getting my 1st soldering station. what's the best temp for...

[jarthel]

soldering

1. through-hole parts (not sure of the term but I meant regular resistors/caps)

2. smd parts

I will be using either a silver content solder or silver content w/o lead solder.

Thanks for the help

[VEC7OR]

For Pb/Sn I work with 280 on pretty much everything
For Lead free something like 300-320 is better.
Well just try experimenting, you'll 'feel' the proper temp with time.

[theChris]

its my experience that the higher setting is safer. if the temp is too low, you just end up heating the part for a few minutes and never end up melting the solder. the part gets hot and you get annoyed. with a bit higher heat setting the lead gets hot very fast and the solder melts when you touch it.

[BWRX]

I keep my iron in the 325-375C range for just about everything. I crank it up more when I need to tin or solder heavier gauge wire.

[EC8010]

315C/600F. If it won't heat a thick bit of wire then that's because the tip isn't big enough to have the quantity of heat required to heat that wire. If you use a small tip at too high a temperature, you will burn wires, PCBs, and semiconductors. I switched on my soldering iron today and made five joints. I changed the tip twice. Smallish tip for normal wires, big hot tip to solder to a piece of slightly mucky steel, small tip because the smallish tip was a bit too clumsy. I use a Weller TCP with No6 (600F) tips wherever possible. If things are mucky, I might use a No7 tip (700F). The big wedge tip is a No8 (800F) and is only made in that temperature. I have about ten different tips and freely change them for a particular joint. Moral: There is no such thing as a universal tip size or temperature.

[Christer]

Originally posted by VEC7OR
For Pb/Sn I work with 280 on pretty much everything
For Lead free something like 300-320 is better.
Well just try experimenting, you'll 'feel' the proper temp with time.

There are many types of lead free solder, and the melting point varies widely. Check the technical data for your type. BTW, even PB/Sn differs in melting point depending on the relative amounts and possible additives. In either case, try to get an encaustic solder to minimize the risk for cold joints.