Antony Gelberg wrote:

Hi,

I know this should be simple but isn't. I need to resolder a DC power
connector on a laptop, due to dry joints.

I can't find my old, rarely used soldering iron, so I went to Maplin and
bought their cheapo 30W soldering iron.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?...32909&doy=13m6

I would have thought that is good enough for PCB soldering, but I can barely
get the old solder on the board to melt, let alone re-solder the joint. I
can't work like this, I'm going to arse about for hours and still not get it
done properly. Is the problem likely to be the fine point nib that it came
with? I have always used flat-tip bits in the past. Or is the Maplin iron
crap, and should I have bought the Antek 30W instead -
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?...ce=14&doy=13m6 ?

All advice appreciated.

I should mention that I also tried my 100W soldering gun, like this one:
http://tinyurl.com/2z8ehn .

No luck here, but then I have always hated this tool and never been able to
use it effectively. It's rated for 12 seconds use in a minute (don't know
what happens if you go above that), but takes about 9 seconds to even get hot
enough to melt solder. Are these crap, or am I not using the thing properly?

Antony
Make sure the tip is tight.
Make sure you're using the correct solder?, 60 tin and 40 lead for
repair work.
Use some extra solder paste to clean the area..
It's possible you have Lead Free Solder, that's hard to work with..


--
"I'm never wrong, once i thought i was, but was mistaken"
Real Programmers Do things like this.
http://webpages.charter.net/jamie_5

Antony Gelberg wrote:

On 2007-06-13, Jamie t wrote:

Make sure the tip is tight.


Yep.


Make sure you're using the correct solder?, 60 tin and 40 lead for
repair work.
Use some extra solder paste to clean the area..
It's possible you have Lead Free Solder, that's hard to work with..



It is lead free, but that doesn't matter when I'm trying to desolder the OEM
joint. I think it's just not hot enough but I'm surprised - I thought 30W
would be plenty.

My desoldering tool can do up to 60 watts/. I would get something in
the line of 45 watts or so for desoldering Lead Free or, mix in some
Leaded solder to soften it.


--
"I'm never wrong, once i thought i was, but was mistaken"
Real Programmers Do things like this.
http://webpages.charter.net/jamie_5

In article ,
Antony Gelberg wrote:

On 2007-06-13, Jamie t wrote:
Make sure the tip is tight.

Yep.

Make sure you're using the correct solder?, 60 tin and 40 lead for
repair work.
Use some extra solder paste to clean the area..
It's possible you have Lead Free Solder, that's hard to work with..


It is lead free, but that doesn't matter when I'm trying to desolder the OEM
joint. I think it's just not hot enough but I'm surprised - I thought 30W
would be plenty.

You need flux. I'm surprised my friend Arfa didn't mention that in his
otherwise thorough treatise.

"Smitty Two" wrote in message
news
In article ,
Antony Gelberg wrote:

On 2007-06-13, Jamie t
wrote:
Make sure the tip is tight.

Yep.

Make sure you're using the correct solder?, 60 tin and 40 lead for
repair work.
Use some extra solder paste to clean the area..
It's possible you have Lead Free Solder, that's hard to work with..


It is lead free, but that doesn't matter when I'm trying to desolder the
OEM
joint. I think it's just not hot enough but I'm surprised - I thought
30W
would be plenty.

You need flux. I'm surprised my friend Arfa didn't mention that in his
otherwise thorough treatise.

Hi Smitty

I was taking that as a 'given' by assuming that the OP was using
conventional flux-cored solder for his attempts, so flux would be
automatically put into the equation when new solder was added to the old to
help the melting process. However, if he's not, you're dead right, and I
should probably have made that clearer as being part of the reason for
adding new solder to the old joint ;-)

Arfa