How to Ground a Soldering Iron

It is important to ground some soldering irons before working on electronic circuitry.

Solder is a material that is melted to create solid joints in electronic repairs. A soldering iron is the tool used to create these joints. A soldering iron plugs into the wall. The soldering iron has a metal tip that can be heated up to extreme temperatures, thus melting the solder and creating the joint. Some of the electronic circuits you will be working on will be extremely sensitive to both heat and electrical shorts. Some soldering irons today come with a built-in grounding system. However, not all soldering irons offer this feature. If this is the case with your soldering iron, you will have to ground it so that you do not end up frying your electric components.

Things You'll Need

• Soldering iron
• Aluminum foil
• Alligator clips
• Wire

Instructions

1. Tear off a sheet of aluminum foil and place it under the circuit board you are going to work on.

2. Attach an alligator clip to the edge of the aluminum foil.

3. Loop a piece of wire through the small hole on this alligator clip and attach it.

4. Attach the loose end of the wire to another alligator clip.

5. Attach that alligator clip to the tip of your soldering iron.

References

• "An Introduction to High Reliability Soldering and Circuit Board Repair"; N. Ahlhelm; 2010