[Elecraft] Soldering Stations Question

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Frank W7IS asked:

 recently purchased a Xytronic 379 Auto-Temp soldering station.  I also
purchased several optional tips. I was mainlyinterested in the XY-B03 fine
tip for circuit boards with tiny pads such as the K2 SSB board.    I've
found the long Xy-B03 fine tip to be  worthless due to it being made out of
hollow steel that wont hold the heat.   The all  steel tip that came with
the iron is just fine if your careful in tight areas.   

So my question is:   Do any of the soldering stations currently  being sold
come with real brass or copper tips?   I'm not talking about the  soldering
stations purchased 10 yrs ago.   I mean the current production  irons. Most
- if not all - of todays offerings appear to be made in China and  my 
Guess  is all them have gone to 100% steel  tips.  

The irons I have used previously from 25 yrs ago had brass or  copper alloy
which have a protective layer of iron on the tip.      And they hold the 
heat perfectly, unlike these new all steel tips.      Even though this
Xytronic 379 has auto temp control,  it cant keep up with the heat loss of
the B03  hollow tip and I've found it completely useless for even a tinniest
of  pads

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My Hakko uses steel tips, but has no problems providing lots of heat, but
it's not because the tip retains heat. 

Many of the newer and better temperature-controlled stations specifically do
*not* want the tip to retain a lot of heat. That's because when you turn
down the heat you expect the iron to cool rapidly to the new lower
temperature, and when you take the iron off of the work, they don't want the
temperature of 'overshoot' when lots of calories are no longer being
delivered to the solder joint. 

Instead of a large tip mass, the depend upon robust heaters and good thermal
conductivity to the tip to pump in the calories as needed to hold up the
temperature when soldering and then they instantly level off when the tip is
no longer in contact with the work. 

I don't know the Xytronic specifically, but one thing that often causes
trouble with adequate heat in these types of irons is a bad thermal path
from the heater to the tip - usually some black carbonized dust, etc. that
gets between the heater and the tip itself. That can make an otherwise FB
iron really anemic! Try disassembling the unit and carefully cleaning all
the parts from the heater core to the tip! 



Ron AC7AC