Found out most soldering irons are set way too hot for modern boards

I was reading through an old IPC handbook from 1994 last night and saw they recommended 600-650F for through-hole work, but modern lead-free boards actually need lower temps around 480-520F according to newer specs. I had been running my iron at 700F for years because that's what the old timer who trained me said to do. Has anyone else found their joints improved after actually checking the temperature ranges for their specific solder and board type?

2 comments

2 Comments

kair6517d ago

Heard a guy at the hackerspace say the same thing last week, he runs his iron at 500F for lead-free and swears his joints look way cleaner now.

wendy_garcia163d ago

Oh man, that reminds me of the time I tried to solder a lamp wire and melted half the dang thing!