mulepic

iTrader: (21)

About a year ago I bought a Hakko iron to have a 'decent' iron. It worked great in the beginning. It would heat up before I could even wet the sponge. And it would solder up even the Tekin RX8 in no time.....seconds. Today, almost a year later, it doesn't heat up quite as fast and it struggles to solder up the RX8. I just tried to solder up two of them and the first took forever and I gave up on the second. I made sure the tip is in there correct, etc.

Do I just need a new tip or is there something else going on here?

t0p_sh0tta

iTrader: (35)

Is your tip still smooth and shiny, like it was when it was new? Do you coat it with soldier when you're done using it?

If not, replace the tip and get in the habit of coating the tip as the iron is cooling. It keeps the tip from being exposed to air, and oxidizing. I have the older version, which I picked up used. I'm still using the original tip over a year later, and I have no idea how long the original owner used it.

mulepic

iTrader: (21)

Thanks for the tip I had know idea I was suppose to watch it cool and add solder to the tip as it does.

racer1812

iTrader: (31)

Not exactly, just turn the iron off and while it's still hot add solder to the tip (covering the tinned area) leaving a nice big glob and let it cool. My original Hakko tip is 2 years old and still looks like new.