Heat sinks?

[Louis LaCour]

Hello all:

I'm sure this is a rookie question to all you seasoned pros, but as I'm
expecting delivery of my K2 tomorrow, I figured, what the heck?

In looking through the build manual for the K2 I see no recommendation to
use any kind of heat sink devices when soldering in various components.  I
presume this isn't a big problem or I would have seen others talking about
it.  Thus, is it safe to just get the component into place quickly, secure
in the belief that such a small amount of heat for such a short time is not
a risk?

Or, am I just totally missing something (!)

Humbly yours,

Louis
KE5GIU

P.S.   A quick trip through the archives didn't turn up anything.
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[Mike WA8BXN]

Back in the days when those tiny devices started to replace things that glow
 when we were using those 100 watt irons or guns, they sure did make it
clear you better you better clip a heat sink between the device and where
you were soldering. Seems over the years the devices have improved a bit,
and out irons have cooled down. So its rare these days that heat sinks are
needed. You should be fine applying heat for a moderate amount of time. Don
t be so quick you get cold solder joints!
73 - Mike WA8BXN
 
 
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[Ron D'Eau Claire-2]

Louis, KE5GIU wrote:
I'm sure this is a rookie question to all you seasoned pros, but as I'm
expecting delivery of my K2 tomorrow, I figured, what the heck?

In looking through the build manual for the K2 I see no recommendation to
use any kind of heat sink devices when soldering in various components.  I
presume this isn't a big problem or I would have seen others talking about
it.  Thus, is it safe to just get the component into place quickly, secure
in the belief that such a small amount of heat for such a short time is not
a risk?

Or, am I just totally missing something (!)

------------------------

Welcome to the gang, Louis. You are right. The parts are designed to take
the heat for a reasonable amount of time.

While we're on the subject, avoid using too low of a temperature on your
soldering iron. That's a mistake some builders make thinking that a lower
temperature is safer. It's just the opposite because they have to hold the
iron on the joint too long while it heats up, so the total heat energy the
device has to absorb is much greater than it needs to be. The end result of
using a cool iron are 'cooked' and damaged parts and often 'cold' solder
joints.

I run my Hakko at about 375 to 400C (700 - 750F) for normal soldering.
Normally the iron is on a joint about two seconds.

And that's another point. Use an iron with a sufficiently robust heater that
it doesn't 'droop' much in temperature when you solder several joints in
succession or hit a joint that is a ground connected to the large copper
area of the pc board. The Hakko is excellent in this regard; it takes the
tip from room temperature to 400C in about 15 seconds. I don't recall having
any problems with the Weller soldering stations I've used in years past, but
I have seen a few comments here about people noticing that the tip
temperature seemed to droop. That may be a maintenance issue. It'll start to
happen on a Hakko after the tip has been used long enough for crud to build
up between the heater and inside surface of the tip. I just pulled a tip off
of my Hakko a few weeks ago that was almost two years old. The tip is fine,
but it was getting dirty inside. (The iron is only on when I need it since
it's ready to go a few seconds after hitting the power button).  

Ron AC7AC

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