To determine the soldering iron tip life is very difficult. But with a good use, life will be much longer. If cleaning sponge is too wet, the soldering iron tip which is 350 °C, will suddenly drop to 100-150 ° C. By time, these temperature drops crack exterior cover and melts the copper inside. In this case, the tip life is even shorter than 1 week. (Thermal Shock)
Extra heated ends (such as at 400-450°C) quickly becomes unavailable. Heat must be set to minimum so that workflow is not disrupted. Such as 350 °C (High Temperature)
The material cleaning the soldering iron tip end (iron, tin) must be of a softer material. It must be made of brass so that the tip is not damaged by friction. (Soft Cleaning Wire)
The amount of flux in the solder and flux used should be minimal. Because flux contains acid and is one of the most important factors affecting the life. We do not recommend to use resin paste. Although it makes soldering easier, because of maximum acidity in these products it pierces the soldering tip. Then one must do the cleaning. The residue left may lead to a short circuit in the future./p>
In the images below, please see how does it melts the solder iron tip because of the excess amount of flux.
