It's body is blackened, just after 5 minutes of heating and it's body is also bent.
How can I solder when the iron itself works so poorly?
P.S: I am using it for the first time.
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1I would consider that discolouration normal, from heating. – Peter Bennett Nov 24 '18 at 06:58
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And the bending, can that happen or may be it was from the start? – supreet shetty Nov 24 '18 at 06:59
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I would suggest the bending was user inflicted - dropped or badly stored for example. A small bend won’t affect its heating capacity. – Solar Mike Nov 24 '18 at 07:17
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4Make sure your soldering technique is based on the application of heat rather than pressure.. – Transistor Nov 24 '18 at 07:37
1 Answers
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The tip is not mounted correctly on the iron body!
It is absolutely normal that a soldering iron becomes brownish due to oxidation around the heating element - which for such tips should be inside the sleeve. But it is outside! The iron also looks "unnaturally" long.
When zooming in and looking into the slit, the iron body is not inserted completely into the sleeve, it does not even reach the small clamp. One can see the background and the shadow of the clamp on the backside.
If the iron body would be inserted completely, the heating element indicated by the brownish discoloration would be inside the sleeve as it should, and the iron had a more "natural" length.
Using the iron as it is could definitely cause it to bend, because it puts much mechanical stress on the body, which becomes weak under the heat. And the heat does not reach the tip well, and doesn't melt the solder well. People tend to push more then, which finally bends the iron.
sweber
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@supreetshetty Yes. You see how long the sleeve part is, and the body has to be pushed all ways in. – sweber Nov 24 '18 at 12:44
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2Be sure to wait for it to cool completely before pushing the tip further on. – Tom O'Connor Nov 24 '18 at 15:56
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That brownish color on the stainless steel is oxidation, but **not rust**! It's **temper color**, as seen with any steel when heated and cooled down again, and I'd go with: around 250 °C. (Thin film of iron oxide is translucent; temperature defines how deeply the oxide goes; you get double reflection on the outer and inner surface of the oxide, and thus thin-film effects, just like oil on a water surface shimmers in colors) – Marcus Müller Apr 20 '19 at 07:54