My solder won't melt even if I hold it there for a solid 15 seconds.
Yikes! That's way too long. Solder should melt instantly against the iron. Your iron isn't getting hot enough. Also, before you go to actually solder your component, when the iron is hot, coat the tip of your iron with solder. It should be a very bright, shiny metallic color on the end of your iron. Also, keep a damp sponge near you to wipe off excess solder. If the tip of your iron looks dull, add more solder to it, turn up the heat, or get a different iron.
What are you soldering, and how thick is the solder? Make sure you are using electronics-type solder. (As I recall it's a mixture of silver, tin? and a little flux) You cannot use the lead-type for electronics.
When I solder, I poke one of the legs through, touch the iron to the leg and then touch the solder to the iron and leg. It should flow right into the hole, and leave a little sloping meniscus of solder around the leg. When it cools, the solder should be bright and shiny, not dull or with any holes.
My solder won't melt even if I hold it there for a solid 15 seconds.
What are you soldering, and how thick is the solder? Make sure you are using electronics-type solder. (As I recall it's a mixture of silver, tin? and a little flux) You cannot use the lead-type for electronics.
Umm, the best solder to use for soldering electronics is eutectic solder, meaning 63% lead and 37% tin. I use that exclusively for electronics. A nice liquid solder flux is good to have. (Make sure it's the non-corrosive kind).
Nick, in my experience, if this is an older iron, sometimes corrosion builds up between the part of the tip that goes inside the heating element. If you have a removable tip, take it out and clean it up real well, then re-install it. If it still doesn't seem to heat up very well, get a new iron. I really like the Weller irons. Tinning the tip is an important step, too. Sandpaper or file it down, heat it up, dip in some flux and coat liberally with solder. Wipe any excess off with a damp sponge. For the record, I shy away from rosin core or flux core solder.
Grisly, I think that you're thinking of water pipes. Lead has been banned for soldering copper water pipes. Apparently, the lead can leech into the water eventually. Of course, not too many copper water pipes going in nowadays. I recently priced a 10 ft section of 1/2" copper pipe, it was over $50 !!! It's going to take me a while to get used to the new, inflated metal prices. (Thanks a LOT, China!!)
I didn't ask, but thanks for that link!
I'm just now getting back into a little tinkering, and the last time I was in my mad scientist phase, Radio Shack actually still sold the stuff like that, instead of becoming a cell phone and RC toy store, and I've been looking for online places with electonic components and tools.
I taught an electronics lab at the local college last spring, and two of the students were not able to get a decent solder connection. They were burning off the pads on the printed circuit board, and had large globs of solder on the few connections they made.
When they asked me why they could not get good solder joints, like the rest of the class, I asked them to show me the solder they were using. It was LEAD FREE solder that they purchased at the local Radio Shack. I gave them some 63/37 or 60/40 lead/tin flux core solder, and the joints from then on looked very good.
The electronic technicians at the employer I worked at, all cussed the lead free solder, saying they could not get decent joints with the stuff, and these guys soldered every day for years.
Drat.
At least I only bought the tiny $2.99 tube of .39 rosin-core at Rat Shack, something in my gut told me not to buy the full spool of the stuff...
Radio Shack actually still sold the stuff like that,
They still do here, it's just buried in the back. At least the soldering irons and solder are but I know what you're talking about.