Soldering temp question

[Hiwatt25]

For those of you with soldering stations with temperature controled irons, what temperature do you typically set your station to?  Also, do you use a different temperature when soldering on PCB's as opposed to pots and jacks? 

I'm going to put my weller soldering station back into business but I fear that it may be set at the wrong temp.

Thanks
Joe

[Ronsonic]

I find there's a sweet spot where if you set it any hotter the tip oxidizes and needs a lot of cleaning and retinning. I turn it up to just below that point so it's as hot as it can get and still have excellent tip life. Conveniently enough on my cheap "Solomon" branded station, this is right in the middle of the LED bar. This is plenty hot for doing jacks, pots and the usual run of big stuff. I have a 150W pistol I use for Fender amp chassis grounds and mounting terminal strips to a chassis. Often, I'll use the two irons together for the chassis grounds, like tying the copper plate under the controls to the chassis. That's about the only time I'll turn up the solder station.

For the most part, you're more likely to damage a component or PCB by slow cooking, holding the iron on the joint for a long time than by having the iron too hot. Most damage is from poor technique or a bad tip than by an overhot iron.

Trying to shorten and clarify here: have the iron is as hot as it can be and still have the tip come clean and bright with just a wipe on the damp sponge after it's been sitting for awhile. If your tip gets nasty and dull fast turn it down.

Ron

[Hiwatt25]

Cool, thanks for the reply. I'll fiddle with it for a while and hope to find a "sweet" spot.