I have a Weller 100/140 watt soldering iron. I used it until I need new tips, so I bought Weller brand tips, I put them on and started using the iron and then a funny smell started to come from the tip, a bad smell like, to me, a rotten smell, lol. It makes the whole house smell, clothes, and fingers, and it lasts like 7 or more hours. i noticed that the new tips have a silver substance on them that my old ones didn't and the smell is not as bad when it is used at 100W. Is that smell normal and is it safe to breathe?
When you have a new tip, there is a coating on it. There is a burn off process that will take place. To me, it never smelled as bad as you are describing. But, I am not very sensitive to smell.
two Elements come to mind "Arsenic, and Selenium", look up WHMIS data for better description, Arsenic, garlicy, from test roasting powdered mineral samples Selenium, pungent unforgetable, description of Shorted Selenium Rectifier Stack, haven't seen or smelled one used in 25 years, old battery chargers! Replaced with Silicon Diodes.
There is no reason for either material to be present, although they have been used in the past, both are toxic in small quantities
Shorted Soldering GUN ? Burning Bakelite ? Phenol and Formaldehyde Charactaristic smell of self-destucted electrical equipment !
Both Phenol and Formaldehyde have strongly irritating odours, used as dis-infectants, embalming fluids among other uses, both used in large amounts only on dead people !
Solder and Fluxes, I only use Tin/Lead Rosin Core, and never use any Lead-less Solders, I have no idea what fluxes are used with Lead-less formulations.
Work, what are you soldering, anything unusual ?
IS IT SAFE
Anything Bitter, Pungent, Irritating, Acrid is always suspect !
one of the unusual Toxic Compounds that is not BPIA is Lead Acetate, (Sugar of Lead) it was used to adultrate Wine, to sweeten it, this is why wine was drunk from Silver goblets, it would Blacken Silverware ! Lead Acetate is very simple to prepare, just boil Any Lead Compound in hot Vinegar, Lead Solder, Lead Glazes,lead putty, Lead Paint, Lead pipe. Lead Acetate is Very soluble in hot water and will precipitate out in cold water.
I would suspect the Solder/Flux first, New Tips second, The work third.
I cannot understand why the tips would be plated or coated with a noxious material ? To stop the Iron plating from rusting ?
Is there something unusual about the Solder/Flux ? Is it breaking down due to a abnormally high working Temperature?
I seem to recall 100/140 Watts as the ratings for Weller's Dual-Heat Soldering GUN. I haven't pulled the trigger on one in twenty years!
I bought these at the home depot, and they're weller band, but, the ones at radio shack don't have the coating on them, they're plan copper. The product web site says its a tin-plated copper tip. I think I must burn the tin off because when I first use it, the tin sizzles and I get the smell of it burning, but then it eventually goes away after it burns off, I do this even before I use the solder. I guess ill go to radio shack and get the plan copper ones from now on.
Is it a soldering iron (which you have to plug-in and wait to heat), or a trigger-operated soldering gun?
If the problem mostly happens at the higher power setting, most likely you are overheating the insulation or phenolic structure of a solder gun. This can happens when you have the wrong tips on the gun, say
250-watt tips on a 100-watt gun. Weller tips are designed to match the capacity of a particular tool, and they come in various wattages.
If the smell is similar to that of a over-heated, burnt resistor (this smells really gross), you are either overloading the tool and cooking its internal insulation, OR the tool is defective and about to fail.
Normally, soldering iron tips do not produce much of an odor, and when they do the smell is that of hot metal. I have a Weller soldering gun that I purchased back in the 1960s, and it is still going strong (although I usually prefer to use a more conventional soldering iron.)
Of course, you should always perform soldering in a well ventilated area, since soldering produces both lead fumes and gaseous flux decomposition products -- neither one of which is particularly good for your long-term health! Still, to put the risk into perspective I've been soldering electronics since I was 13, smoking a pack of unfiltered Camel cigarettes a day for about the same time, and at 67 I've already outlived most of my health conscious friends and relatives!
It's a trigger-operated soldering gun, Weller model 8200 kit 100/140 watts. No I don't think I'm burning the tool out because the smell is coming from the tip and not at the vents, the tool is ice cold when it's in use. The burning smell doesn't smell like resistors and I think I know the smell of burning resistors it's like, don't mean to be vulgar but, its a pee smell, this smell is maybe a cheesy/sweet smell, it's hard to explain. When I got the tool it came with a tip with no tin on it, just plan copper, the tool is, I'm guessing 20 years old, the ones where you had to bend the insertion ends of the tip to install them but, band new out of the box. It was my grandfathers. It never had that smell until I got the tin coated ones. The Weller web site says that they fit my tool but, I just noticed it says tip #7235 (the one I'm using) "Standard Tip Only, for 7200 Standard Lightweight Soldering Gun" "Fits Tool(s) 8200, D550" I think that's my problem, even though it says it fits my model, the title says other wise. I'm going to try tip #7135W, it says it fits only my model and if that doesn't work I will try to get a plan copper tip and try that.
ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.