[TowerTalk] Soldering Stations

[Jim Lux]

On 7/28/15 9:09 AM, Richard (Rick) Karlquist wrote:
> On 7/28/2015 8:56 AM, Paul Christensen wrote:
>> Been enjoying the discussion...
>>
>> Questions concerning the Metcal heating technology:  (1) In the event
>> the RF
>> heating element fails, what is the typical replacement cost?; and (2)
>> should
>> the RF heating element last longer than traditional controlled
>> temperature
>> elements as used by Weller, Hakko, and others?
>>
>> Paul, W9AC
>>
>
> Good question.  A Metcal factory rep told me that the secret to long
> life for Metcal tips is to use almost no water on the sponge.
> If fact, better to wipe the tip with a dry paper towel.  If you
> hear a sizzling sound when you clean the tip, you are using way
> too much water and causing a severe thermal transient that will
> over time if done repeatedly destroy the tip.  This failure
> mechanism is specific to Metcal.  AFAIK, you can dunk Weller tips
> in water all day long without damage.

My latest Weller stations for working with SMT parts (tweezers, etc.) 
have a sort of weird metallic sponge to wipe the tip on. It kind of 
looks like a brass scrubby for cleaning pots: a tangled mass of thin 
ribbons. So it's great at removing globs of crud on the tip.