Watts to Degrees

[manaen]

Can anyone provide or point me to a table that converts soldering iron/gun
wattages into equivalent degrees C/F? I have been hunting on the web for
something like this for a long time and can't find it.

 

[Sofie]

manaen:
I don't think that this is not a question that can be answered with only the
information you provided because the tip size and mass will have a lot to do
with the final answer.
You could have a 25 watt iron with a smaller size tip and hotter temperature
than a higher wattage iron with a larger tip size but a lower
temperature....
..... but the smaller tip will not be able to solder a larger circuit board
pad or larger wires even though it is hotter because of the smaller tip size
and thermal mass.
You can use a motor speed control or light dimmer to reduce tip temperature
but without "feedback" temperature control circuitry as found in the better
quality soldering stations from Weller, Hakko, Tenma, Ungar, etc....it will
not remain anything near constant and will vary widely during soldering
operations.
Your best bet is to purchase a temperature controlled soldering station if
it is your desire to have a handle on soldering temperatures ...... even
then you will have to make decisions about the tip size and shape as
different soldering tasks come across your bench.
--
Best Regards,
Daniel Sofie
Electronics Supply & Repair
----------------------



"manaen" <manaen@domainpark.networksolutions.com> wrote in message
newsan.2004.02.01.22.55.13.951296@domainpark.networksolutions.com...

Can anyone provide or point me to a table that converts soldering iron/gun
wattages into equivalent degrees C/F? I have been hunting on the web for
something like this for a long time and can't find it.

 

[manaen]

On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 15:22:08 -0800, Sofie wrote:

manaen:
I don't think that this is not a question that can be answered with only the
information you provided because the tip size and mass will have a lot to do
with the final answer.
You could have a 25 watt iron with a smaller size tip and hotter temperature
than a higher wattage iron with a larger tip size but a lower
temperature....
.... but the smaller tip will not be able to solder a larger circuit board
pad or larger wires even though it is hotter because of the smaller tip size
and thermal mass.
You can use a motor speed control or light dimmer to reduce tip temperature
but without "feedback" temperature control circuitry as found in the better
quality soldering stations from Weller, Hakko, Tenma, Ungar, etc....it will
not remain anything near constant and will vary widely during soldering
operations.
Your best bet is to purchase a temperature controlled soldering station if
it is your desire to have a handle on soldering temperatures ...... even
then you will have to make decisions about the tip size and shape as
different soldering tasks come across your bench.

Uh oh, I was under the impression that there were industry standards, I
hoped that I would be able to put up cross refs on a website for 15W 25W
30W and 40W soldering irons...Why measure in Watts then? Wouldn't
manufacturers be better off giving temp ratings?

 

[Sofie]

manaen:
I don't think you are understanding the concept that I was trying to convey
in my previous reply post to you.
Let me explain it this way...... a motorcycle that has a 75 horse power
engine can go much faster and accelerate way faster that a big dump truck
with a 500 horse power engine.....
but the motorcycle can not carry nearly the load or tow anything as heavy as
the dump truck can.
--
Best Regards,
Daniel Sofie
Electronics Supply & Repair
----------------------------


"manaen" <manaen@domainpark.networksolutions.com> wrote in message

Uh oh, I was under the impression that there were industry standards, I
hoped that I would be able to put up cross refs on a website for 15W 25W
30W and 40W soldering irons...Why measure in Watts then? Wouldn't
manufacturers be better off giving temp ratings?

 

[manaen]

On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 20:42:14 -0800, Sofie wrote:

manaen:
I don't think you are understanding the concept that I was trying to convey
in my previous reply post to you.
Let me explain it this way...... a motorcycle that has a 75 horse power
engine can go much faster and accelerate way faster that a big dump truck
with a 500 horse power engine.....
but the motorcycle can not carry nearly the load or tow anything as heavy as
the dump truck can.

I apologize, I should have stated why I was asking from the begining.
I actually own a Weller soldering station and occaisonally do some
electronics work. The reason for the question is I am designing a website
and wanted to add a table for soldering iron watt to degree conversions.
The soldering irons referenced would be of the type that can be purchased
from Radio Shack, or any other local supplier. I thought about going and
buying them and checking the temperature using a multimeter, but that
seems like an incredible waste of my money. I think that 10 different
soldering irons will probably give me ten different temperatures (based on
our conversation). This table probably wouldn't be that useful anyway.
Perhaps a table of solder types and their melting points would be more
useful. Thanks for all of the help.

P.S. I get what your trying to say... I liked the analogy

 

[Richard Crowley]

"manaen" wrote ...

Uh oh, I was under the impression that there were industry standards, I
hoped that I would be able to put up cross refs on a website for 15W 25W
30W and 40W soldering irons...Why measure in Watts then? Wouldn't
manufacturers be better off giving temp ratings?

Power (watts) and temperature are INDEPENDENT variables.
You can have something that draws 5 watts run at 700 degrees,
and something that draws 100 watts run at 150 degrees. There are
several other variables involved.

Soldering devices (pencils, irons, guns, etc.) are rated in watts
to indicate how much (mass) they can heat while still maintaining
the desired temperature. You can't solder a big UHF connector with
a little soldering pencil intended for use on microscopic surface-
mount devices. It will NEVER develop enough heat for the mass
of the big connector.

How much practical experience do you have soldering things
of various sizes?

 

[Richard Crowley]

"manaen" wrote ...

I apologize, I should have stated why I was asking from the begining.
I actually own a Weller soldering station and occaisonally do some
electronics work.

Are you aware that the same 35w (or whatever it is) Weller iron
will run at 500, 600, or 700 degrees depending on which tip you
put in it? The tips have a special alloy at the butt end (with the
number stamped on it) that reach their "Curie temperature) at the
rated temperature and "turn off" the thermostat switch in the handle.
You can hear it turning on and off as it just sits there.

Or if you have the adjustable kind, it uses a sensor in the iron
and compares the reading to what you selected with the knob.
Same wattage at work in all cases.

The reason for the question is I am designing a website and
wanted to add a table for soldering iron watt to degree conversions.

There is no such simple correlation. Else there would be several such
tables already out there on the internet.

 

[Jim Adney]

On Sun, 01 Feb 2004 07:28:53 GMT manaen
<manaen@domainpark.networksolutions.com> wrote:

The reason for the question is I am designing a website
and wanted to add a table for soldering iron watt to degree conversions.

There's no such conversion. The temp you get for a given amount of
power will be dependent on what you're heating.

Yes, you could in theory measure the temp of a certain kind of tip
when it isn't trying to heat anything (no load conditions,) but this
really isn't useful, because you're not particularly interested in the
temp under no load.

In the end power really isn't a very useful temperature controller.

Cheap soldering irons are constant power, so they tend to run too hot,
and burn up, on the stand, and then they don't have enough oomph when
you need them.

Good soldering irons are constant temp, so they will put more power
into the work when it's called for.

Look at the Weller WTCPx irons which come standard set up for 700F and
will put out up to 42 W. They won't solder to a big steel chassis, but
they'll do most other PC board and point-to-point work.

-
-----------------------------------------------
Jim Adney jadney@vwtype3.org
Madison, WI 53711 USA
-----------------------------------------------

 

[manaen]

Look at the Weller WTCPx irons which come standard set up for 700F and
will put out up to 42 W. They won't solder to a big steel chassis, but
they'll do most other PC board and point-to-point work.

-
-----------------------------------------------
Jim Adney jadney@vwtype3.org
Madison, WI 53711 USA
-----------------------------------------------
I never realized how much went into soldering. I really only

solder enough to be dangerous Sounds like the el cheapo
irons are a very bad idea, but I travel a lot and sometimes the small
pencil soldering iron is just plain ole handy. Maybe I'll find a way
to stuff a soldering station into my luggage next time.