Different soldering jobs require different sizes and shapes of soldering iron tips: for example, you’ll need a small tip to solder small circuit boards; it’s easiest to solder integrated circuits with a specialized tip designed for multiple pin configurations; and larger tips are best for soldering sizeable cables.
Most soldering iron manufacturers provide a variety of soldering iron tips. Although soldering iron tips are rarely interchangeable between manufacturers, the tip replacement process is largely the same. In addition to your soldering iron and additional soldering iron tips, you may need a set of small pliers.
Before you start, ensure your soldering iron is unplugged and allow it to completely cool so you don’t burn yourself. Once you’re sure the iron has cooled, unscrew the locking nut holding sleeve that secures the tip and currently installed soldering iron tip. You may be able to unscrew the nut by hand if you frequently change tips. If the locking nut is frozen, use a set of small pliers to unscrew it.
Once you’ve unscrewed the nut, slide the retaining sleeve and nut off the soldering iron’s heating element and remove the soldering iron tip from the sleeve. Place the replacement tip into the retaining sleeve and then slide it back onto the heating element of the soldering iron. The last step is to slide the retaining nut over the sleeve and soldering iron tip and tighten by hand so that you can easily replace the tip next time.
Be sure not to over-tighten the locking nut beyond what you can do by hand. Your soldering iron expands and contracts as it heats and cools. Excessively tightening the locking nut may cause the nut to bind and make future tip replacement needlessly difficult.
In order to maximize soldering iron performance and extend the operating life of your soldering iron tips, you should keep all tips well tinned, which involves removing any oxidation and contaminants and coating the tip with a thin layer of solder. You can read more about tinning soldering iron tips.
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