May I use (is it safe) a 30 year old soldering iron?

[trickybilly]

I am very new to electronics and only use it as a hobby. My father bought the soldering iron, but never used it. Manufactured in East Germany (DDR). It came with some kind of a "dark cream" and a white thingy - I do not know what are those for. I have started to look at videos on Youtube "how to solder". Is it safe to plug this in after 30 years? It was stored in our garage in a cool and dry place.Additional info:
On the package it says: "Delta Lit-Box"
On the iron it says: TYP623, 220V, 60W and a sign in a circle that has two parts (an "I" on the left and a "T" on the right which is rotated 90 degrees towards the "I"
On the dark creme box it says "Universal Lötfett" Typ SW13 , IV-14-14
Regarding 220V - I live in Europe - we have 220V

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[jim mcnamara]

If your Dad used it safely at your current residence, it probably is okay. Learn about safety BEFORE you play with it. If there is some solder left around from the old days, it probably is lead based. Consider buying a new spool of solder that is less lead-laden. I am guessing the round container has soldering flux. Hopefully the videos you see will explain what it is and why you need to use it. Some solder you can buy nowdays has a flux core.

And. Thanks for asking first. Eyes and fingers are hard to replace.

 

[donpacino]

You probably want ot get a holder for the soldering iron, or make one. Just something to keep it raised in the air and isolated from materials that might burn (your fingers, wood, paper, etc. WHen it is active you don't want to lay it on its side like in your picture.

 

[Nidum]

The bit is in bad condition . Appears to have been eroded and lost it's plating . For occasional use you can file it back to shape and tin but for any regular use best to get a new bit .

Personally I prefer straight bits for most small work .

 

[Guineafowl]

I have a 40W Weller that is nearly as old as that, still going strong.

As long as the Earth pin on the plug is continuous with (connected to) the metal parts of the iron I can't see any good reason not to use it. The creamy stuff is flux. Give the bit a scrub with wire wool or sandpaper, then allow to heat up and dip in the flux. Melt some fresh solder over the end and tap off the excess ("tinning"). It should work very well like this. I agree that a straight bit and a stand would be good ideas.

I have to disagree with Jim above and recommend lead-based solder. It just performs much better. As long as you wash your hands after use, as you would if handling lead items for fishing, shooting, roofing, etc it should be perfectly safe.

 

[Tom.G]

As long as the Earth pin on the plug is continuous with (connected to) the metal parts of the iron I can't see any good reason not to use it.

Agreed. Not being familiar with European power systems, I can not tell if the plug is polarized, has a Grounding pin, or is a plain 2-prong plug. If the metal parts of the iron are NOT grounded, do not use it on any semiconductor electronic devices, there is the potential to destroy them.

I have to disagree with Jim above and recommend lead-based solder. It just performs much better. As long as you wash your hands after use, as you would if handling lead items for fishing, shooting, roofing, etc it should be perfectly safe.

Once again, agreed... but mostly. Lead is a neurotoxin - it is toxic to nerves, including the Brain. So keep Lead away from food and drinking water. It is a particular problem with youngsters in that it interferes with Brain development.

In small doses with adults, as with occassional Tin/Lead solder use, it appears to have a minor, if any, effect. The big push to eliminate Lead based solder seems to be aimed at limiting its presence in discarded items so the Lead doesn't leach into the water supply.

You may have heard the expression "Mad as a Hatter." That comes from a time when men wore felt hats. The manufacturing process used Lead to process and form the hats. A Hatter (hat maker), being constantly exposed to Lead and it's fumes, would, over a period of years, go mad; caused by Brain degeneration from Lead exposure.

(so beware of hats. )

 

[Guineafowl]

Regarding the lead in water supplies, I just find it hard to reconcile eliminating leaded solder (leading to more board failures and discarded electronic items) with the continued bulk use of lead for flashing, guttering and, in many cases, whole roofs covered in lead sheet.

Since 'mad as a hatter' is an old English phrase, I feel able to pull rank (normally it's TomG telling me what to do) - The felting process actually used mercury. The resulting toxicosis induced odd behaviour in hat makers.

Then again, in times gone by, highly toxic things were used in abundance - anyone making anything 300 years ago was probably addled by many different heavy metals. Also, as recently as the 1950's, you could use in-store real-time radiography to see if your shoes fitted correctly.

I think I just digressed.

 

[Tom.G]

Since 'mad as a hatter' is an old English phrase, I feel able to pull rank... The felting process actually used mercury.

No excuses. I bow down to obviously superior knowledge.

Also, as recently as the 1950's, you could use in-store real-time radiography to see if your shoes fitted correctly.

I remember those. I always wanted to look thru them but was too short! By the time I was tall enough to see, they were outlawed.

 

[Asymptotic]

If it was operational 30 years ago it should still be. Since the early 1970s I've had what was an already ancient Western Electric soldering iron. It is too huge for most electronics (about 16 inches long, overall, with a 1/4" chisel tip), but it works a treat for steel chassis connections.

Give the bit a scrub with wire wool or sandpaper, then allow to heat up and dip in the flux. Melt some fresh solder over the end and tap off the excess ("tinning")

A green Scotch Brite^TM pad works in lieu of wire wool provided you don't tarry too long in one place, and melt the polypropylene binder. Many modern tips are plated, so use a fine grit abrasive and don't go crazy (and definitely, avoid attacking it with a steel file).

If the tip is very badly oxidized it may take a long time to recondition using only rosin flux. Ammonium chloride and/or zinc chloride plumber's flux are more effective in this circumstance, but be sure to thoroughly remove it after the tip becomes "tinnable" again by washing it over seven or more rosin flux cleaning and retinning cycles. Chloride fluxes tends to leave a corrosive residue that forms electrolytic cells within solder joints, and wreak all manner of diagnostic havoc down the road.

 

[CWatters]

trickybilly: That soldering iron almost looks new. Some of mine are older than me and I'm 58. I'm still using a tin of flux that looks like this one from the 1960s/70s.

I recommend you find or make some sort of stand or hook for it. A common issue with soldering irons is that the electrical wire is or gets stiff and tends to move the iron about.

 

[trickybilly]

Thank very much everyone for all the input. I have "liked" all posts.

 

[Borek]

You may have heard the expression "Mad as a Hatter." That comes from a time when men wore felt hats. The manufacturing process used Lead to process and form the hats. A Hatter (hat maker), being constantly exposed to Lead and it's fumes, would, over a period of years, go mad; caused by Brain degeneration from Lead exposure.

Mercury, not lead.

 

[phinds]

Odd coincidence (for me) that this just came up. I had not used my 50+ year old soldering iron in a couple of years but pulled it out just the other day to rewire an extension cord. Worked just fine.

 

[Guineafowl]

Thank very much everyone for all the input. I have "liked" all posts.

No, you haven’t!