Jeff Liebermann wrote in
:
My office is all nylon carpet. I've measured the ESD potential with
the electrometer and found that the carpet is not a serious problem.
My guess(tm) is that it's because I haven't cleaned (or seen) the
carpet in 20 years. Also, the RH is now about 85% and rarely drops
below 30%, which helps considerably.
RH is the key. High RH allows the charges to bleed off as rapidly as they
are generated.
snip for brevity...
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/crud/pace-desoldering-station.jpg
Man,that IS an ancient model!
It cost me about $25 plus about $50 in parts about 20 years ago. At
the time, comparable desoldering stations were going for perhaps $800.
It may be old, it may clog, it may be clumsy, and it certainly is
ugly, but it works. However, during the same time period, components
and lead spacing have shrunk to the point where it's basically
useless. I still use it for thru-hole component desoldering, but for
SMT, I'm shopping for a hot air device.
I used to have to use the same Pace handle on a smaller station to desolder
all the IC sockets on a board,in order to remove bad sockets.It needed
constant cleaning.Fortunately,we had a bin full of tips and filters.
Of course,you could order a new handle assembly to use with your base.
And the longer DS tips.
Good idea as a longer tip would be better. I hate to admit that I'm
still using the same 20+ year old tip. When I bought it, the original
tip had to get pounded out and replaced.
I'm pretty sure the longer tips will fit your older handle.
I'd use that anti-seize with them,though.
BTW,I was wondering if the automotive high temp anti-seize lubricant
made by Permatex would help with the tip seize problem? It's rated up
to 1600degF. item 81343
It's made to go on spark plug and O2 sensor threads.
It's got a lot of aluminum and graphite in it.
http://www.permatex.com/products/aut...specialty_lubr
icants/Permatex_Anti-Seize_Lubricant_a.htm
The problem with that stuff is that it has copper, graphite, and
aluminum in it.
Hmm,the package I have didn't say copper.I'll check the MSDS.
Fine for spark plugs in an aluminum or iron engine
head. However, most soldering iron tips are either nickel or chromium
(the non-solderable part) plated. The copper will eventually go into
solution (galvanic corrosion) and create a ceramic like coating. Avoid
the copper stuff. What methinks you want is a nickel based anti-seize
to match the tip plating.
http://www.drillspot.com/products/28...ckel_Anti_Seiz
e_Lubricant
http://www.drillspot.com/power-tools...ricants/anti-s
eize-compounds/
Permatex and Loctite both carry it. It's suppose to be for stainless
and works to 2600F. I tried some on a big thermostatically controlled
iron, with a huge threaded nickel plated copper slab of a tip, and it
worked as expected. No stuck tips.
--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com