i need a good soldering iron

[savagekid94]

hi all i want a good soldering iron i currently have the radioshack 20/40 watt one and i doesnt' melt solder nearly a s fast as the one that the hobby shop employes have used to solder stuff on my car all suggestions are appreciated

P.s . mine currently has a new tip on it

p.s.s i have to let the iron heat up after i make a joint because after i tmelts solder it needs alot of time to get up to heat

[c2s]

What are you trying to solder? And what solder are you using?

[savagekid94]

batteries and moter leads + deans connectors

i am using deans

60/40 rosin core from radio shack

[c2s]

I know I'm gonna hear about it for heaver things I use a Harbor Freight 150w gun for small stuff I use a plain old 25w weller.

Good to see you are using a good brand of solder.
I use Standard 60%-tin/40%-lead Rosin Core Solder, Diameter: 0.032" (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062715&cp=2032058.2032236.2032313&pg=1&allCount=46&fbn=Type%2FSolder&searchSort=TRUE&f=PAD%2FProduct+Type%2FSolder&fbc=1&y=7&retainProdsInSession=1&x=16&s=A-StorePrice-RSK&parentPage=family)

Tip Tinner/Clearer Compound (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062721&cp=2032058.2032236.2032313&allCount=46&fbn=Type%2FAccessories&f=PAD%2FProduct+Type%2FAccessories&fbc=1&parentPage=family) can help too.

[terrible-t]

your 20/40 is ok! clean your solding iron and use a file to clean off, file it till you see copper around the tip. Heat up the iron, then unplug the iron. B4 it coolsdown tinned the tip. It will be reay to next time. The trick of soldering is heat transfer.

[AreCee]

Or buy an inexpensive 40W Weller for $20 and solder all the batteries and connectors. Fast heat transfer and replacable tips too.

Never had any success with Radio Shack irons.

[DrKnow65]

Weller all the way. It's the difference netween joy and pain :)

I have three soldering tools, a 15watt I use for small delicate stuff (like switching out the wires on servo's and fans. a 30watt I use on medium size soldering, like battery leads and deans connectors. And I have a 150/300watt soldering gun I use for large or fast soldering jobs, battery packs and motor leads mostly.

The gun is ABLE to heat connectors way too hot, but it you are quick about your work I feel it heats the cells up less than when you use a 40watt for a longer period of time...

[94eg]

For batteries, you need some serious heat so you can solder QUICKLY. I use a Weller 80watt SPG-80L. It has an oversized tip, so the heat doesn't get sucked out so quickly. The smaller included tip is perfect for soldering battery bars...

http://www.cooperhandtools.com/_cache/a5ab1f866d193cb9f755d74bb77b4b81.jpg

For wiring, you want something with a little less heat, and perhaps primitive temp control (voltage control). For this stuff, I use the Weller WLC100 soldering station. Cost around $50 and works flawlessly. Even includes a sponge you can wet for convenient wiping. The 40watt iron is not so great for soldering to batteries as the heat gets sucked out of the tip rather relatively quickly (compared to the 80watt iron)...

The cool thing is that you can plug any iron into the base station for added temp control. The larger 80watt iron doesn't exactly fit into cup mounted in the spring stand, but you can easily modify it to work.

http://www.cooperhandtools.com/_cache/f1c0de4eba50b52c7eb53a38f800f183.jpg

[Duster_360]

I have both the 40 and the 80watt Weller irons. They heat up quickly and work great. The 80 is the only way to go for building batts - it's on the batt for so much less time, there's no comparison.

[Adanmtxt1]

I finally gave in and bought a Hakko 936 which heats up to around 900*F max. It cost about $115 with tax, so it is not the cheapest unit, but the adjustability makes it very adaptable, and the included tip is perfect. It heats up Deans plugs very quickly so you never melt housings, and it is manufactured from high quality materials.

http://www.kiesub.com/catalog/hakko936.jpg

[tcolesen]

I finally gave in and bought a Hakko 936 which heats up to around 900*F max. It cost about $115 with tax, so it is not the cheapest unit, but the adjustability makes it very adaptable, and the included tip is perfect. It heats up Deans plugs very quickly so you never melt housings, and it is manufactured from high quality materials.

http://www.kiesub.com/catalog/hakko936.jpg

I too am using the Hakko 936, but with the larger 908 iron to better transfer heat. If you look around you can find brand new ones for $100 shipped.

[savagekid94]

what is a good website to get the hakko iron and can i get a big tip to solder batteries

[rccardude04]

Did you go to the hobby shop and see what they have yet?
We carry both that weller station and the Hakko 936 on hand at all times.
-Eric

[savagekid94]

i live in MI and race at larry's rc i am a usual a-main guy in stadium racing they don't carry any irons besides the cheap pencil ones


p.s. i got first and broke the track record this week

[rccardude04]

I'm very proud of you. :)
Can they get you the 936?
We got the one we have now from HRP (racers edge basically).
-Eric

[savagekid94]

i checked and they just got some in thanks for all the help

[savagekid94]

maybe a c main guy

[Dr_Isotope]

I've got that very Hakko unit, had it for I think 5 years now. One of my best purchases. I try to tell everyone: Buy a good iron once, never buy one again.

[MR4X4KING]

here you go 60.00 shipped brand new
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-ESD-Safe-Soldering-Station-Iron-60W-Model-936_W0QQitemZ130204940252QQihZ003QQcategoryZ57012Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[swannco]

hakko if you can swing it, weller if you can't

either way you get a great iron

[gorethrasher]

OMG! I want one of those... although my trusty weller is still working strong.