Electronics Soldering temperatures... 60/40 vs. "lead free"... what to use?

[Charlie-III]

OK, so what some of you are saying is, "Screw spending the money on a station, just get a small tool and crank the F out of it...... make sure you have quick hands....."

Not really the idea I had.

I use an old Weller soldering gun for some pack connectors as well as motor leads.
I'm looking for info for smaller parts.

I'm NOT looking for the, "A 10oz ballpeen hammer is best, but use a 20LB sledge hammer..... just be mindful of how hard you swing it...." sorta answer.

What some of you are doing is fine, I'm not judging, just not the reason for this thread.

My thread, my rules.

[YJ_Driver]

I've been soldering at home and at work for over 20 years and I too prefer the high heat method. The problem I have with lower heat is the PCB traces or wire will suck the heat away from the joint, sometimes so much the solder will never melt or won't wet properly.

At work we went pb-free years ago. I work on digital circuit boards with all kinds of components down to 0402 size (that's 40thou x 20thou) using a high end digital soldering station. I set the temp to 650F for small parts, and for really fast heat I go up to 700F or even higher. It's hard on the tips but getting the job done is more important

[hpiguy]

I actually use a digital soldering station, and all the proper tools and accessories as well. I just prefer to use high heat for most of the applications that my iron will generally be used on, but as usual, YMMV.