92% of people apply the soldering iron incorrectly. That's why it doesn't Solder !

In this video I show you the 5 most common mistakes that beginners usually make when soldering with tin and how to avoid them. I will also give you tips about how to solder with a soldering iron and what you should not do with your soldering iron and how to take care of your soldering iron.
On the Repairman 101 channel, you can learn many inventions, repair projects, crafts and DIY techniques, plus how to reuse or recycle.
We focus on carpentry, metal work, welding, plastic repairs, electrical repairs, plumbing techniques, we also teach how to use DIY tools for the home or workshop.

[@Repairman10169]

👉 Please enable subtitles in your language 👈 Thanks for watching 👍 After you watch this video ALSO SEE 👉kzbin.info/www/bejne/h37UiouhgbSZa5I 👈 You will Enjoy ! Stay Safe !!

[@CreativeHop]

This video provides useful information on how to properly use a soldering kit. This reduces the number of people misusing and causing damage to the product. Videos can help viewers better understand the process and techniques for using the correct soldering kit to avoid common mistakes

[@CreatorTips.007]

He gave very precise and clear instructions, gave him 1 like

[@kurt1391]

This is a good video, but I always find videos where the presenter remains mute to be kind of creepy. Still, I learned a couple things, so thumbs up.

[@OldJoe212]

47 years as a phone guy in a central office. I went through pounds of solder. When tinning a wire end or soldering a splice, always heat from the bottom and apply solder from the top if possible. Also, apply a coating of fresh solder to your iron's tip just before unplugging it. This way, your tip is nicely tinned when you heat it up and you'll be ready to solder right away.

[@Repairman10169]

Thanks for the feedback !!

[@stereodreamer23]

My father worked for C&P/Bell Atlantic his whole life, and this is exactly how he taught me to solder! Iron under the wire, solder on top. I was soldering hobbyist circuit boards before I was in Middle School!

[@craig7083]

40 years in the CO here too!

[@fastone371]

@@stereodreamer23 I was going to ask why not hold the solder iron under the wire and add solder to the top. I have not soldered nearly as much as you I'm sure but that's how I do it. I also like to use a wider tip for larger wire as in the video.

[@TheCommo81]

My father was one too. He taught me to solder. He retired in 2005 as a COT.

[@johncoenraads9681]

Generally good advice but may I suggest that a small chisel tip is much more versatile and better suited to this type of soldering in terms of heat transfer. Secondly, apply the flat side of the tip to the underside of the wire (hot air rises) briefly touch the solder to the contact point between the wire and the tip to establish a thermal bridge, wait two seconds for the wire to heat up and then, and only then, apply solder to the top of the wire and let gravity pull it down. Also I like to work with a fairly hot iron which allows one to get in and out fast before melting the insulation.

[@geoffmorgan6059]

Yes!, and use a small amount of electrical grade flux (rosin based, never acid) to the joint. The flux in the core is often not that effective. The old "Oatey" brand was great, not sure about today's products since the EPA and California are always "finding" a new carcinogen. I use dry Scotchbrite to clean the tip.

[@user-vp1sc7tt4m]

In my experience, the method he is using is perfect for small wire gauges and consider, when soldering electronic components, you must be sure you don't overheat the connectors or you fry the circuit in the chip or transistor. Wetting the tip with solder increases heat transfer and if you apply the solder to the other side of the heated wire or component, the solder will suck in toward the heat filling all gaps and you get a nice non-oxidized solder joint very rapidly so you can pull the heat away. I appreciate your experience with heavier wire and larger components requiring chisel tips and note that sometimes I sure should consider using one. I have not done much work with heavier gauge wire or components.

[@wvincus5522]

Correct!

[@Repairman10169]

Yes i agree with your tips ! Thanks for commenting!

[@johncoenraads9681]

Let me add one more detail that I think is important and that is to use a small diameter solder. I use 0.8 mm diameter solder with 2.0 % flux for all my soldering. The smaller diameter gives you greater control over the amount of solder being deposited and also reduces the amount of heat being sucked away while the joint is being made. I've also never felt the need to add additional flux. It's a light hearted bone of contention between me and my organ builder friend whom I accuse of using "plumbing" solder. (He's actually very skilled and our record of making cold solder joints is just about the same.)

[@gsegallis]

News flash... Modern soldering irons regulate the temperature so they don't overheat. Resting it on a heatsink just makes it use more power

[@goodun2974]

And if someone tries the heatsink "trick" shown here with a non temperature-regulated soldering iron, when you pick up the iron you'll have to wait longer for the tip to heat fully so that it can melt solder effectively.

[@Repairman10169]

Yes that´s true, thx for commenting !

[@frankdemarest2790]

Agreed. Also aluminum can contaminate solder resulting in a poor joint, another reason not to rest iron on aluminum.

[@EdWeibe]

just use a stand.

[@tanglediver]

There MAY be flux inside the core of solder wire, BUT, you need to apply flux paste to the joint for BEST results, AND, always clean burnt flux OFF OF the solder joint once it has cooled. This has been a NASA Spec trained solderer, soldering tip PSA.

[@Repairman10169]

Thanks for your feedback !

[@r6u356une56ney]

Not when soldering electronics.

[@txkflier]

I wouldn’t have used the green side of the sponge. Alligator clips can damage the insulation. Don’t use a pointed tip when soldering larger components. Pull the iron back when you quit applying solder. Don’t continue to heat the solder. I give this video a rating of 3 on a scale of 5.

[@Repairman10169]

Thanks for the feedback !! I give your tips a rating 0f 3 out of 6.

[@goodun2974]

​@@Repairman10169, I've been soldering electronics for over 50 years and the person who begn this comment thread is correct. You can see the teeth marks in the insulation of the wire from the alligator clip and they only get worse when you solder the copper and the heat travels up the copper to soften the insulation. Also, The use of a heat sink to cool the tip down when you're not soldering means that you will have to hold the iron in your hand and let the tip come back up to temperature when you lift it out of the holder in order to solder something. It's better to use a solder station with adjustable temperature and you can just turn it down a little bit when you're not using the iron and then turn it back up to use it again.

[@goodun2974]

​​@@Repairman10169, ps, I see steam come off of the sponge the first time you touch the tip to it which means that the sponge is too wet. Sponges designed specifically for cleaning sottering tips are supposed to be made with materials that don't contain corrosive compounds such as sulfur or chlorine although if you buy soldering accessories from Amazon or directly from China you get what you get and it may not be high quality. I switched to using the brass wool tip cleaners a decade ago and I find them more effective than the sponge, and I've also seen manufacturers claim that the use of the sponge creates stress fractures in the plating on the tip and shortens tip life. I have also found that buying soldering tips from Amazon or flea Bay or China typically gets you tips that are made of iron or steel throughout from one end to the other and these will provide poor heat transfer. High quality tips should be made from copper that is plated at the pointy end with iron because iron will resist the dissolving effects of solder and flux much better than bare copper which is quickly oxidized and eaten away. If your tips are strongly magnetic throughout from one end to the other then they are likely made of iron or steel, not copper and will give poor performance. ( There's a video on my channel about using a magnet to separate good tips from bad tips). The rest of the tip body might be plated with Chrome or something similar that resists the application of solder. Finally I generally dislike the conical tips that are provided as "standard" with most soldering irons and usually upgrade them to a so-called "chisel" tip which is a bit of a misnomer because they're rounded and blunt.

[@goodun2974]

Heatshrink tubing placed over the toothed jaws of alligator clips will make it safer for holding wires that you are soldering together. Silicone tubing, or the woven fabric tubing that looks sort of like asbestos (it used to be known as Cambric tubing) is even better.

[@composimmonite3918]

Don't use any of the cheap, makeshift equipment in this video. Buy the proper tools!

[@AmazingSmart-ngth]

Every time I watch your videos, I'm inspired to scale new creative summits. Grateful for your inspiring productions!

[@KitLaughlin]

I learned more about soldering in this short video than all of the other ones that I have watched. Thank you - the principles are now clear.

[@Repairman10169]

Glad it was useful and thx for watching !

[@kydelastra]

Watch more, this video gives terrible advice.

[@KitLaughlin]

@@kydelastra I watched the whole video. Please point out the poor advice, in your experience.

[@user-hi8ih2mh9f]

コテを上から当てるのではなく、横から当てるイメージの方が熱が伝わり易いよ。固体でも熱は「上から下へ」よりも「下から上へ」の方が伝わり易い。それに、フラックスは酸化銅も清浄してくれる可能性が有る。フラックスを塗って置くのも事前処理の一つ。酸化してても撚線はちゃんと撚り直してからはんだ付けする（ハンダ量フラックス量を減らす意味も有る）。線材と線材をはんだ付けする時は、解して一緒に寄り直してから作業する事もある。コテ先にハンダを盛ってピンセットの先でハンダを馴染ませるように擦る（こする）と、コテ先の酸化物が取れ易いよ。後は温度設定・実温度は作業前に確認するのをお勧めします。コテ先が酸化して熱が伝わりにくいのも判る。

[@Repairman10169]

👌🙏👋

[@happysawfish]

Oil from fingers does not help adhesion either. NASA standard soldering requires 99% alcohol cleaning wipe down I believe. Or similar. Sure does not hurt if the connection is super important. Also abrasion of the wires for adhesion helps a stronger bond, right?

[@achernarscardozo69]

Lo importante es la limpieza previa de los cables a soldar. Luego es muy importante usar fundente antes de aplicar estaño. NO se debe confundir la convección del calor en el aire con el calentamiento por contacto de dos metales que están en contacto. Aquí NO importa lo que es arriba o abajo.

[@umashikurumisawa4057]

チョー気持ちいい‪👍🏻 昔、ラジコンカーやってたから”モーターの配線(メッキハンダ)”しまくってました(*^^*)

[@michaelpeterson3354]

Very informative yet concise. Soldering has always been hit and miss for me, but I expect you video will improve my success. Also, I have to add that one of the best things about your video that sets it apart from nearly any other instructional video (regardless of the subject matter) is your format. Big plus is NO TALKING! Nice light music, clear close-up demonstration of Dos and Don'ts, backed up with just the right amount of text. Completely avoids the mistakes most KZbinrs make in instructional videos....which are: way much talking, too little instructing, bad camera work, and bad editing. THANK YOU and WELL DONE!

[@Repairman10169]

Glad you liked ! thx

[@byronharano2391]

Now i see all my errors! This helped a whole lot. Now i can solder with a bit more confidence

[@Repairman10169]

Thanks 👍

[@BummedSupraDude]

Love the video, a lot of good info. Please correct me if I'm wrong, the use of a wet natural sponge with slots sliced in it for the tip to dip down into is the safest way to clean a soldering tip. The tip is coated with various metals, the sponge only removes the burned flux and solder. The pad shown is basically ScotchBrite not much different than sandpaper.

[@goodun2974]

Proper soldering-tip cleaning sponges from back in the day were made with materials that didn't contain sulfur or chlorine compounds which would hasten oxidation of the tip; but nowadays when people buy soldering accessories on the internet direct from China or who knows where, they're probably just ordinary kitchen sponges, and although damp kitchen sponges will "work" for cleaning soldering iron tips, they may not be ideal. I suppose you could clean the tip while it's cold with a dry scotch-brite pad, but if you keep the tip clean and tinned while you're using it it really shouldn't ever need to have anything even mildly abrasive used on it. I don't even remember this video telling people to *wet* the kitchen scrub-sponge first! I've also seen videos where people saturate the sponge with so much water that it emits puffs of steam when they touch the solar and iron to it which can create stress fractures in the iron plating on the tip, damaging it and shortening it's life. I rarely use the wet sponge anymore, preferring the brass wool tip cleaner. I have some videos on my channel about cleaning connections before soldering, separating good quality tips from poor quality or counterfeit tips (which are all too common on the internet), and a review/teardown of a $45 Harbor Freight soldering station and accessories (it's surprisingly good, way better than what I had to work with as an electronics-nerd teenager in the 1970s).

[@fasum3683]

Un grand merci j' ai nettement amélioré mes soudures 🙏🙏

[@Repairman10169]

Merci 🙏

[@markthompson9870]

I found this video informative and easy to follow. Top marks!

[@Repairman10169]

Thanks for watching !

[@andyowens5494]

One thing you did, but didn't say; wet the bit, but apply the solder to the workpiece, not the bit. A wet bit has a surface that allows heat transfer to the workpiece, but you want the solder (and flux) on the workpiece, not the bit - otherwise the flux erodes the bit faster (rather than eroding oxides on the workpiece, ensuring a strong bond between solder and workpiece(s))

[@Repairman10169]

👌🙏👋

[@ya472]

Wet the bit? With solder, or water? Ambiguous statement. As this person showed, hang solder on the bit to boil the paste on the workpiece, then apply more solder to the heat transfer point. Do this even when using rosin core.

[@topcatandgang]

the best tips have a silver coating to keep the tip from oxidizing.

[@ya472]

@@topcatandgang That is something I never encountered, but since silver has a higher melting point, this sounds awesome.

[@goodun2974]

​@@topcatandgang, soldering iron tips are most definitely not plated with silver; they're plated with *iron*. Silver would quickly dissolve off of the tip and into the solder; iron will alloy with and "wet" to the solder sufficiently to enable a good heat transfer, but iron resists the dissolving effect of tin and flux. Good soldering iron tips are made of plated copper for efficient heat transfer, with iron plating at the pointy end and perhaps chrome or similar plating on the body of the tip so that solder will only wet to the business end of the tip. If your soldering tips are strongly magnetic from one end to the other then they're made of iron or steel and are of poor quality; there's a video on my channel about this.

[@AR-ey1ur]

Not sure about the last one... generally the advice out there is that you should heat up the elements you want to join together and then apply solder, not the other way around.

[@Repairman10169]

Yes, thats correct. Thanks for watching 👍👋

[@Mike40M]

@@Repairman10169 Done fairly correct. Tip must be wet with tin to get heat transfer to the joint. Then solder applied to joint, not to tip. Maybe a little too much tin on the tip.

[@transientaardvark6231]

#6 you don't need over a cm of bared wire to make a joint. #7 don't hold the wire in a croc clip near to the joint, the insulation will melt and get damaged by the clip teeth (use something that grips less hard, or put paper in the clip jaws. #8 it makes life easier if you tin each part itself before joining as there is less to heat up "raw". #9 probably best not to let cut-off bits ping off, they might end up somewhere unfortunate (the vent of some mains equipment, your coffee, someone's nose)

[@Repairman10169]

👌🙏👋👋

[@Mike40M]

All as per textbook. Really good. Except the title. Though the 92% who should see it, don't know difference between soldering and welding A common mistake is to hold one wire with your hand. Hand vibrations creates larger crystals when tin solidifies.Weaker bond, prone to fail. Another common mistake is applying more solder and heating too long time. Making tin creeping out in the wire. Makes a stranded wire stiff. Vibrations will break it. From soldering course attended before allowed to work on military spec equipment. Long time ago.

[@Repairman10169]

Great 👍 thanks for your feedback,👍👋👋

[@larsord9139]

Also some instructions come with something like this: "Hold one wire with one hand and the other wire with another hand and the solder with another hand and the soldering iron with another hand", I don't know about you, but I run out of hands.

[@SimpleInventor-k4i]

Your sharing is great, the soldering iron I used had a black tip, which made it impossible for me to use it anymore. I will apply your method

[@LiuDienNuoc2024]

🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@Invention.No1]

Great ideas! Thanks for share

[@satyapermaculture]

Merci j'ai appris des choses, ça va me servir !

[@take5th]

The few times i tried to solder was in 1968. I didn’t know how to do it, no one was around to show me, and I failed by simply dripping the solder onto the connect wires. I haven’t tried since, but still watched this video to scratch that old itch.

[@topcatandgang]

the best solder joint is one that you see every strand of wire joined together, not hidden under a mass supply of soldier.

[@Repairman10169]

Yes right ! Thanks for watching !

[@MrKobyp7]

Thank you so much this video very helped me

[@Repairman10169]

Thanks 👍

[@nicholasmason8302]

Thanks - I have some repair talents, but soldering has never been one of them - I've encountered most of the problems on here. I'll give these a try. 👍

[@Repairman10169]

👍

[@andrewmurphy9292]

Fairly good tips. For high reliability joints the solder should not be allowed to wick up between the wire and insulation. A heat sink is not required on the tip for a good temperature regulated iron.

[@Repairman10169]

Right ! thx for commenting !

[@windyrotorblast]

It is as if you have watched me try to solder. Those are my hands in each scene that shows a red X. Thank you for posting this. I'm gonna go try some of those examples on my bench today.

[@Repairman10169]

😊😊👌👋

[@phbrinsden]

Nicely presented tutorial.

[@Repairman10169]

Glad you liked !

[@JAY-fq7sb]

Great tips. My dad taught me years ago how to use an iron correctly. He used flux paste to get the solder to "move in" faster to the wire. I still have it today it works still. Also, another tip. When using heat shrink. No since in using a flame or torch to shrink it. Use the soldering iron shaft to heat the shrink tube. No more blistering or melted insulation. Just a nicely heat shrink tube over your fresh solder job. 😊👍

[@Repairman10169]

👍

[@goodun2974]

A hairdryer or heatgun is the best choice for shrinking the tubing because it shrinks it evenly all the way around. Using your soldering iron for this will work but the heat can't be applied as evenly, not as evenly, and it's possible to melt the heat shrink tubing in places. It should also be clarified to never use the *tip* of the soldering iron to shrink the tubing because even a smidgen of plastic residue left on the tip will be difficult to remove and make it harder for you to solder with it.

[@JAY-fq7sb]

@@goodun2974 I did say to use the shaft. And on most applications, using a heat gun would be ok. Though on what I do with small wires for remote LED light switches in 3d prints the heat gun would heat the plastic too much. It could cause the item to warp or melt. Having direct heat in a small area would be better for delicate applications such as this. This is how I figured out this method. Because my butane torch was throwing out way too much heat to be used in these small plastic areas. I didn't want to risk damaging the item and having to 3d print another.

[@goodun2974]

@@JAY-fq7sb , All valid points, although now that you've provided details it's obvious you're doing specialty soldering that is very different from splicing a couple of wires here as shown in the video! I was an audio repair bench tech for 20 years and I frequently had to upgrade incandescent lamps and bulbs in vintage receivers to LED's which sometimes required me to splice and heat shrink wires very very close to the tuner's dial string ---- One wrong move and the soldering iron would melt through that string in a nanosecond and then I'd have to restring the tuner, which is not something you'd ever want to do unless you absolutely had to (I've restring a radio or receiver two or three times in 50 years of electronics). I used a hot air pencil to shrink the tubing because it gave me a nice tightly controlled hot air pattern.

[@JAY-fq7sb]

@@goodun2974 Yep, those small hot air pencils are nice. I don't a lot of wiring, but if I did. I definitely may check into getting one. I can identify with the thin wires. 🙂👍 I just have a few things I 3d print that I have to wire and those are not huge sellers.

[@erroneousbatch]

Anti-wicking tools are also available to prevent insulation damage. If using a wet sponge to clean the bit allow a few moments for the bit to reheat. As others have said hold the iron under the wire - much more efficient heat transfer. Removing old solder from the bit can be done without losing heat by tapping it fairly sharply under your bench. This is a big no-no, so forget I mentioned it - works great though, but... hey, never do it.

[@rickschiller]

What brand and model of wire stipeer is that? Its the Bomb! Does it work equally well on 22 and 20g wire?

[@stevesmith756]

Thank you. I’ve struggled to do this correctly

[@Repairman10169]

Thanks 👍

[@ernestorobles7977]

What soldering iron tip are you using to keep the tin attached to the tip?

[@paulpugh2480]

Thank you for the video.

[@Repairman10169]

Thanks for watching 👍👋

[@jackfarrell4727]

Thank you for the information

[@Repairman10169]

Thanks for watching 👍👍

[@ggfrt96]

the part about oxidized copper explains so many poor joints I've had in the past... i fought with them until i "finally got it" (after i stripped more wire because i gooped it up too much)

[@Repairman10169]

👍

[@RwP223]

Get a real soldering iron or a quality butane iron (they heat up fast) and keep turning off the iron inbetween soldering. I have solder tips from 8 years ago now with quite a few solder joints. If you do this for a living high production, of course you have an iron that shuts off when you put it in the holder and they heat up quickly. I like using the brass cleaning nest, avoid dealing with water and sponges. I always have flux on hand too and always use leaded solder which meets my needs splicing wires. My preferred joint is to free hand a lap joint after tinning both ends of the wire, free hand baby.

[@bbcisrubbish]

£ tips for soldering. Cleanliness, cleanliness, cleanliness.

[@goodun2974]

1000 % ! 👏👍 If the component lead, wire, terminal or circuit board pad is oxidized or greasy, you'll never get a good reliable connection. I have a video on my channel about using fiberglass-bristle "scratch brushes" and pencil erasers to clean metals before soldering to them, as well as a review/teardown of a $45 Harbor Freight soldering station and accessories, and a video about cheap, poor-quality and counterfeit soldering-iron tips.

[@nickhall5959]

When you strip back to find fresh wire, dont remove the plastic all the way. Twist the plastic before removing, that way you don't contaminate the wire with grease from your fingers.

[@thomasbarrett3175]

Thanķs to your video, i am no longer part of the 92% who do it wrong! Thank you!

[@Repairman10169]

Thanks for watching !

[@kurt1391]

That brings up my question: How do we know the number is 92%?

[@Alex-Tips]

very good

[@neomatrix3612]

thanks for the video. I'm an expert now.

[@edxr6949]

Great video! Soldering isn't as simple as people think. One thing, for bigger items to solder we need to make sure it's hot, then apply solder

[@Repairman10169]

👍🙏👋👋

[@Cynthia_Cantrell]

A couple drops of flux on the wire before soldering really helps spread the heat out and wet the copper. Touch the iron to it for a few seconds and then add the solder and it will wick up in the wire beautifully, rather than balling up on the iron. It will happen quickly and reduce the chance of melting insulation. Clean off the flux with some alcohol or acetone afterwards.

[@Repairman10169]

👌👍🙏👋

[@achernarscardozo69]

No se debe apoyar la punta del soldador en contacto con ningún disipador. Con eso estará fría en el momento de querer soldar. El soporte es sobre el cuerpo del soldador. Lo ideal es asegurar que los cables a soldar estén desoxidados (no con verdín del cobre humedecido) deben limpiarse con un paño y solvente (alcohol por ejemplo). La unión debe calentarse con el soldador y colocarle flux o resina a esta. Recién allí se aplicará estaño a la unión. Y sí, un poco de estaño en el soldador ayuda a transferir mejor el calor pero no debe fundir todo el estaño necesario para la unión sobre la punta.

[@thelastgs-pian9965]

here iam a newbie always thinking why my 2 year old solder doesnt stick to my dull looking copper wire, thanks for clearing the doubts..

[@Repairman10169]

💪🙏👋👋

[@davidl6041]

You still make the common mistake of moving the Iron during the process, with clean tip and a little bit of fresh solder on the end, hold the iron on the centre of the joint/wire , keep everything DEAD STILL, give it a 3-10 seconds to heat the copper, then "paint" on the solder, starting near the iron working away from it .. without moving the iron at all, once you've "painted" the entire joint carefully remove the iron without disturbing the wires A key factor is to have the correct size tip and heat in the iron to transfer enough heat to the job so you can do the whole process quick

[@aliyasar9713]

Teşekkür... Thankyou

[@jimspc07]

Well done. one of the best soldering videos yet. KZbinrs must watch this most of you are mainly total rubbish when it comes to soldering, but they wont be watching as they think they are so good. They are not. If they were working for me on a bench they would not be. Dirty irons is the worst problem, old solder, incorrect temperature, heat soak, also. Some little things. Wipe the tip immediately before using. Not after, where it will sit and oxidise the tip. Oxidised tips do not transfer heat quickly. The heat should be applied quickly and not applied by a slow soak that a dirty or oxidised tip gives. Also put a little solder on the tip when turning the iron off. This will need a wipe off before the next job, but only when the iron is at working temperature. The flux is the bit that makes it work properly and flow, solder applied to the tip for to long prior to use will have the flux evaporated and will not flow leading to a soak heating and possible damage of the work as well as nasty stringing. Its all very simple once the routine is observed and followed and much quicker and cleaner solder jobs.

[@Repairman10169]

🙏👋

[@DavidSmith-ss1cg]

Don't forget PASTE FLUX ! ! By dipping the twisted wire into paste flux, the wire can be tinned using less solder; too much solder can cause lesser quality solder joints. Paste flux is built into solder wire, and is useful in soldering copper pipes, too.

[@goodun2974]

You were doing great until your last sentence. Plumber's flux is highly corrosive and should *NEVER* be used to solder electronics or electrical connections. Rosin flux (from pine trees) is the traditional flux contained within leaded solder, and can be purchased separately in paste or liquid form (in an alcohol solution). Rosin flux has the advantage of being relatively inert electrically and under most operating conditions is neither corrosive nor conductive; and can be cleaned off with alcohol. The fluxes contained within or sold separately for use with lead-free solder , however, are actually fairly corrosive and conductive, designed to dissolve in distilled water, and must be thoroughly removed from circuit boards or they can cause further problems down the road. The worst of all is plumbing flux; great for copper pipes but not for electronics! Unfortunately, there are lots of unscrupulous online sellers who lie about the chemical contents and purpose of the flux they sell. Never buy flux, solder or tips for your soldering iron from faceless online sellers, only from reputable US based distributors. It's important to note that experienced electronics technicians can sometimes get by with inferior equipment or materials because they know how a good solder joint is supposed to look and they have the experience and technique necessary to get acceptable results with less than ideal gear; but the newbie doesn't have that kind of experience and is likely to quickly become frustrated or suffer premature failure of their repair attempts or kit-build projects.

[@LuciTulcea]

I did solder with 25 years old tin. It was kinda difficult but I did it eventually.

[@warrenyoung173]

I was taught that a wet “sponge” is bad. Thermal shock for the tip, etc. Use a brass scourer. Cleans the tip, no thermals, never runs out of water, never goes scungy, prevents flying balls of solder.

[@Txyxy1]

It is true, sponge is bad for the tip. It significantly shortens its life.

[@Thrunabulax10]

these are actually decent tips! the solder tip is usually a nickel plated steel, so aggressively wire brushing it or sanding it WILL remove the thin nickel layer, and make solder no longer stick to it!

[@Repairman10169]

👍

[@oantech4252]

Some more tips... Use distilled water instead of tap water for your sponge to keep out minerals, chlorine and other contaminants. Use a chisel tip for joining wires instead of a pencil tip for better heat transfer and solder flow. Pencil tips are mainly for soldering pins on circuit boards. Pre-Tin each wire before joining the two wires in a splice for better penetration into the core of the solder joint. Use no clean flux core solder. For best results in avoiding long-term corrosion, wash the joint of residual flux with alcohol afterward. Keep alcohol and flammable liquids AWAY from the hot soldering iron. Cover the finished splice with shrink tube, add a toothpick or a q-tip core as a splint under the shrink tube to protect it from bending/breaking.

[@Repairman10169]

Great tips ! Thanks

[@StevenAtkinson666]

The flow is a thing of beauty 😍

[@Repairman10169]

👍

[@bebo5558]

Cut and wet the pad, but turn the green part over, it's abrasive like sand paper!

[@goodun2974]

Also, the sponge is supposed to be squeezed out so it's merely damp and not very wet; I've seen videos where the sponge is so wet that the tip of the iron emits puffs of steam!

[@goodun2974]

The brass wool is still a better tip cleaning choice and you can even buy them at harbor freight now. I did a review of an inexpensive Harbor Freight soldering station and related accessories on my channel recently ( It's surprisingly good and a hell of a value, way better than what I had to work with as an electronics nerd teenager back in the 1970s).

[@lordphullautosear]

That green wannabe scotchbrite on dish scrubbers isn't very abrasive at all.

[@bebo5558]

@lordphullautosear Yeah, neither is the gravel road I live on! It's the quenching of the moisture/temperature change that cleans the tip, not the abrasive!

[@geoffreydebrito2653]

Thank you.

[@Repairman10169]

👍

[@RabidWombatz]

You don’t put the tip onto a heat absorbing device! Support it from the barrel or handgrip.

[@Repairman10169]

Right ! Thx for commenting !

[@m_pyi]

１.Wipe the tip of the soldering iron with a well-wrung damp cloth. ２.Solder flows towards warmer areas, so use the solder to heat the metal you are joining, not the metal itself.

[@daleb5967]

How old are you? 70ish? Its great to see you enjoying your hobby and active with a youtube channel. Good job!

[@Repairman10169]

Hi.. well.. not that old but yep i enjoy the hooby . thanks for watching!!

[@pullupterraine199]

Nice video. I just don't understand how my mobile phone and KZbin can predict these videos for me. I haven't soldered for a year, today I did. I just mentioned this once for my children. And voilà, Yt offers a video about it.

[@Repairman10169]

🙏🙏👋👋

[@TheCarlhungness]

Use a tinning block to clean the tip and it works perfectly. Have used the same block for over 20 years.

[@topcatandgang]

i use a wet sponge to clean off a flat tip, not a round tip. and i clean both sides at the same time otherwise one side will get black and ruin the connection. spending too much time heating the wire will in most cases melt the insulation also. i use a 50 watt iron for wires and a 40 watt iron for pc board hookups.

[@goodun2974]

If one practices good tip hygiene overall, and never lets the iron sit there hot for hours without a protective coating of solder on the tip, use of the tinning block will be far and few between. I've been soldering electronics for 55 years; even as a full-time audio-equipment bench tech I only used the tinning block a couple times a week, and that thing will probably still be useable long after I'm dead and gone. From what I have read the tinning blocks are made with ammonium chloride, which is a strong alkali, and over-use of it will actually shorten the life of the tips. (PS, I posted some videos on my channel about prior preparations for soldering, the importance of using high quality soldering tips and how to weed out the cheapos and counterfeits (which are everywhere on line nowadays), and a review/tear down of a $45 Harbor Freight soldering station that is a surprisingly good value for the money. )

[@goodun2974]

​​@@topcatandgang , I used the wet sponge technique for some 40 years but switched over to the brass wool over a decade ago and I prefer it to the sponge. The cooling effect of the sponge may create stress microfractures according to some manufacturers. The sponge in the video is emitting steam when the iron touches it,, indicating that it is definitely too wet!

[@DJ-ic6mu]

And if you want to be picky, don't use alligator clips that damage the insulation and don't twist with your fingers that leave oily residue..

[@Repairman10169]

Yes ! Thanks for commenting !

[@johnr625]

As an ex Ministry of Defence (MOD) electrical engineer I watch in horror at the way some people on KZbin solder. A blob here and a blob there it’s a joke 😂 Good to see it being done correctly for once

[@Repairman10169]

Glad you like ! thx for watching !

[@rikardogibola1312]

Is this the same as Sodering?

[@Fabimartin1]

Sehr informatives Video. Vielen Dank.👍Weisst Du warum der Lötkolben von Parkside(Lidl) nicht funktioniert? Habe mir jetzt einen anderen geholt.

[@kaneworsnop1007]

There were a few issues with this video. Before soldering anything, you must first tin the wire, pins, ect. As it sounds you literally coat the wire ect in the layer of solder first, this helps to prevent dry joints and make soldering a lot easier. at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="170">2:50</a> you twisted the strands of wire before tinning, never do this. It was a nice home made method for the cleaning sponge, although I can imagine it won't last long before melting, I don't know what the cost of the purpose designed ones are, but even if they're a little pricey the average person soldering at home won't wear them out in a few weeks like I do at work, so it would be worth the investment.

[@Papa_Kemsu]

Tuy nhìn thấy đơn giản nhưng lại có giá trị cao. Cảm ơn bạn nhiều❤

[@scottstedeford7575]

Should be tinning the wire prior to soldering.

[@Mprikiman]

Thank you old timer! The only part I disagree with is the wet sponge. I use preferably brass or copper wool :D

[@Repairman10169]

Yes brass wool is preferable.. thanks for watching !

[@rizab660]

Ich habe gelernt, den frisch abisolierten Draht nicht mit den Fingern zu berühren, sondern diesen gleich verzinnen.

[@Repairman10169]

👌👍👋

[@jamescandelaria4840]

there was no mention of the use of flux, can you explain how and when to use it?

[@Repairman10169]

Using good quality solder wire no needs to use extra flux, it is inside solder wire.

[@jimpomeroy9338]

Thanks for the jazz!

[@Repairman10169]

😊

[@raymondsanderson3768]

A lot of people seem to treat it like hot glue, to be wiped onto the wires!

[@Repairman10169]

Right, thanks for watching 👍👍

[@user-kj1od5ed7p]

I would not rest my soldering iron tip on a heatsink I think I have many more years of soldering experience than you do my soldering irons have temperature-controlled tips the last thing I would want to do is rest one on a heat sink I worked at a company called tektronix for over 30 years

[@user-kj1od5ed7p]

Rank amateur soldering skills

[@The144Kth]

Tip # 0: Place the tip _below_ the thing being soldered, that way the heat will rise through it for quicker heating.

[@Schuetze90]

Vielen Dank. 👍 Jetzt weiß ich, dass bei meinen Lötarbeiten in der Vergangenheit so einiges falsch war 😂

[@Repairman10169]

👌👋👋

[@chucksmith1133]

may want to add a video about how to completely recondition a tip

[@altamirsantos786]

Bom trabalho e boas ideias. Good Idea.

[@Repairman10169]

Obrigado !

[@ximodeuxesmachina6398]

muchas gracias .

[@Repairman10169]

Gracias por comentar

[@happysawfish]

I like it. Was expecting to hear one of those now classic little bell chime tones for success with the Check Mark. I still heard it in my mind.

[@steve1374]

BIG MISTAKE! Never touch the inner cores with your bare fingers, your skin will transfer oil which could prevent the solder flowing correctly.

[@Repairman10169]

Great tip ! thanks

[@fido139]

I've been soldering nice shiny joints for over 50 years. Sometimes conditions do not allow certain practices to be used. Get your soldering device to proper temperature, use only 60/40 solder. All will be fine. AND, flux flux flux!!!

[@rogermcgaw7776]

Another method is do everything the same and hold solder tip under work, this heats work efficiently

[@Repairman10169]

Yes that´s right ! ths for comenting !

[@jkz0807]

Very good

[@Repairman10169]

🙏👋

[@jamescapodanno1861]

shouldn't you use soldering paste when soldering wires???

[@rickschlosser6793]

The solder has a flux core. So there is paste being used, it is in the solder.

[@ya472]

I use paste, even when using rosin core. Copper oxidizes too easy, especially if it overheats

[@DrVektor]

May i learn which brand cable peeler? İ like it?

[@Repairman10169]

Brand name " Ubermann" made in China

[@Apismeliffera]

Use a soldering iron sponge that's made for cleaning the tip. Not a scotch brite pad. I can see the surface of the pad in the video is partly melted after tip cleaning. The sponge needs to be somewhat damp not water logged. The idea is to clean the tip not cool it off. If you press on the sponge with your finger and you can see water on the surface, then it is too wet. Also the soldering iron stand should let the tip rest in free air not on a heat sink. In general you clean the tip just before you sue it and let the soldering iron rest with a little bit of solder on it. If you wipe all the solder off the let the iron rest in that dry state the tip will oxidize. That will accelerate tip wear. Leave a little bit of solder on it to protect the tip surface while it's resting. When you're ready to solder again the tip will clean up much easier.

[@JimB1]

This is wrong on so many levels.

[@JosBergervoet]

And use solder with LEAD in it! (That also helps against tin whiskers.)

[@jorgfellinger8004]

Klar schweßt es nicht, wenn man lötet!😅

[@Repairman10169]

👌👋👋

[@robertmethia7080]

dah i guess people got no idea. i am not surprised

[@PaulMansfield]

Don't leave the tip of the iron bare, so don't clean before putting it down. It's fine to leave dirty solder on it. Clean it just before you're able to use it and melt on some fresh solder.

[@daleb5967]

U can use old tin if you use paste...

[@Repairman10169]

Yes !

[@goodun2974]

It's not "tin", it's solder *alloy*, alloyed with lead or other metals because pure tin is unstable. Lead is still the best stabilizing agent to add to tin in order to stabilize it for use as solder. (Church Organ pipes in northern Germany that had been soldered with pure tin hundreds of years ago suffered failures because the tin crystallized in cold weather; Google "tin pest").

[@goodun2974]

It's preferable just to use fresh solder because the flux inside of old solder does sometimes degrade with age. It's important to use ONLY rosin flux for leaded electronics-rated solder, and not plumbers flux which is highly acidic and corrosive---- great for copper water pipes, but not for electronics use. Unscrupulous online sellers are known to sell corrosive plumbing flux to electronics hobbyists 😖😠.

[@kazimierzg2896]

Durne porady. A skąd ja wezmę starą chłodnicę procesora ???

[@karolyllh1242]

A pákának nem adunk vizes szivaccsal hösokkot Szárazon is tökéletes vagy akár pípír zsebkendövel is simán tisztítható.

[@av162]

When cutting off the old wire end, hold the piece being cut off, to prevent high speed flying projectiles as can be heard in the video.

[@Repairman10169]

👌🙏👋

[@samuledarconi2927]

Thanks for making this vid...I still can't solder worth a damn....I keep trying though..😮

[@Repairman10169]

Thanks for watching 🙏

[@GdMrnngW]

Add appropriate flux onto the wires before soldering them, use soldering iron of good quality, select appropriate temperature of the tip, use flat tip for the kind of soldering.

[@ya472]

Use flux, but resist overheating copper, as it oxidized easy. Shiny copper is easier to solder.

[@SwanOnChips]

I never used a heatsink, never will. Other than that good tips. Once you have a good feel for working with solder you are ready for sweating copper pipe. I did just fine - even repairing my own radiator!

[@Repairman10169]

👌🙏👋

[@michaeljoncour4903]

i have on good authority it is actually 93.6 % of people can't solder properly !