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Headaches from solder smoke
- Thread starter Hobby Kid
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Sully
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I had to de-solder the power input connection on the motherboard of my laptop and solder on the replacement (last week). I used the flux, tinning paste, copper solder wick and flux cleaner for PC boards. No headache to speak of but I cant say I inhaled anything directly (held breath when needed).
UncleRJ
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My best guess would be a fan of some sort unless you can set up a small workstation outside.
Or perhaps you have a kitchen stove with a fan forced ventilator over it?
Or perhaps you have a kitchen stove with a fan forced ventilator over it?
That kinda sums it up.Ventilate that shit, man!
Thanks yo The general concensous seems to be get a fan so that's what I'll do tmrw. My head still hurts. I don't like those masks as you swear a lot in them
fan works but honestly I just hold my breath while I am soldering a end or whatever. Suck in, solder then blow out. If it takes you longer than 3 or 4 seconds to solder a end you need a new tip and/or iron. Once you get tinnng a tip down with a decent iron it should go really fast.
I think that's what it is. I got a new iron and tips in the mail today but it's 60watts and I was quite sure if I should be using that much heat on a board. But the solder wasn't sliding off the tip properly and I was getting through a lot of solder
Sounds like you need to tin the tip better. It makes all the difference in the world. 60 is fine but if the tip is not tinned properly. Are there spots on the tip that do not want to take solder? You want the solder to melt evenly over the iron tip and if there are spots not taking you will get uneven heat. Its a good way to burn up electronics because it takes so long. It also will cause cold joints which makes for bad connections. If your seeing solder bubble or glob its a bad joint. Less is more with solder.
Sorry im not very good at explaining it. I taught myself to solder several years ago and youtube helped a ton with that. I just practiced until I had that "Ah ha!" moment where it all clicked. My main issue was with not tinning my tips right which led to shit solders.
Sorry im not very good at explaining it. I taught myself to solder several years ago and youtube helped a ton with that. I just practiced until I had that "Ah ha!" moment where it all clicked. My main issue was with not tinning my tips right which led to shit solders.
To add once you get the tips sorted always pre tin your wires and I use a kestor 951 no clean flux on bare wires and the board holes. You can buy a couple ounces off ebay for a few bucks. Really makes a difference imo and get s me good connections.
Fume extractor bro...a few cheapo 80mm computer fans and an old throw away ATX powersupply...blamo
Heck this guy did it WITH a ATX powersupply, just flipped the fan around
Heck this guy did it WITH a ATX powersupply, just flipped the fan around
Since I got into SMD soldering, I use a hot air rework station for soldering...its an overglorified really hot hair drier with a variable fan...it blows the fumes away for me 
Thanks for this. I appreciate it. I know that if you can't get soldering right then you can forget about modding.
This is the solder I'm using. It has flux in it already. So you think using kester 951 along with it will help? My mum has a home job soldering when I was a kid. In those days they used flux separately and she cleaned her tip with a wet sponge.
So I'll use the 60 watt iron from now on and bin my current tips. I have some new ones including a 0.5 size. Is a small tip like that better dyu think? I'm tinning wire and soldering battery boxes. But also boards and the area on the boards are very small.
This is the solder I'm using. It has flux in it already. So you think using kester 951 along with it will help? My mum has a home job soldering when I was a kid. In those days they used flux separately and she cleaned her tip with a wet sponge.
So I'll use the 60 watt iron from now on and bin my current tips. I have some new ones including a 0.5 size. Is a small tip like that better dyu think? I'm tinning wire and soldering battery boxes. But also boards and the area on the boards are very small.
I like the kester just to clean the ends Im soldering. It strips away oxidation and I just feel I get better connections with it. Solder you got looks good so really you just need to watch some vids on tinning tips and basic soldering. Ill tell you how I learned. I watched vids and found a old clock radio and sat there for a evening and removing and resoldering stuff on the board. Also practice tinning wire ends as youll want to do that anyways. You guys might laugh but I do not use the sponge or solder cleaning that came with my station I actually use a strip of an old towel to clean my tips. All it takes is a quick, light wipe. It just seems to work better for me.
Once you learn to tin your tips your life will get much, much easier. The goal is solder as fast as you can and as little solder as you can. You want the solder to coat and not blob up. One thing I frequently use on boards if you do not have one is I have a little heatsink clamp that came with a old soldering kit just to make sure I do not fry a chip or ptc fuse or anything.
Once you learn to tin your tips your life will get much, much easier. The goal is solder as fast as you can and as little solder as you can. You want the solder to coat and not blob up. One thing I frequently use on boards if you do not have one is I have a little heatsink clamp that came with a old soldering kit just to make sure I do not fry a chip or ptc fuse or anything.
That works really well. Love how he used the fish filters. Well I've for ideas running through my mind now as old PSUs are ten a penny
Biggest tip I can say is ALWAYS have a clean tip..I use a cheapo brass pad tip cleaner to keep the tip clean
http://www.fasttech.com/p/1522102
I also like using this solder
http://www.fasttech.com/p/1443502
To keep the fumes from bothering you have good airflow or remove it before you breath it
http://www.fasttech.com/p/1522102
I also like using this solder
http://www.fasttech.com/p/1443502
To keep the fumes from bothering you have good airflow or remove it before you breath it
Well I have an old wartime radio I could practice on tmrw. I had planned to mod it somehow. I knew it would come in handy eventually. As for cleaning the tip, I've just started using a copper wire ball. I had a browse around for a heatsink clamp. I've never had one supplied with an iron but one will turn up. The chips today did get very hot. And the wires. It amazes me how quickly things heat up as soon as the iron touches them. I'll practice and let you know how I improve
I think it's like @Superjeep said, that I'm probably spending too long actually soldering each part.
Btw, I totally forgot to look on fasttech for solder and bits. I would've thought using a towel would've burnt.
Anyway thanks guys for your helps. It's 3am here so I have to sleep but any advice and links just post away. It's most welcome and I'm copy and pasting it into notepad so I don't forget.
Oh another thing while I remember: when you tin the ends of your wire do you tin it all the way around?
[QUOTE="Hobby Kid, post: 43304, member: 286" My mum has a home job soldering when I was a kid. In those days they used flux separately and she cleaned her tip with a wet sponge.
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Man that's how I solder today.. I usually try not to have my head directly over the smoke coming off the iron. I did buy a tiny fan from Walmart for about 5 bucks that clips to the table and use that if i really have a solder intense job I'm doing.
View attachment 2530[/QUOTE]
Man that's how I solder today.. I usually try not to have my head directly over the smoke coming off the iron. I did buy a tiny fan from Walmart for about 5 bucks that clips to the table and use that if i really have a solder intense job I'm doing.
Towel does not burn. You could probably use a paper towel. When I say clean I simply mean(this is how I do it anyways) from handle side of the tip to the end of the tip I do a very, very light and quick swipe. What your doing basically taking the built up thicker solder(it almost looks solid but its not) and tining the tip in essence. I use the little rag to make sure the tip is smooth on all sides. I tried the wet sponge that came with the station but didnt like it as well as a good old piece of rag. I just try to use a rag that is not dirty.
As far as tinning the wire or anything for that matter. Once you tin a tip right the wire will suck in the solder very quickly. Think of soldering as a booty call with an ex you do not like. You wanna get in, get hot and get out as fast as possible. I simply put the iron tip on one side and solder on the other and let the wire melt and suck the solder in. Should be perfectly tinned and all wire strands should be coated with no mess. It will simply look like you chromed the copper..
Good luck.
Yeah, i curse like a sailor when i wear those damn things.
One thing to be super careful about though - if you solder and you breathe it in, make damn certain that you're not using solder containing lead or tin. That stuff will mess with your head, right. It's very bad for you.
http://www2.lbl.gov/ehs/ih/pdf/safeSolderingFinal.pdf
Yeah, tin it all the way round. And if you're soldering electronic components, get a lower-wattage iron, say 25-30w or so, so you don't fry anything.
Also, be super steady with it! If you're not steady as a surgeon you'll get dull, oxidized joints, which will fail because they're weak and brittle. It should be nice and shiny if done well.
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Don't avoid the smoke, man, breathe that shit in!
I love the smell of flux smoke in the morning, it smells like... Victory.
Besides, I've been breathing that stuff for 35 or so years and it hasn't effected me at alla;lskdfjasdfkljawepoihwqoejnc,mwnefonoaiwehfweoir
I love the smell of flux smoke in the morning, it smells like... Victory.
Besides, I've been breathing that stuff for 35 or so years and it hasn't effected me at alla;lskdfjasdfkljawepoihwqoejnc,mwnefonoaiwehfweoir
Gotta love that analogy @Superjeep !
I'm guessing that's referring to stranded. What if it's solid?
SWEAT! lolYeah, i curse like a sailor when i wear those damn things.
One thing to be super careful about though - if you solder and you breathe it in, make damn certain that you're not using solder containing lead or tin. That stuff will mess with your head, right. It's very bad for you.
.....
Afaik leaded solder is restricted in the uk. It's not exactly banned (although it might be in businesses). It's sort of like UN peace keepers. You can do as much harm as you like but they'll look at you and frown.
Think of tinning a wire like bronzing a statue. You want it to coat a layer on. You simply want it to look like the twisted end of the wire chromed so it will fit in lets say dna30 board holes. Once inserted in the board holes you wanna quickly hit it with the iron and solder and the hole will close up. Any blobs of solder and you likely have a cold solder joint(which is bad). I try to stay away from solid wire though its stiffer to work with and can break easier and stranded wire usually has higher rating because it has more surface area to carry electricity. Electricity flows on the surface of the wire not through it.
Try to steer clear of radio shack wire at the B&M stores. I actually use wire from either Alpha or Jaguar but do some research on which wire ya get. Ebay actually has a decent selection of good wire you can buy per foot if ya search around.
Try to steer clear of radio shack wire at the B&M stores. I actually use wire from either Alpha or Jaguar but do some research on which wire ya get. Ebay actually has a decent selection of good wire you can buy per foot if ya search around.