Soldering Iron + Tips Please

[Radejr]

I am a Nitro guy who got a new electric car. I have a Mini-T and a Raven. I have a regular solder gun and some electrical solder from walmart and had to solder something from a friend, but I could not get it to bond very well, but got it to hold. I am knowing I am gonna need one for myself. So I was waundering what is a good soldering gun. Is their any automatic feeds that are easier for descent prices or is just solder and a gun the way to go?

Maybe some tips on soldering wires to motors or wires to wires would help to.

Thx
Radejr
Daniel

[ronestar]

http://www.rc411.com/pages/howto.php?howto=11&page=3

The efficiency of your soldering gun and the type of solder used are also important. You don't need a particularly expensive soldering gun , just a good quality brand around 40-60W will do.

[InspGadgt]

Actually you want to look for a good soldering IRON. I forget exactly why but something about the heating characteristics of soldering guns is not good for RC applications. I'd say 60w at a minimum with a flat chisel tip as wide as you can find.

[ronestar]

My point was not to spend too much on the soldering GUN , there are many types , variable Watts , multi function etc ... some of them are pretty expensive. A good reliable gun/iron is all that you need , nothing fancy. I've been using a 45W for years now with good result. Technique is very important if your unfamiliar with soldering. Most would recommend practicing on old circuit boards to get the hang of it. Plenty of good sites on how to solder out there ,just google it. Cheers! ;)

[GTB_USER_ERIK]

I have 2 Irons, a 40w radio shack model, and a 15w Weller model that I use on my N-Scale railroad. The 40watter has a screw in chiseltip. This I use for my Electric Connections for my cars. The solder is the most important part of the job, use the highest quality ROSENCORE 60/40 solder you can find. Do Not use acidcore, as this will cause your joints to corrode over time.
Other tools you will need are a small wet-sponge, this is for keeping your tip clean as you solder, a small file to keep the crust from builiding up on the tip.
And of course practise, Soldering is a very useful skill, and you will only get better as time goes on, keep in mind it is an easy skill to master.

Peace and goodwill :D

[Duster_360]

Actually you want to look for a good soldering IRON. I forget exactly why but something about the heating characteristics of soldering guns is not good for RC applications....

I run electric only in18th scale and have/use only a soldering gun. Its been with me for 20+ yrs and does an excellent good job, I know how to use it and maintain it, so pardon me if I disagree here.

Motor wires, deans plugs, esc tabs, bullet conns - absolutely no probs. I've even built a batt pac for our cordless phone using 2300mah NiMhs AAs cause the crap batts they sell for cordless phones don't seem to last.

If you're not building batt pacs or something like that, a good gun will do just fine provided you know how to use it - but that's the same with an iron too, you've got to know how it solder using either.

[terrible-t]

40-60 watts soldering iron will do you fine for what we use it for. You'll need something bigger if you build your own packs, I use the Weller solding gun on building pack, cuz, it get hot enough in a short time, and thats what you need when building a pack. A solding gun like Weller is too big if you're solding a wire on a motor or ESC. Rosincore solder ok with wires, Dean's silver solder good for building packs. Silver solder has a higher melting point then the lead base solder, we use for wiring. Never use acid core, acid core mosly used in plumbing work.

[Neon_Dave]

I have a 25 W iron (black and decker) that I use for general purpose soldering, especially for my 1/18th scale MRS4 where I don't need a nuclear powered soldering iron to solder stuff.

I have a 40 W Weller iron that I use for the heavier stuff, when the 25 W doesn't cut it.

A good quality solder and good technique are the two most important things in the art of soldering:D Like with other things, practise makes perfect.

[ronestar]

I have a 25 W iron (black and decker) that I use for general purpose soldering, especially for my 1/18th scale MRS4 where I don't need a nuclear powered soldering iron to solder stuff.

I have a 40 W Weller iron that I use for the heavier stuff, when the 25 W doesn't cut it.

A good quality solder and good technique are the two most important things in the art of soldering:D Like with other things, practise makes perfect.

"nuclear powered soldering iron" ... Where can I get me one of those!! Will it make my motor like a kajilllion times faster?! :eek: :p

[Neon_Dave]

:D To me, anything overly powerful - in this case a soldering iron 40 W or above, would qualify as nuclear powered :D

Dave

*Edit* 500th post! ;)

[z-man280]

:D To me, anything overly powerful - in this case a soldering iron 40 W or above, would qualify as nuclear powered :D

Dave

*Edit* 500th post! ;)
WOOT! congrats on the "senior" status dave!

i built pc boards for Tommy-lift Gates.
we used 40w irons, did everything they needed to do, the importance of good solder, a clean tip, and no cold slodering( which is done by YOU, ) will make your experience very enjoyable.

[InspGadgt]

I run electric only in18th scale and have/use only a soldering gun. Its been with me for 20+ yrs and does an excellent good job, I know how to use it and maintain it, so pardon me if I disagree here.

Motor wires, deans plugs, esc tabs, bullet conns - absolutely no probs. I've even built a batt pac for our cordless phone using 2300mah NiMhs AAs cause the crap batts they sell for cordless phones don't seem to last.

If you're not building batt pacs or something like that, a good gun will do just fine provided you know how to use it - but that's the same with an iron too, you've got to know how it solder using either.

It's your right to disagree but there have been several write ups here and in the mags on why you should use a soldering iron over a soldering gun. But I have neither the time or the inclination to look them up.

[InspGadgt]

WOOT! congrats on the "senior" status dave!

i built pc boards for Tommy-lift Gates.
we used 40w irons, did everything they needed to do, the importance of good solder, a clean tip, and no cold slodering( which is done by YOU, ) will make your experience very enjoyable.

PC boards is a whole different story. With those you have very small gauges of wire and pins to solder. Soldering 14 to 12 awg wire or battery bars is a different thing entirely. Especially when soldering batteries where you want to heat them for as short of a time as possible. 40w can do it...but you'll have less problems in the long run with a higher wattage.

[Duster_360]

..... But I have neither the time or the inclination to look them up.


Glad you didn't waste your time. I've been using this Weller gun for over 25yrs, its built DIY stereos, done TV repair work (helped put me thru undergrad school) and now a little light RC. It does just fine.

[FninjaP90]

Try to find a Goot TQ95, around $35. It's the best soldering iron I've ever used. It's 15W normally for delicate work, but it has a button that you press to make the output jump to 150W for bigger jobs. It heats up from room to working temperature in about 20 seconds with the button pressed.

[InspGadgt]

Well I did some digging around and found this. Novak's never steered me wrong so I trust what they say.

http://www.teamnovak.com/tech_info/how_to/solder/index.html

[glassdoctor]

Duster... I have an old Weller gun that works fine too. (I've had it for 20 years and used to use it for r/c) But that doesn't change the fact that a good iron does even better.

A $13 Weller 40W iron (with the 1/4" tip) from Home Depot works great for demanding things like building packs and wiring Orion motors for example. The difference an iron makes is the amount of heat stored in the tip... it doesn't have to lose and then regenerate heat like a thin wire tip (gun or iron)... allows a quick "job". Batteries in particular don't like to be heated so the quicker the better.

I have seen "guns" that actually had a tip like an iron.... I would consider these irons, not guns.

I use a Hakko 936 now 95% of the time but I still have 40w and 80W wellers that I love for buiding battery packs.

[rx78gp03s]

if your going to be doing battery packs and soldering heavy wires, i suggest getting a "fat" sized tip. You dont need a hotter iron, just a wider tip

[XXWoodmanXX]

When it comes to soldering irons, you definitely get what you pay for. Through my vast collection of corroded, oxidized irons (various $10-20 irons from Rat-Shack and such), I've found that a GOOD iron/soldering station can make all the difference!

Alright, alright, ....a good technique doesn't hurt either. :p


I've since made the jump to a $300 MetCal soldering station w/ E-Z swap tips. This thing gets up to temp. in about 10 secs, and drops temp. just as quick! And, for those of you that build your own packs, you know that an efficient iron makes ALL the difference, since batteries HATE heat!

But, back to the most important practices in soldering.......

#1 - FLUX!

#2 - TINNING!

#3 - repeat #'s 1 & 2 over and over in your head 1000 times, and you'll become a soldering GOD! :)

[richrc]

after all this finaly someone said it flex if you dont no what that is your going to have problems soldering. if you ever have done any plumping you would no the fisrt thing is to have clean suface on your metal. you get this by sanding or grinding on the small stuff use your drumal tool then get the flex out it comes in paste. or better for small wires is the 2-3 oz bottle with the brush attached to the lid dont spill it put the cap on when not using it go to your elec. supply store. What flex dose is prepair the metal by cleaning it like hard to clean stuff wire! did you here that! cleaning it there i said it agian now about the iron if you have 30- 40 dollars go get the wheller Butain soldering tool its only as large as a cigar you flip the gas on clik the exniter 30 sec. your ready. you can ajust the heat!!!! then turn the gas off put the cap on and put it in your pokcet wow!! get the assery pack you will allso get a tool that attaches to the end that will shrink your heat shrink tubeing, hope that helps dont burn your selfs, and stay away from the fumes this stuff gives you BRAME BRAMAGE

[XXWoodmanXX]

after all this finaly someone said it flex if you dont no what that is your going to have problems soldering. if you ever have done any plumping you would no the fisrt thing is to have clean suface on your metal. you get this by sanding or grinding on the small stuff use your drumal tool then get the flex out it comes in paste. or better for small wires is the 2-3 oz bottle with the brush attached to the lid dont spill it put the cap on when not using it go to your elec. supply store. What flex dose is prepair the metal by cleaning it like hard to clean stuff wire! did you here that! cleaning it there i said it agian now about the iron if you have 30- 40 dollars go get the wheller Butain soldering tool its only as large as a cigar you flip the gas on clik the exniter 30 sec. your ready. you can ajust the heat!!!! then turn the gas off put the cap on and put it in your pokcet wow!! get the assery pack you will allso get a tool that attaches to the end that will shrink your heat shrink tubeing, hope that helps dont burn your selfs, and stay away from the fumes this stuff gives you BRAME BRAMAGE


I think reading this post gave me brain damage. LOL j/k :p