I bought a 30W soldering iron a while ago but it wouldn't tin or get hot enough to do anything, so I put it back in its box and left it.

I recently got it back out and it refuses to tin. When I switch it on it heats up (you can feel the heat off it) and when I wipe a wet sponge it steams but when I apply solder to the tip to try and tin it, it does nothing. If I put the solder on a wooden board and apply the soldering iron then after about 5 seconds it melts and 'chops' through it. Then I just have solder balls.

If I keep the iron on the balls then just stay melted and/or move away but no solder ever stays on the iron. It's very fustrating! Anyway, I just wanted to know if anyone could offer some help. Should I roughen up the end with a saw so it has more grip or something, or just buy a new iron?

Thanks.

Is the solder resin/flux-core solder?
Sounds like it either doesn't have flux or is a shitty kind like from walmart that smells like chemicals hen it burns & doesn't like to stick to anything that isn't perfectly clean.

Try taking some light sandpaper and clean off the tip so you can see the copper. You don't want to "rough it up," just expose clean copper.

Never sand a good tip; it ruins the coating. Are you using flux? If not, get some. A couple drops of lemon juice will work in the mean time.

I am using flux, but the solder still runs away from my iron.

The tip is slotted into another, larger, metal bit and a screw keeps it in place. I tried the solder on the bit that the tip goes into and it melted instantly and one time it stuck. I guess its definatly the tip then.

Buy a less shitty tip?

I was going to buy a new tip, but just now I grinded it down to the copper. Then, like magic, it tined!

Thanks for all the input guys

Edit: Just out of curiosity, i'm trying to solder really really really small LED's. They're 2.0 x 1.25 x 0.68 mm (Really REALLY small.) Anyone got any tips, i've only got ten and i've already messed up two of them. The little bits of copper are TINY.

Damn you're useful

Hehe, I've had to do that before, although the LED's I used weren't quite as small, and the only soldering device I have is a 100/140 watt soldering gun.

Sloooowwww... and careful.

I'm being as slow as I can, the problem isn't the soldering, it's the fact that the LED doesn't like to stay the right way up and any slight movement knocks it over. It sticks to my fingers, it sticks to the solder on the soldering iron and tweezers i'm using are crap.

I just don't have anyway to secure this thing down, any ideas?

Glue. It will hold it in place until you can solder it. Then tin the tip, and simply touch it to one side of the diode. There should be enough solder on the tip to hold it.

O hai thar, i remember tinning stuff maybe i can be of assistance to you