soldering

[pjs autos]

whats a good soldering iron to solder speedos and motors .got a cheap gun type but think it killed me speedo .bin looking at the solder stations ????????????

[jimmy]

I recently bought a 25 watt antex - went for the extra cost superflexible cable option It came with a fairly small tip but I bought a bigger one on ebay and it's great for doing motors and ESC's
It's the best iron I've owned I think - and I've owned gun type things all the way through BnQ specials and weller irons to solder stations.

[smarkham]

All depends on budget most irons 25w or above will do the job. But knowing how to solder is the key. Always wet the sponge wipe the tip of the iron clean on the sponge and tin the tip of the iron with a small ammount of solder to give good heat transfer, then tin both surfaces you want to solder. Leaded solder is best (non rohs compliant) if you can still get some try and stay away from using a flux paste, If you really want to use flux then use a flux pen and then clean off the joints with motor cleaner once the soldering is complete. Flux is nasty stuff and will eat away at components over time if its not cleaned off. Hope this helps

[pjs autos]

Originally Posted by smarkham

All depends on budget most irons 25w or above will do the job. But knowing how to solder is the key. Always wet the sponge wipe the tip of the iron clean on the sponge and tin the tip of the iron with a small ammount of solder to give good heat transfer, then tin both surfaces you want to solder. Leaded solder is best (non rohs compliant) if you can still get some try and stay away from using a flux paste, If you really want to use flux then use a flux pen and then clean off the joints with motor cleaner once the soldering is complete. Flux is nasty stuff and will eat away at components over time if its not cleaned off. Hope this helps

ye thanks good advice guna get new soldering iron thow.guna get lead solder then .ye i know about contacts hav 2 b clean ,may b its me who cant solder lol .. i do plenty of thin cables as im a mecchanic .just struggle wth 12gauge wire on speedos

[pjs autos]

Originally Posted by pjs autos

ye thanks good advice guna get new soldering iron thow.guna get lead solder then .ye i know about contacts hav 2 b clean ,may b its me who cant solder lol .. i do plenty of thin cables as im a mecchanic .just struggle wth 12gauge wire on speedos

wud 50 watt iron b plenty???

[CrashBangWallop]

Originally Posted by pjs autos

wud 50 watt iron b plenty???

Yep, I use a 45watt weller temperature controlled soldering station that I have had for 20 years so 50 watts would be fine.

Tip size is also important, 3mm flat chisel tip is manly enough for most applications up to about 14swg cable any bigger like 12swg I break out the 75w Weller iron this has an 8mm round tip. Great for soldering cells if you are still in to that sort of thing.

It is worth paying extra to buy a quality soldering iron that will last as the cheaper ones are cheaper for a reason, tips burn through, elements burn out etc.

The type of solder used also can play a part in how well your joints turn out, the modern lead free solder is not as good as the old 60/40 Tin Lead with a flux core, so seek out some if you can and dont breathe in the fumes.

[pjs autos]

Originally Posted by jimmy

I recently bought a 25 watt antex - went for the extra cost superflexible cable option It came with a fairly small tip but I bought a bigger one on ebay and it's great for doing motors and ESC's
It's the best iron I've owned I think - and I've owned gun type things all the way through BnQ specials and weller irons to solder stations.

thanks 4 info guna order me self a new iron and keep trying

[smarkham]

The main thing with large guage joints is heat transfer tin both surfaces with a fair bit of solder then leave the iron for a few minutes to heat up then tin the tip with a fair bit of solder this will ensure you get a good transfer of heat. You should never have to apply any pressure to any joints with the iron. Some irons such as my weller have different number tips for different temperatures weller and antex are about the only 2 irons I have got on with. I have tried a few solder guns and found them to be very poor the tips never heat in the same place twice I found my old 12watt weller worked better. Hope this helps.

[Jason A]

Originally Posted by jimmy

I recently bought a 25 watt antex - went for the extra cost superflexible cable option It came with a fairly small tip but I bought a bigger one on ebay and it's great for doing motors and ESC's
It's the best iron I've owned I think - and I've owned gun type things all the way through BnQ specials and weller irons to solder stations.

100% for antex and they have mega easy change tips that just slide on and off
I have the 25w one as well and no problems with 12g wire.

The main thing is get hold of lead soilder which is still possible.

[Nas]

I bought a 60w one and its AWESOME,it has adjustable heat mode too,which is useful.

My other one was like 15w and i hardly managed to get my wires hot,let alone solder them,i think something might have been wrong with it.

Anything over 25-30w would be perfect and would make your life much easier.

Oh and make sure you buy solder with LOTS of lead in it ( its better stuff ).

Thanks.

[smarkham]

As above the leaded solder has a lower melting point think you can still buy it from maplins. If you get stuck drop me a pm I can still get it through my work as medical equipment is exempt from rohs compliance.

[RoyBoy]

I have had a Weller soldering station PS-2D and TCP iron but no tips, for some time. I have now obtained a variety of tips so can now use it. As i dont have any instructions for the PS-2D, can anybody enlighten me as to what the small hole on the front is for (it has a picture of an iron and something else? underneath it).