Soldering iron, leave the solder on or not?

[Flyback]

thanks, yes, and even if we leave the tip blobbed uo to heck, the flux would still probably burn off and not be next to the tip, and so wouldnt degrade it if the tip was left blobbed up to heck..........and also, as you say electronics fluxes like rosin dont attack the iron anyway....so in fact, a worker can leave the iron hot-in-the-holder with a huge blob of solder covering the tip, and not be guilty of abusing the iron tip i presume?

 

[DerStrom8]

thanks, yes, and even if we leave the tip blobbed uo to heck, the flux would still probably burn off and not be next to the tip, and so wouldnt degrade it if the tip was left blobbed up to heck..........and also, as you say electronics fluxes like rosin dont attack the iron anyway....so in fact, a worker can leave the iron hot-in-the-holder with a huge blob of solder covering the tip, and not be guilty of abusing the iron tip i presume?

In theory, yes. Exactly. However, you will still want to keep in mind the possibility of the microscopic scratches. If an iron is taken good care of by its owner and no abrasive material is ever used on it, and it was manufactured well, then yes, you can leave it on without worrying about it burning. If it has scratches on the tip, though, no amount of solder left on the tip will save it. The solder just can't get into the scratches, which leaves surface area to burn.

It isn't good practice to just leave an iron on without using it for an extended period of time, regardless of how much solder you leave blobbed up on it. Turn off your iron if you aren't going to be using it for a while.

 

[dr pepper]

Hey Ian, McCallan was my fave drink too, before I packed in.
12 year old is only obtainable in certain places, I was lucky enough to be offered a glass of 30 year old at a mates 70th, that was something else.
The brewery has some going back to WW2, but thats above a peasant like me.

 

[Ian Rogers]

Hey Ian, McCallan was my fave drink too, before I packed in.
12 year old is only obtainable in certain places, I was lucky enough to be offered a glass of 30 year old at a mates 70th, that was something else.
The brewery has some going back to WW2, but thats above a peasant like me.

I'm missing my whisky at the moment. I'm on holiday in the Isle of Wight. ... My whisky is about 400 miles north... The house whisky here is just passable .... Can't wait until I get back . .

 

[dr pepper]

Not had any for nearly 4 years, in fact I've had no booze at all for that time, and I have to say I dont miss it at all.
My beer budget now buys me toys for the lab.

 

[cowboybob]

Me too, doc. 6 years ago. As I had downed an ocean of the stuff before that, I concluded I'd done my part for the industry....

But, for the record, my fav (distilled not far from where I grew up) was
**broken link removed**
Straight up. Though, never before 7AM (unless I was in a different time zone).

And, my soldering is better !

 

[dr pepper]

Glad to hear it Bob.
I do everything better now, including paying bills.
I was never a heavy boozer, I married a lass that doesnt touch it and its rubbed off.
Not sure where McCallan is brewed however it wont be many miles from where my mam was from, Troon in Scotland.