My roisin core solder wire stopped working!

[berserkfan]

I don't know what's wrong! I have two coils of roisin core solder wire, and they suddenly stopped working in the middle of my desoldering session. They just won't melt anymore, they won't adhere to pads, they won't flow, they seem to just not do what solder wire should do.

No other variables have changed. My solder instrument can still melt preexisting pads of solder and works as normal with soldapult and wick.

[Zekromtor]

Did you notice any strange scents in your urine or possibly a difference in color?

[vun]

How old is the solder? afaik rosin degrades over time, can't think of why else it would stop working. Unless it's **** solder wire.

[berserkfan]

How old is the solder? afaik rosin degrades over time, can't think of why else it would stop working. Unless it's **** solder wire.

no, noe is new, and the other spool was in use earlier. I said it happened halfway through a soldering session when they just won't melt anymore

[jacobolus]

Perhaps your soldering iron tip is corroded and having trouble actually getting heat to the solder / pads / etc.?

What happens if you add a bunch of flux to the surfaces you want to solder?

[swill]

Perhaps your soldering iron tip is corroded and having trouble actually getting heat to the solder / pads / etc.?

What happens if you add a bunch of flux to the surfaces you want to solder?

Maybe this. To see if you have a random rosin problem, cut about 2 inches of the solder off the end and try again. Maybe there is a bad spot in the rosin.

[berserkfan]

Perhaps your soldering iron tip is corroded and having trouble actually getting heat to the solder / pads / etc.?

What happens if you add a bunch of flux to the surfaces you want to solder?

Maybe this. To see if you have a random rosin problem, cut about 2 inches of the solder off the end and try again. Maybe there is a bad spot in the rosin.

but on two separate spools by different manufacturers?

Here is my experience

I am having hell soldering. Don't know why but suddenly in the middle of my desoldering session last night (which was mostly soldering given that it was a damn hard double sided PCB) the solder wire stopped melting! I changed soldering tools, swapped out a tip, wiped the tips, sanded them, and no dice!!

I cut part of the wire off and again no dice.

Changed to my spare spool and no dif. No more melting at all. The soldering tip could still melt existing solder on PCBs. The only thing that was different was the existence of brown liquid stuff dunno where that came from. But as I'd said, changing soldering irons, tips all didn't work. Even if these were impurities surely changing would have made a dif?

[FrostyToast]

Did you notice any strange scents in your urine or possibly a difference in color?

I don't think berserkfan urinated on his wire.

[jacobolus]

Changed to my spare spool and no dif. No more melting at all. The soldering tip could still melt existing solder on PCBs. The only thing that was different was the existence of brown liquid stuff dunno where that came from.

The brown liquid (also any smoke that you see when you solder with new solder) is flux, and it’s supposed to be there. You can clean it up after soldering with some solvent and a toothbrush.

I recommend trying to add a bunch of extra flux when you’re soldering and see if that helps. Also try re-tinning your soldering iron tip.

By the way, if you post in the “living soldering” thread, you might get responses from the super duper experts around here. I’m still a relative newbie.

[swill]

Perhaps your soldering iron tip is corroded and having trouble actually getting heat to the solder / pads / etc.?

What happens if you add a bunch of flux to the surfaces you want to solder?

Maybe this. To see if you have a random rosin problem, cut about 2 inches of the solder off the end and try again. Maybe there is a bad spot in the rosin.

but on two separate spools by different manufacturers?

Here is my experience

I am having hell soldering. Don't know why but suddenly in the middle of my desoldering session last night (which was mostly soldering given that it was a damn hard double sided PCB) the solder wire stopped melting! I changed soldering tools, swapped out a tip, wiped the tips, sanded them, and no dice!!

I cut part of the wire off and again no dice.

Changed to my spare spool and no dif. No more melting at all. The soldering tip could still melt existing solder on PCBs. The only thing that was different was the existence of brown liquid stuff dunno where that came from. But as I'd said, changing soldering irons, tips all didn't work. Even if these were impurities surely changing would have made a dif?

It is definitely your iron then.  How are you cleaning the tip?  Brass sponge or water and sponge?  Have you tried removing the top to see if the heating element has broken inside the tip?  That can cause it to all of a sudden stop working.

Things to test anyway...

[PointyFox]

Your soldering iron tip came loose.  Tighten it.

[berserkfan]

Perhaps your soldering iron tip is corroded and having trouble actually getting heat to the solder / pads / etc.?

What happens if you add a bunch of flux to the surfaces you want to solder?

Maybe this. To see if you have a random rosin problem, cut about 2 inches of the solder off the end and try again. Maybe there is a bad spot in the rosin.

but on two separate spools by different manufacturers?

Here is my experience

I am having hell soldering. Don't know why but suddenly in the middle of my desoldering session last night (which was mostly soldering given that it was a damn hard double sided PCB) the solder wire stopped melting! I changed soldering tools, swapped out a tip, wiped the tips, sanded them, and no dice!!

I cut part of the wire off and again no dice.

Changed to my spare spool and no dif. No more melting at all. The soldering tip could still melt existing solder on PCBs. The only thing that was different was the existence of brown liquid stuff dunno where that came from. But as I'd said, changing soldering irons, tips all didn't work. Even if these were impurities surely changing would have made a dif?

It is definitely your iron then.  How are you cleaning the tip?  Brass sponge or water and sponge?  Have you tried removing the top to see if the heating element has broken inside the tip?  That can cause it to all of a sudden stop working.

Things to test anyway...

Thanks all for your responses, except for the urination guy. I think it is because oxidation took place. I will try again tonight. As I live in a place with near 100% humidity year round that may be the answer. The PCB was so hard to desolder and I used so much wick and so many pneumatic suction cycles that I may have stripped the solder protecting the tip


After talking to several people I think the best explanation is that the tip oxidized after I’d scraped off the protective layer of solder without realizing. I had the solder iron on for a very long time due to the slow progress desoldering. I can’t really tell the dif between blackened lead and rust/ oxidation.

Does the tin on the tip get sucked up and peeled off by the solder wick? The tip seemed different this time; I don’t have a habit of tinning continuously per soldering session but someone told me that the tip should be tinned to shininess at all times, not just a few times each session.

[dorkvader]

swapped out a tip, wiped the tips, sanded them, and no dice!!

Don't sand the tip, that could be your problem. You need to keep it tinned. I don't re-tin every joint but it wouldn't hurt if you did.

If you have poor thermal conductivity between the tip and the solder, you may not be able to melt the solder on the spool because it's so much narrower (smaller contact area) and you can't apply any pressure. With solder on pads, you can push down a little and make good thermal contact at the joint. I suspect this is your issue.

[hasu]

My solder instrument can still melt preexisting pads of solder and works as normal with soldapult and wick.

I guess your solder is lead free and solder on the pads is leaded, seems like difference of melting point of them can explain your situation.

I had similar problem with my knockoff hakko iron, it worked a while but after that it stoped heating or overheated. So I sometime couldn't melt solder with this poor knockoff. I fixed this problem with resoldering bad solder joints of temp sensor and heater inside the iron handle.

Probably this is not same as your problem, but just FYI.

EDIT: just curious, what is your iron?

[swill]

swapped out a tip, wiped the tips, sanded them, and no dice!!

Don't sand the tip, that could be your problem. You need to keep it tinned. I don't re-tin every joint but it wouldn't hurt if you did.

If you have poor thermal conductivity between the tip and the solder, you may not be able to melt the solder on the spool because it's so much narrower (smaller contact area) and you can't apply any pressure. With solder on pads, you can push down a little and make good thermal contact at the joint. I suspect this is your issue.

I second this.  When I solder, I usually use a brass sponge and hit it in there every couple solder joints.  If the tip is not nice and shiny, then I hit it with a little solder and hit the sponge.  As a working amount of tin, I like this setup.  If you are having problems tinning the tip, then I would recommend the damp sponge and water.  I believe this may work better for dealing with oxidation. 

One more note.  You should always tin your tip before and after you use the iron.  When the iron is being stored it should have a tinned tip so you do not pick up oxidation while it is stored. 

You may know some of this stuff, but I figure it is worth putting it so others benefit. 

Edit: Did you happen to check if the heating ceramic inside the tip had broken?  That could absolutely cause an iron to 'just stop working'.  You would be losing a lot of heat if that had somehow managed to break.  I know some of the knockoff irons have had this issue in the past.

[Grendel]

After talking to several people I think the best explanation is that the tip oxidized after I’d scraped off the protective layer of solder without realizing. I had the solder iron on for a very long time due to the slow progress desoldering. I can’t really tell the dif between blackened lead and rust/ oxidation.

This stuff works surprisingly well.

[berserkfan]

My solder instrument can still melt preexisting pads of solder and works as normal with soldapult and wick.

I guess your solder is lead free and solder on the pads is leaded, seems like difference of melting point of them can explain your situation.

I had similar problem with my knockoff hakko iron, it worked a while but after that it stoped heating or overheated. So I sometime couldn't melt solder with this poor knockoff. I fixed this problem with resoldering bad solder joints of temp sensor and heater inside the iron handle.

Probably this is not same as your problem, but just FYI.

EDIT: just curious, what is your iron?

Hasu, can I ask you about how you repaired your iron? You see, after the abovementioned problems I got a new soldering iron, a goot which cost twice as much as Chinese knockoffs, and it died after two solder joints! The handle continue to feel warm but the tip seemed to be cool and it was tinned so its not an oxidation issue. Big irony, solder iron itself needs a soldering to work.

Really pissed and unable to do anything, I grabbed the old oxidized tips from my Stanley (these can be screwed on or taken off), sanded them like mad, polished with brasso, wrapped them in solder wire and turned on the iron. It worked! I finally desoldered my first double sided PCB!

[berserkfan]

swapped out a tip, wiped the tips, sanded them, and no dice!!

Don't sand the tip, that could be your problem. You need to keep it tinned. I don't re-tin every joint but it wouldn't hurt if you did.

If you have poor thermal conductivity between the tip and the solder, you may not be able to melt the solder on the spool because it's so much narrower (smaller contact area) and you can't apply any pressure. With solder on pads, you can push down a little and make good thermal contact at the joint. I suspect this is your issue.

I second this.  When I solder, I usually use a brass sponge and hit it in there every couple solder joints.  If the tip is not nice and shiny, then I hit it with a little solder and hit the sponge.  As a working amount of tin, I like this setup.  If you are having problems tinning the tip, then I would recommend the damp sponge and water.  I believe this may work better for dealing with oxidation. 

One more note.  You should always tin your tip before and after you use the iron.  When the iron is being stored it should have a tinned tip so you do not pick up oxidation while it is stored. 

You may know some of this stuff, but I figure it is worth putting it so others benefit. 

Edit: Did you happen to check if the heating ceramic inside the tip had broken?  That could absolutely cause an iron to 'just stop working'.  You would be losing a lot of heat if that had somehow managed to break.  I know some of the knockoff irons have had this issue in the past.

OK, after I’d polished my formerly oxidized iron with Brasso, I found that it couldn’t be tinned with a small quantity. Lots of solder now insists on flowing onto this tip. I know it is a reverse of my former problem, but since I was desoldering it got rather irritating.

How do you fix a heating ceramic?

[hasu]

My solder instrument can still melt preexisting pads of solder and works as normal with soldapult and wick.

I guess your solder is lead free and solder on the pads is leaded, seems like difference of melting point of them can explain your situation.

I had similar problem with my knockoff hakko iron, it worked a while but after that it stoped heating or overheated. So I sometime couldn't melt solder with this poor knockoff. I fixed this problem with resoldering bad solder joints of temp sensor and heater inside the iron handle.

Probably this is not same as your problem, but just FYI.

EDIT: just curious, what is your iron?

Hasu, can I ask you about how you repaired your iron? You see, after the abovementioned problems I got a new soldering iron, a goot which cost twice as much as Chinese knockoffs, and it died after two solder joints! The handle continue to feel warm but the tip seemed to be cool and it was tinned so its not an oxidation issue. Big irony, solder iron itself needs a soldering to work.

Really pissed and unable to do anything, I grabbed the old oxidized tips from my Stanley (these can be screwed on or taken off), sanded them like mad, polished with brasso, wrapped them in solder wire and turned on the iron. It worked! I finally desoldered my first double sided PCB!

Too bad. Goot is not so popular among serious hobbiests here but a reliable manufacturer. They provide decent cheap irons for beginners and casual users and my first iron is also one of their products and lasted for a decade.

To fix my knockoff iron I just resoldered all joints on little PCB.

[Zekromtor]

That's a tough fix for somebody with only 1 iron

[dorkvader]

OK, after I’d polished my formerly oxidized iron with Brasso, I found that it couldn’t be tinned with a small quantity. Lots of solder now insists on flowing onto this tip. I know it is a reverse of my former problem, but since I was desoldering it got rather irritating.

I had this happen with my cheap radioshack iron (which I still have for some reason ..?) I couldn't get sodler on the pad at all. It would just pick up from the spool and end up on the iron.

I think it was too hot or something.

What I ended up doing was putting the iron on one side (with a huge ball of solder on it from previous tries) and flowing the solder across the joint to it. Most of the solder stayed at the joint and only a little ended up on the iron tip.

[berserkfan]

OK, after I’d polished my formerly oxidized iron with Brasso, I found that it couldn’t be tinned with a small quantity. Lots of solder now insists on flowing onto this tip. I know it is a reverse of my former problem, but since I was desoldering it got rather irritating.

I had this happen with my cheap radioshack iron (which I still have for some reason ..?) I couldn't get sodler on the pad at all. It would just pick up from the spool and end up on the iron.

I think it was too hot or something.

What I ended up doing was putting the iron on one side (with a huge ball of solder on it from previous tries) and flowing the solder across the joint to it. Most of the solder stayed at the joint and only a little ended up on the iron tip.

  Actually I found that worked when it came to soldering. But desoldering was a pain. Don't know what Brasso did to the surface of the tip.

[phoenix1234]

Actually I found that worked when it came to soldering. But desoldering was a pain. Don't know what Brasso did to the surface of the tip.

I face this sometimes with my cheap soldering iron. But I can fix it with the following steps :
- sand it with 1000 grit sanding paper
- use flux to clean the tip, let it cool down and wrap 0.8 tin wire around the tip before heating it back, turn on the power and let the tin melt
You can also use Goot BS-2 Solder Iron Tip Refresher to refresh it
http://www.goot.jp/en/handakanren/bs-2/


Another reason may cause difficulty for desoldering is that you are using wrong kind of tip for desoldering. Usually, the Goot factory default tip (like PX-60RT-SB) is good enough for precise soldering but it's quite difficult for desoldering due to the fact that it doesn't generate enough heat when touching the surface.
http://www.goot.jp/en/kotesaki/px-60rt-sb/

[berserkfan]

Actually I found that worked when it came to soldering. But desoldering was a pain. Don't know what Brasso did to the surface of the tip.

I face this sometimes with my cheap soldering iron. But I can fix it with the following steps :
- sand it with 1000 grit sanding paper
- use flux to clean the tip, let it cool down and wrap 0.8 tin wire around the tip before heating it back, turn on the power and let the tin melt
You can also use Goot BS-2 Solder Iron Tip Refresher to refresh it
http://www.goot.jp/en/handakanren/bs-2/

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Another reason may cause difficulty for desoldering is that you are using wrong kind of tip for desoldering. Usually, the Goot factory default tip (like PX-60RT-SB) is good enough for precise soldering but it's quite difficult for desoldering due to the fact that it doesn't generate enough heat when touching the surface.
http://www.goot.jp/en/kotesaki/px-60rt-sb/

Show Image

Phoenix, you recommended I go to SimLim Tower, right?

Gotta tell you about the idiots in KimChew (the shop that sells Hakko)

These guys only sell soldering stuff and batteries. They should be pretty specialized, right? They should know what they sell since they don't sell anything else? And when I asked for roisin activated core wire 0.8mm, both the man and the woman (they seem to be boss and bosswife respectively) stared at me like I was a, I dunno, Vietnamese who hates pho? (ie some weird weirdo)

It turns out these idiots only know one name for all the solder they sell. Solder Wire. Even though what I was asking for is so freaking common and they had like 1000 in stock, they are so stupid and illiterate that they never read the name. Which is, in big letters, "roisin activated core wire 0.8mm"

https://www.google.com.sg/search?q=roisin+activated+core+wire+0.8mm&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=yf7VU8ygKMWTuATj-4CQCw&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1745&bih=874

[phoenix1234]

Phoenix, you recommended I go to SimLim Tower, right?
Gotta tell you about the idiots in KimChew (the shop that sells Hakko)
These guys only sell soldering stuff and batteries. They should be pretty specialized, right? They should know what they sell since they don't sell anything else? And when I asked for roisin activated core wire 0.8mm, both the man and the woman (they seem to be boss and bosswife respectively) stared at me like I was a, I dunno, Vietnamese who hates pho? (ie some weird weirdo)
It turns out these idiots only know one name for all the solder they sell. Solder Wire. Even though what I was asking for is so freaking common and they had like 1000 in stock, they are so stupid and illiterate that they never read the name. Which is, in big letters, "roisin activated core wire 0.8mm"

https://www.google.com.sg/search?q=roisin+activated+core+wire+0.8mm&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=yf7VU8ygKMWTuATj-4CQCw&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1745&bih=874

Is that the shop close to the door on the right side when we reach the basement? )
You can also find the Goot shop nearly at the corner.
Yes, you're right. They may not know about the term "Rosin Activated Core wire".
Instead of that, they pretty know something about the brand like Asahi. Last time I check, they sell at lot of rosin activated core wire in SimLim Tower and Asahi indeed is the popular there. Actually, I did not see any No Clean solder there.

You can ask for
- Asahi lead solder 63/37 (Sn / Pb). All 0.6, 0.5, 0.4mm are all good for soldering keyboard. For me, I found 0.8mm is a bit too much for soldering Cherry MX switch legs. It's still good but between 0.6 and 0.8, I will take 0.6mm instead.

- Asahi lead-free solder 99 Sn or the expensive one with silver like Asahi 96.5/3.5 (Sn/Ag)
- Last but not least, you may also find the Kester 0.4mm (Made in Singapore) selling at the shop close to the ground door
- Goot shop also has solder but they have no lead solder, all of them are lead-free and quite expensive

[dorkvader]

Oh yeah, I always switch to a fat tip for desoldering, makes it significantly easier.