Soldering questions

[DMAT]

Well, I hadnt soldered anything in a very long time. Well I went to do what I would think was very simple to do which was to solder a plug end to my esc. my LHS recommended a 30 watt soldering iron and silver solder. They said silver would provide a better electrical connection. Well after yesterday's try at soldering, I'm left wondering if my LHS gave me bad advice. These are just a few problems that I kept incurring.

-solder not melting. When it did finally liquify, it wouldnt penetrate into the wires. if i removed the iron away, it would be like 1/2 a second and its hardened again. just getting a connection that didnt have bulbous spot everywhere took lots of reheating of the solder to get it smooth. I ended up using a vice at one point to crush the connection down smaller.

-solder not bonding with the wires. The esc wires were tined beforehand but even after cutting them back to fresh wires, it still refused to take.

-iron's tip was just being destroyed. ive heard of keeping it clean but the tip itself was somehow melting away.

-The silver solder is stay brite and after some reading, may not have been the best choice for electronics in general.

so after all the issues, I had used a ton of solder to get the connection together. they came out quite bulky too.

Am I best off just cutting away the connections I made or am I ok with whats been made?

[RC104ever]

Ok you have a couple issues here. First, solder needs to be hot and if your irons tip is melting that's a problem. I can't understand why it's melting but it sounds like a cheap iron or tip

Second, your wires need something that will get it to stick to the surface. So you need a paste, flux or resin core solder. The fact that it's not sticking tells me you are not using this.

Third, it's likely that the solder joint you've done is poor and will not hold up. It should always be smooth and shiney if it's done right.

Hope that helps!

[integra22t]

as a rule of thum for me is to use a higher watt solder iron than lower unless it has to deal with circit boards.. so a nice 50-80 watt solder iron .. not gun .. and 60/40 lead solder ... ive never had good luck with solder flux

let the solder iron get up to temp and melt ( tint) the tip with solder and always apply the solder iron on the back side of want you want to solder as the solder will be pulled to the heat .. also tint the iron each time you are going to solder .. if the tip gets dirty just wipe it with a damp cloth

the hight watt iron you get you just have to watch out how long you stay on the part as you might just melt some of the plastic conectors

[RC10th]

On a semi related note Deans silver solder was by far the best silver solder ever. I have yet to find a 2-3% silver solder that works as good.

[bully]

Never used silver solder before,i just use the basic cheap solder. Unless you are in the worlds I don't really don't think you need to find the last possible bit of extra performance that the pros do.. That said I use 80watt iron and once you are use to it you can do anything with it, you can try filing your tip back to a uniform smooth finish and wrap tip in the new solder you are using so it tins the tip as soon as it gets hot enough,then wipe for a uniform tinning and let it get really hot before you try again. It may just be that the new solder you have is reacting with the old stuff on your iron tip,therefore not allowing you to tin wire or get a good joint... I have never used extra flux or anything else and have been asked to solder esc's and the like for friends so can't be that bad at it, practice and re filing tip regularly when it starts to look dodgy and plan how you will go about what you need to solder before you start... Hope my rant helps mate,best of luck...

[DMAT]

it was a new iron.

did a little research with the solder I got, Its melting point was much higher than normal solder. I'd probably need a 40 watt soldering iron to work with it easily.

I can probably switch over to normal solder and be ok. I've also got a spare tip with the iron I bought.

just a thought, even though my connections were bulky. I cant forcibly separate the connection...

probably should have posted this before hand but this is what it looks like.

[RC10th]

FYI, molex connectors come apart so you don't need a join in the wire like that. Also careful about sanding/filing the tip, if you remove the plating from the tip you'll ruin it. Lastly, use the broad tip instead of the narrow one as it transfers heat quicker.

If your iorn spreads the solder like butter it's too cold, if it burns off the rosin or flux instantly it's too hot.

[DMAT]

I would have handed this whole thing off to someone else if i had a chance but the only hobby shop in the area refuses to deal with it. they probably havent done it in so long that they dont know much about it since they recommended the silver crap that made this such a hassle to do. I'm probably better off at a radio shack for proper supplies than I am with them.

I did actually hook up the connections and let the motor run around 30% power for a few mins and didnt see much problem with the connection.

I'll be getting parts in over the next few days so while im dealing with those, I can decide whether to rip appart the conneciton.

[GoMachV]

The tamiya connectors are cheap, I would order up a couple to have around. When it's time to redo this, crimp and solder the connection instead of extending like you have.

Remember that solder is just the mechanical connection, you should always have a good electrical connection before soldering. Don't tin both and just lay them together, your compromising the connection. My preferred method is either to twist (for small wires) or push the two sides together into each other, slight twist, then solder. That way you have a good electrical connection and solder to hold it

Radio shack 64/40 rosin core is great. I like the small stuff, .050 or so

If you plan to do more soldering, buy a Weller station. They are around $50 and are adjustable.

[bully]

Silver coated tips that don't turn black an erode like other copper tips don't require filing.. Should have mentioned that before

[DMAT]

I did actually mesh the wires together. after stripping them, I spread the ends open and pushed the 2 ends into each other. without exposing a lot of wire, I'm not sure I could actually twist them. I'll probably end up doing something like this now.

[youtube]/watch?v=7t9nT3Hn9b0[/youtube]

[jwscab]

Solder is the electrical connection, you are supposed to have a good mechanical connection with the 'twist'. I don't prescribe to that theory, because the wire should have no stress on it, needing the extra mechanical connection. I have and always will use a lap joint on wire connections unless I can crimp a splice joint(not in R/C). In the event of a failure of the connections, the lap joint will fail, leaving you with the opportunity to repair quickly, and you can make the joint nice and small. The enormous twist and fold ends up being an inch or more with heavy gauge wire making it clumsy and ugly. Then if the wire is stressed to the point that it fails, it will tear our the wire in a place that can't be fixed, or tear so many strands that the whole wire needs replacing.

for your application, you need to use a standard rosin core lead/tin (if you can get it) or lead free solder(sucks). Silver solders melt slightly higher, and are really not necessary, depending on the alloy it could end up being a brazing alloy and not workable.

use the hottest iron you can afford, no matter what. you want the iron in and out as quickly as possible. Tin the end of the iron and tin both ends of what you are joining. Add a dab of fresh solder to the iron and apply to the joint so everything flows nicely. If it's lead solder it will be shiny and gleaming if done correctly. For lead free, you will probably end up with a more matte finish, but light silver and clean is what you are looking for.

using a small or cold iron will allow solder to flow into the wire under the insulation as you sit there and heat it for minutes. this makes the wire brittle. you want the heat localized and focused to the joint you are making.

[DMAT]

Usually my wires are the least likely thing to get damaged. If I wrecked my car so bad that the wires got yanked appart, I hate to see the rest of the car.

That time I wrecked my rustler so bad that I exploded most of the back end. It left one of the rear wheels rolling away with the rear arm attached and the velineon motor bent about 20 degree through its entirety. still not a single wire was damaged. Maybe I'm just a stickler for wire management so I dont leave myself exposed.

[DMAT]

well, I cut the connection appart. I see why so much solder was used. about 1/4" into the unexposed wires had solder in them. re did the connection with some 60/40 and had no problems. Still not the prettiest thing but most of it is b/c of the wires not doing a perfect mesh when I fed them into each other.

[THE H.P FREAK]

HI!... I use this Weller Soldering gun. Never had any issues.

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/weller-solder-gun-kit-260-200w-prof/971034

I only use this solder :