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Replacing Triac


captainron19

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So had a triac go bad this year.   Luckily I had a spare controller and I picked up some new ones from LOR and this will be my first time attempting a replacement (always just sent them in to LOR) so i decided it was time to "man up" and get with the times LOL.   Anyway...... can anyone offer any special tips or advice when doing this?    I have a basic understanding of doing it and my soldering skills are at best average.   Heard of problems with removing the old triac.  Heard one method is to clamps a vice grip on underside of bad triac and try to heat all solder points to get it to release but I hear it is very difficult.   Then I heard best thing to do it snip the old triac out and then remove each pin one at a time.   Like I said my soldering skills are not high so also was curious.... is flux a must?   Any other tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

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The "easiest" way is to snip the leads and remove them one at a time.  Then use a solder sucker or solder wick to remove all the remaining solder from the holes.  A small dab of flux doesn't hurt but depends on your solder as well.  I use 63/37 and have replaced probably a dozen triacs over the years with no problems.  You want a nice clean tip on your iron with just a touch of solder on it to remove the leads.

Your soldering iron will determine the amount of time it takes to remove and resolder connections.  I use a solder station that is adjustable so I can use bigger tips or more heat if necessary in situations but a common old 40-watt "radio shack" style of soldering iron will work just as well as long as you pay attention.  Your biggest "worry" is that you might lift a trace on the board and it is something to watch out for.  As long as you don't hold a big chisel tip iron on the point for long though, you should be fine.

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1 hour ago, beeiilll said:

The "easiest" way is to snip the leads and remove them one at a time.  Then use a solder sucker or solder wick to remove all the remaining solder from the holes.  A small dab of flux doesn't hurt but depends on your solder as well.  I use 63/37 and have replaced probably a dozen triacs over the years with no problems.  You want a nice clean tip on your iron with just a touch of solder on it to remove the leads.

Your soldering iron will determine the amount of time it takes to remove and resolder connections.  I use a solder station that is adjustable so I can use bigger tips or more heat if necessary in situations but a common old 40-watt "radio shack" style of soldering iron will work just as well as long as you pay attention.  Your biggest "worry" is that you might lift a trace on the board and it is something to watch out for.  As long as you don't hold a big chisel tip iron on the point for long though, you should be fine.

Having a 'pro' type bench soldering station with the right tip and temps for the job is a must to prevent damage (lifted traces). (mine is an ancient WTCP with a dozen assorted tip shaps n temps)

Also: Keep your tip clean, flat and well tinned. Sometimes to ADD solder, to remove older solder. Getting the heat there FAST is the secret to solder sucking

 

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If your worried about lifting the traces from the board, snip the lead of the bad one close enough to the component and leave the pigtails in the board. Then solder the new onto the pigstails. works great.

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4 hours ago, rmturner54 said:

If your worried about lifting the traces from the board, snip the lead of the bad one close enough to the component and leave the pigtails in the board. Then solder the new onto the pigstails. works great.

Out of curiosity, how do you get the heat sink re-installed if now the holes don't line up with the remaining Triacs?

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7 hours ago, steve synek said:

Out of curiosity, how do you get the heat sink re-installed if now the holes don't line up with the remaining Triacs?

Easiest "option" is to take somethink like a popscicle stick and make a "dummy" heat sink with say three holes in it to line up the triac with the holes in the heat sink.  You can use the stick to make sure the triac in lined up to solder it in place and then assemble the heat sink after soldering is complete.  I use this method myself and it works great.  I actually made up a piece of aluminum with three holes in it to act as an alignment tool.  I stick screws in the new triac and the ones on either side of it unless it is on the end just to hold the new triac in position while I solder it in.  Then clip the leads off the new triac and put the heat sink back on.

If you are going to cut the leads and not remove the old leads from the board, this also allows you to get the holes lined up when you cut the new triac leads and will hold the traic while you solder.

Edited by beeiilll
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Very good point on the heat sink holes. I was actually refering to the Mosfets on the DC boards, there is no heat sinks on those boards..The alignment idea works really well for the Triacs with heat sinks.

Edited by rmturner54
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