- Most people might think that the higher the wattage of a soldering iron, the hotter it will get. The truth is that a higher wattage soldering iron will be able to more precisely keep the iron tip at exactly the same temperature. This is especially helpful when soldering multiple joints in succession, like circuit board work or soldering larger joints which take a longer time to heat up. For those applications, more wattage means a more stable temperature at the tip and also at the soldering joint.
- Lead-based solder should be soldered with a tip temperature of between 600 and 700 degrees while lead-free or silver solder should be soldered between 700 and 800 degrees. Higher temperatures may make them melt faster, but you stand a risk of atomizing the solder which will compromise the electrical connection. It's better to solder at a lower temperature to make sure that the connection will be electrically active when finished.
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