How Long Do Solder Tips Last
Thoroughly clean the inside of the fitting with a wire fitting brush.
How long do solder tips last. They normally can last for years. Silver solder paste can if kept under good conditions last more than two years. If you add a diode in series with an old-fashioned iron the tips last forever.
Touch the tip of the soldering iron to the wires and keep it there. The soldering lead and the iron tip should be at an angle of 45 degrees so as the make the solder flow easily. The lowest cost soldering iron is one that simply plugs into the wall and may have no temperature control whatsoever.
Use sponge soaked in water to wipe the tip clean regularly. Eventually every tip will wear out and will need replacing when it becomes rough or pitted. My old standard had a shorting switch in parallel with the diode for high power.
In this case the tip is likely to become oxidized very quickly and may not have a very useful long. Thoroughly clean the end of the pipe with sandcloth. To last long treat it gently.
Storing solder paste couldnt be easier. For our purposes lets say its going to be more than ten minutes between joints. I use a small Chisel Tip most of the time.
It may help to grip the solder wire around 5 inches 13 cm from the tip of the wire that is being soldered so as to distance your hands from the hot solder. Do not keep the soldering iron tip more than 3 seconds on the soldering joint when soldering CMOS components. You should tin the tip of your iron before and after each soldering session to extend its life.