Hi
I need to solder a header on an arduino shield (Adafruit motor shield). Ive got a cheap soldering iron with 30 W and a non changeable temperature of 410 degrees C. Ive read that for soldering electronic components and palatines you should use a temperature of 300 C. Can I use my soldering iron anyway without breaking anything? It really wouldn't pay off to buy a new soldering iron as Im sure I would NEVER use it again. Integrated circuits have a limit of 300 C but the headers of the shield are not closely connected to any IC, so the heat shouldn't spread to much right? Ive marked the bits that have to be soldered on the picture.
I think you should practice on something else first.
I have sucessfuly used a fire stick but they not recommended.
If joint takes more than 1 sec to make remove iron and allow joint to cool before trying again.
The 300 deg quoted is also specced normally at 3 seconds this allows dissipation and heatflow.
The chip die itself willunlikely survive 350 deg if it gets that far
Edit
Its not just the chips.
Some components like electrolytics , crystals may also fail
Also overheating the joint can cause the copper to separate from the board
Temperature control is important - too hot and too cold both spoil solder
joints and / or components. Don't rely on the accuracy of the device either,
experiment to see what set temperature works well for you solder (note that
heavy soldering on ground planes and large copper fittings will benefit
from a higher set temperature, delicate work on fine pitch components
will want a lower set temperature as the thermal load is much less.)
Overhot irons just form oxide rapidly on the bit so you ruin bits too...
The other issue is the type of solder. Lead free solder is very temperature sensitive. Wrong temperature and they just don't work. Type of flux in the solder also make a difference. Decades of soldering and I have never had problems like I have had with lead free.
If you can put some kind of metal heatsink between the solder point and the components it will help to dissipate the heat and protect the electronics. I have used paper clips in a pinch.
Over the decades, I have found that I prefer only one type of solder. Multicore which is the only brand I use at home or work. I have used the water based flux for major project for really easy cleanup.
Just soldering headers on? The cheapie will work just fine for that.
I just noticed today that the Sparkfun temperature controlled soldering station is under $45. I have been using one of them for years. It's one of the most useful tools I've ever bought. The temperature can be very high for reworking lead-free things or it can be very very low for melting holes in plastic without burning the plastic.
It's tempting to order the soldering station with the ultra-super-fine tip but really the next size up works better on everything including the finest SMD components.
Hi, also the shape and size of tip is also important.
Tom...... 