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Your cart is empty.1/2 pound bar for cleaning and tinning soldering irons. Made in the USA. Highest grade in solid form.A well maintained iron is essential for good soldering.
George Fisher
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2024
I repaired an old copper water tank. Before I had the tinning block I had a hard time getting the iron to transfer its heat to the metal. Once cleaned and re-tinned using the block the patches heated quickly and the repair was fast.
David Castlewitz
Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2024
A friend turned me on to this product. It makes tinning solder heads a lot more certain.
Kris Hall
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2016
Everyone that solders wore should have this. You really need to work the iron into the block to clean it . Once you do that you will see how much crap came off the tip . I learned alot just by watching u tube videos on it. Best thing about it as well as doing a great job it will last a guy a lifetime!
Michal Budzianowski
Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2016
What's there to say? It's a block of ammonium chloride, it weighs about half a pound, it'll tin your soldering iron tip when it won't wet any more. Anyone who said it didn't work must've done it wrong. To be clear, this isn't meant to replace regular tip maintenance. You still clean it with the standard brass wool pad and wet sponge, as necessary. You still tin the tip with some solder when not using it for a few minutes. Sometimes though, your tip will get dirty and/or build up oxidation. The solder balls up and doesn't wet on the tip properly. That's when you bust out the sal ammoniac.Build up some melted, balled up solder on the tip, then just jab it into the block. Rub it back and forth, twist it clockwise, counter-clockwise. You'll see a lot of smoke and pretty soon you'll see the solder spread over the tip like when it was new. At this point I'll give the tip a good clean with the brass pad then reapply some solder. Then admire how it wets as good as new. Oh yeah that's nice.
13x31
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2015
I bought one of these to get rid of a dot on one tip that refused to be wetted with solder and for another tip that had its tip heavily oxidized. I liked it so much, that I ended up buying another one to keep at home (the first block being taken to and left at work).The first block I bought was slightly thinner than the second one (by about 5-7mm - the block should fill the entire box), so I'm not sure if QC missed that block, but it isn't enough to go through the hassle of retrieving said block and whatnot.At work, there were a couple tips that were heavily oxidized, one being a glossy black around the entire tip, and the other being mostly black (as pictured). It took a bit of time, but I was able to get both tips wet with solder like nothing ever happened (I was very surprised with the first tip). Unfortunately, my phone's camera decided to focus on the block instead of the tip after finishing.Depending on the iron, you may need to rub the tip against the block as stated in the directions (in other cases like the Hakko FX-888, you can roll the tip in place against the block), but don't give up if it doesn't seem like it's working, just keep at it. With my Weller WES51, I noticed there isn't a lot of smoke, but the Hakko FX-888 definitely made some smoke (don't breathe it). The other iron I have at work (the origin for the tip of in the image) is a Weller WTCPT, and it made using the block interesting, as the 600 and 700 degree tips didn't make as much smoke as the 800 degree tips.The tips I cleaned also became wet with solder past where the tip is supposed to end (for the WTCPT tips) - a slight side effect to watch out for if it matters to you (it doesn't for me).While using it, the block does crumble on the sides of the tip, and while it's a bit annoying, it's nothing worth taking a star off for (maybe half a star at most).Definitely worth every penny I've spent on both of them.
Mick
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2015
Product came quickly and well packed. But to get the most out of its use you need to look up on the web the video on it. Also use in a very well ventilated area as the fumes are quite noxious. I had some badly used irons and it restored the tips nicely. Recommended in my book.
Jon Fleig
Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2014
I bought an 1960's era American Beauty 100 watt soldering iron for a few dollars at a hamfest a few years ago. It appeared to be almost new, except for an oxidized/corroded tip. The tip was the original high quality iron-plated one, but one face was oxidized completely black, and no solder would stick to it. I heated the iron to working temperature, melted a blob of solder onto the sal ammoniac block, and rolled the tip around on the block with the solder blob for about 5 minutes until the oxidation was gone and the solder tinned the tip. Good as new. There are plenty of youtube videos demonstrating this. Many youtube videos also demonstrate filing or sanding the tip. Do NOT do this. Once the iron plating is worn through, the tip will oxidize and wear away much faster. Use sal ammoniac to remove the oxidation without abrading the tip. The vapor emitted where the iron heated the sal ammoniac did not seem any more noxious than those of typical soldering fluxes, but of course you should use this product in a well-ventilated workspace.
Bill L
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2013
I don't remember where I first heard about sal ammoniac but I've known about it for most of my life. At 67, this is the first time I've actually had a chunk of it in my possession. It's wonderful stuff folks. If you use a soldering iron, you need this mineral to keep your tip clean. Now, a 1/2 lb block is a significant quantity and with the amount of occasional soldering I do, I figure I can leave what's left of my chunk (which will be most of it) to my son as part of his inheritance. And then he can leave it to his son and then he can leave it to his heirs and on and on... Has other uses too - smelting, baking (really). Keep it dry!
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