How are you all? Hope you are well. Alhamdulillah, I am well too. Welcome to my eighth post of Home Repair Club. The 23rd season of Steemit Learning Club has started with new enthusiasm and positive expectations. Each season brings new challenges, but our main goal is to make the learning process easy and effective.

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In today's post, I will show you how to change the tip of an old soldering iron and make it as usable as new. Those of us who do electronic work using soldering irons often face various problems when the tip is damaged. The solder in the old tip does not melt properly, and even if it melts, it does not connect to the circuit properly. This disrupts work and we get annoyed. 😩

Essential components for soldering and their benefits

A soldering iron is an electrical device that generates heat and helps to create connections between metal parts by melting solder. There are different types of soldering irons available, such as temperature-controlled soldering irons, station-type soldering irons and pencil-type soldering irons. Using a good-quality soldering iron makes the job faster and easier.

Solder wire

This is a special type of metal wire, which is mainly made of a mixture of tin (Sn) and lead (Pb). Some high-quality solder wire is lead-free, which is environmentally friendly. It helps to make circuit boards or metal connections by melting. Using good-quality solder wire makes the connection stronger and the work lasts longer.

Ceramic or copper bit

This is the tip of the soldering iron, which retains heat and is used to melt the solder properly. Ceramic bits last longer and are not easily damaged, while copper bits conduct heat well, which helps in melting the solder quickly. Replacing the old bit increases the efficiency of the soldering iron and makes it work like new.

Flux cleaning chemicals

Flux is a chemical substance that removes oxidation or dirt from the surface of metal connections during soldering. It makes the solder connection stronger and longer lasting. Without flux, it is not possible to melt the solder properly, and the connection may be weak.

Desoldering pump, solder removal pump

It is mainly used to fix incorrect connections or remove excess solder. If solder is applied incorrectly to a circuit board, this pump can be used to clean it. As a result, damage to the circuit is reduced, and the work can be done perfectly.

Soldering stand

The soldering iron is very hot during use, so a stand is used to keep it safe. Using this prevents the soldering iron from falling and burning anything.

Sandpaper

It is used to clean old or damaged bits. Due to long-term use, rust or black coating forms on the soldering bit, which reduces its heat transfer capacity. Cleaning with sandpaper makes the bit look like new and retains heat properly.

Heat-resistant pad

It protects the circuit board or other components from excessive heat damage. Sometimes, high temperatures during soldering can damage other parts of the circuit. Therefore, using this pad can prevent excessive heat.

Safety gloves and glasses

Heat, chemicals, and fumes during soldering can damage the eyes and hands. Wearing safety gloves protects the hands, and using glasses can keep the eyes safe.

The necessity of changing the tip of the soldering iron.

Many people then throw away the old soldering iron and buy a new one, which costs between 350 and 400 taka. But the same problem occurs with new soldering irons because their bits are usually made of low-quality iron or aluminum, which quickly wear out.

The best solution to this problem is to buy a new ceramic bit and replace it with an old one. This will make your soldering iron work like new and will allow you to melt and connect solder properly. This will also save you from additional costs. I used my old ceramic bit for more than a year, but over time, its copper layer came off and it lost its effectiveness. So, I bought a new ceramic bit and replaced it. Let's see how to do it easily.

Step -01

First, I took my old soldering tool with me and you can see a series of papers in my hand and a new ceramic bit. These two things are basically the first source of our repair today. And you can see, I'm highlighting here, showing you that the one I have on my old soldering iron is completely damaged and very difficult to work with. Now the new ceramic bit that you see in my hand, if you work with it, the kids will be able to work beautifully because it is very expensive, 100 to 120 taka and its solder melts like water, it is very easy to work with. And now the series of paper that you see, by rubbing it with it, I will rub the body of the soldering iron that has been burned, the body that has been burned, the body that has been rubbed clean.

Step -02

So now we will test our previous broken soldering iron with the bit. Is it working or not? That's why I took the series line and gave my soldering iron 220 volts of input voltage. Then to check, as you can see, I took some broken circuits and took solder wire and solder paste. After giving 220 volts, I waited for a while, and our soldering iron got hot, and as you can see, my soldering indicator light is on and there is enough heat. So let's test the circuit now.

Step -03

Now you can see in the first picture that my soldering bit is not catching my solder wire, and I put it next to the circuit; it is not heating anything there, and it is not catching a part of the solder, which is very difficult. Let's now throw away this old bit and replace it with a new ceramic bit here. For this, we turned off the soldering 220 volt input voltage line. Then I used a screwdriver to remove the solder bit from the soldering iron.

Step -04

Then you can see that I took the old soldering iron bit, and its front and back parts were damaged all over. It was not ready for this job. Now let's clean the body of the soldering iron by rubbing it well with sandpaper and removing the black dirt. You can see that I have rubbed the dirt very well with sandpaper, and the body of the soldering iron looks very clean.

Step -05

Once I had cleaned the body of my soldering iron, I took the new ceramic bit. And inserted it into the 60-watt coil of the soldering iron. After fitting it properly, you can see that I have tightened the screw with a screwdriver.

Step -06

Then, after rubbing the inside of my soldering iron and putting the new ceramic bit in, you can see it looks great. Hopefully it will work great. I put the 220 volt input voltage back in and waited for the soldering iron to heat up. After my soldering iron heated up, I first put some solder wire in there and saw that it grabbed like a magnet and melted like water, which I was very happy to see. Then, as you can see, I easily soldered a red and a black wire into a circuit, and it soldered very easily.

Step -07

Now my soldering iron is working 100% so beautifully that when I go to solder somewhere on the circuit board, you can see that it melts like water and works. And I put some solder on the tip of the wire; it solders very nicely here. I have attached that wire to the circuit board to show you a closer look, and it sits very nicely. Then, to better explain the working of the soldering iron, I removed a capacitor from the circuit and showed you two of my wires connected to it.

Step -08

Now I want to tell you something here. First, I removed the old solder bit, and in the second step, the coil body of the soldering iron was burned. I cleaned it with a series of papers, which you can see in the picture. I have shared with you my experience of soldering iron problems and troubleshooting in this entire tutorial. And to verify the authenticity of my work, I have taken a picture with all the necessary materials and my username, my club name, and a selfie with me.

Soldering Iron Technical Specifications

Technical Specifications

Appliance	Soldering Iron
Brand	Dunia BD
Model	220V 60W
Voltage	220V
Power Consumption	60 Watts
Heating Element	Ceramic Core
Handle Material	Heat Resistant Plastic
Tip Material	Copper with Iron Plating
Indicator	LED Light
Cable Length	1.5 meters (Approx)
Failure	Soldering bit changed and ceramic bit installed

Video Tutorial: To better understand the practical part of this tutorial, you can watch the video below.

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