Does a electric soldering iron begin to not get as hot after considerable use?

[v8vega]

Weller. It seems like it

[ScaleCraft]

yes, no, and maybe.

Weller gun? Screws or nuts? Looseness and commensurate corrosion creates resistance, and less heat.
Mine have holddown nuts, I have to re-tension whenever I drag it out.
Oxidation on tips of any decreases heat transfer.
As a general rule, the heating elements work or do not.
Note "general rule".

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Possible; oxidation/corrosion at tip and connectors to tips can decrease heat.

Take it apart and clean everything.

[Mitch]

I have three Weller's. Two of them are 150/250 watts, one has nuts, the other has allen screws. The other is a smaller 100/150. Before even trying to use any of them, I have to loosen then retighten the nuts/screws, otherwise it's wasted effort and then you have to do it anyway with a warm tip. Right out of the drawer, they won't even melt ultra thin radio solder, but after a loosen/tighten sequence, they will heat instantly. I've been dealin' with this for 40 years. As an aside, they all have lights. One of them worked exactly once, the other two never worked. If using them for an extended period, you may have to repeat the loosen/tighten steps.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

.....after a loosen/tighten sequence, they will heat instantly.

That resets the contacts to a fresh surface through the oxidation/corrosion. Got a Weller, too. Rarely use it for anything. Pencil torch and pencil iron are 99+% of what gets used.

[gregj410]

I have a Weller WESD51 soldering station. Whenever I have trouble getting the solder to heat up and flow it’s usually because the tip is dirty. I’ve noticed I can clean them a handful of times before they just won’t work at all, at which time I just replace the tip. It also help if you solder in your underwear although I don’t recommend this

[E7]

It also help if you solder in your underwear although I don’t recommend this

Just don't get solder on your nuts!

An American Beauty 25 watt iron was standard fare in the CO tool kit when I was employed by the Telco. Never heard of one burning out, but I guess it's possible. Somewhere along the way they gave us tips that did NOT need to be tinned. Not sure of the brand name, but they bought a lot of their tools from an outfit named "Graybar". They are light years BETTER than the standard tip.

[J. S. Bach]

[ ...snip... bought a lot of their tools from an outfit named "Graybar". They are light years BETTER than the standard tip.

Graybar is still very much in business. It was founded in 1869 and got its name from the two founders: Elisha Gray & Enos Barton. More on its history is here:

https://www.zippia.com/graybar-careers-25103/history/