🚀 go-pugleaf

"Smitty Two" <prestwhich@earthlink.net> wrote in message 
news:prestwhich-89E049.22383128092009@newsfarm.iad.highwinds-media.com...
> In article <kk62c51rq1rhdq9he33du6t99nbjp1pqga@4ax.com>,
> Archimedes' Lever <OneBigLever@InfiniteSeries.Org> wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 28 Sep 2009 06:21:13 -0700, Smitty Two <prestwhich@earthlink.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>> >In article <r7l0c5l9457i2ug2u6143cp6pllirtrauu@4ax.com>,
>> > Archimedes' Lever <OneBigLever@InfiniteSeries.Org> wrote:
>> >
>> >> >As far as temperature, I agree with you. I've never found a need to
>> >> >solder anything at less than 800F. Smaller parts just require shorter
>> >> >dwell time.
>> >>
>> >>   This one is off the mark.  Perhaps you meant "at MORE than 800�F"
>> >> That would certainly be an upper max for me, and it is quite easy to
>> >> solder at much lower temperatures.  Well over a 100 degree 
>> >> differential,
>> >> and that is significant.
>> >
>> >Pardon my ambiguity. What I meant to say was "anything other than 800F."
>> >That's the upper limit on most fixed-temperature tips, or adjustable
>> >irons.
>>
>>
>>  Yes, and despite most folks cranking the damned things up that high,
>> basic soldering operations (pre-RoHS) were NEVER meant to be performed at
>> that high a temperature.  Even on big 0.092" stock with lots of Copper.
>> In that case, one should pre-heat the whole assembly a couple hundred �F,
>> which will insure that all the solder joints wet well and flow through
>> properly.
>
> Uh-huh. I've personally hand soldered hundreds of thousands of joints at
> 800F, and overseen the soldering of millions. Turning down the flame has
> only one result: It takes too damn long to build the board. It's sort of
> like the clock speed on a computer. It doesn't matter much if something
> takes 1 second instead of 1/10 second, but it makes a big difference if
> it takes an hour instead of 6 minutes. When I was a kid I built some
> Heathkit stuff and spent 30 seconds making every solder connection,
> because the iron was underpowered and I didn't know enough to know it.
> Machine soldering is different, of course, but for hand work, 800 is
> perfect for everything and anything.



I concur - 700F tips are great - no problems in the last 15 years. The only 
time I go for a 700F is  terminating some cables where the insulation is 
super sensitive to the heat and shrinks back or melts through.