leave it on' when soldering a board, which meant that it would be hot but unused for long intervals [10 to 30 minutes] while I did other things and them resume soldering. Now I make sure I have tinned the tip and then shut it off if it will not be used immediately. Yes, that means that I have to turn it on for the next 'soldering session' but it comes up to temperature [600+ F] in what seems like less than a minute.
So the incantation is "populate the board, turn soldering station on, put board into PCB holder ... https://panavise.com/index.html?pageID=1...udatarq=25 ..., clean tip with this ... https://www.radioshack.com/products/radi...5717831429 ..., put on magnifying lense, solder components, clean and tin tip, turn off soldering station, wash, rinse, repeat."
As a side note I'm in the process of converting to SMT and just replaced a DIY toaster re-flow oven with a real ... at least in terms of hobby use ... re-flow oven. Bev decided the DIY version gave off strange odors and forced [yeah, that's the term I will use ;-}] me to get a real one.
Arvid