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soldering irons for lead free

dougs

#35436

soldering irons for lead free | 12 July, 2005

A while back we checked out all our manufacturing equipment for lead free capability, we thought our soldering irons would all be fine as they can reach temperatures well in excess of lead free alloy melting points. Last week i was speaking to someone who told me that i'd best be carefull as if the irons dont have enough power to hold the temperatures then to solder we'd need to up the temperature, which would cause the tin in the alloy to be more aggressive and we'd be going through tips every few days. Our irons are JBC 2200 and are rated at 55W, has anyone else looked at this

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#35439

soldering irons for lead free | 12 July, 2005

JBC is offering "Lead free" tips now. They have this on the web site: "JBC recently released a new series of tips featuring a thicker iron bath that we find more resistent to aggressive additives and flux as found in lead free alloy."

We have not done enough lead-free soldering with the original irons to have noticed any corrosion on the tips.

Jerry

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RDR

#35442

soldering irons for lead free | 12 July, 2005

We use the JBC irons with and without the "leadfree" tips. We really have not noticed much difference between the standard and the lead free. The lead free tips do last a little longer but the tips are somewhat deformed by the extra plating. As far as the performance of the JBCs we have found that their claim of 3-5x time the tip life of Metcals is false and unsubstantiated. I have on several occasions contacted the factory requesting help and their test data to see why our tips are not lasting as long as they claim but they will not respond and apparently there was no testing to validate their claim as explained to me by two seperate JBC sales reps. We use the JBC 2700 irons and they do have the power required for leadfree. However, the Metcal MX stations perform as well if not better than the JBCs in our experience and believe it or not we "think" that they are actually more economical than the JBCs because of the tips.

These are my opinions and observations and I am not affiliated with Metcal or JBC in anyway. I don't know if the asahi solder requires anything special however.

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#35447

soldering irons for lead free | 12 July, 2005

I think the asahi solder is coming out with their own irons if they get enough interest on this forum.

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AEI

#35454

soldering irons for lead free | 12 July, 2005

I have recently been testing a new Iron that will be introduced on the market soon. The temp drop is coming in at 30c versus most other irons I have tested drop about 70c the tips are elctroplated and designed for lead free we have been very impressed. I believe these irons will be released to the public in mid August.

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Rob

#35461

soldering irons for lead free | 13 July, 2005

.....and it'll probably be the best soldering iron in the world.

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#35486

soldering irons for lead free | 13 July, 2005

Oh you mean like the no heat soldering irons? I think they can also cook you a pizza while soldering wires.

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#35487

soldering irons for lead free | 13 July, 2005

...Or how about the wireless wrist straps. Those are a lifesaver. Ok im done now.

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