Soldering question....

[HyperDunley]

Hi all, this has prob been asked loads (I have searched old threads too), but after yesterday's soldering fiasco and nearly ruining my ESC, I'm after some advice on what iron and solder to buy?

Will only be used for esc/connectors, but unsure on wattage and what solder to use that actually works! Not bothered on budget but ideally don't want to spend £££££'s....

Any help appreciated

Cheers
Adam

[Allan1875]

It's not always just the iron, it's the technique you use also. Flux can be a massive benefit in soldering.

I posted a video online to help some people with soldering:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj-9zTSAUTg

In that video I was using this soldering iron:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/antex-25w-mains-soldering-iron-fr12n

I have since upgraded my iron to this, as the 25w is fine for indoors, but if you are at a cold outdoor race meeting, it doesn't get hot enough:

http://www.pmtech.co.uk/consumables/soldering-equipment/soldering-stations/quick-202d-esd-lead-free-90watt-soldering-station.html

[Neil_H]

I use one of these:

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/core-rc-soldering-iron-80w-230v/rc-car-products/369651

Perfectly good for soldering wires to motors and ESCs etcnot had any issues at all and thought it was very well priced for an 80W soldering iron

[i4n]

I use one of these http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/60w-mains-lcd-solder-station-a55kj. It's 60W and has temperature adjustment too; add in some different sized tips and it's extremely versatile. Very similar to a version that I did my electronics training on many moons ago but a lot cheaper as it's not made by Weller! Maplin have it on offer every now and then and you can pick one up for £35 or so.

This means that I can put a larger tip on it and crank the temperature up for doing ESC and motor connections quickly avoiding lots of heat soak into the internals of the equipment but I can also turn the temp down and change to a smaller tip for changing servo leads etc.

I also tend to still use lead solder as it melts at a lower temperure and IMO flows better than the lead free stuff, I know it's bad for me if I breath it in but what I do now is nowhere near as much as what I used to do.

But as for soldering itself, I'm afraid it's all practice. My advice would be to look at some tutorials on YouTube, get a load of cheap components (resitors, capacitors, LED) and veroboard from ebay and just practice then when you do the larger connections like the ESC or motor it'll be much easier.

[HyperDunley]

Thanks for the detailed info guys, much appreciated!

Looks like the Core RC is a good buy so will go with one of those. Also like the idea of the desolder pump, I think this will be working overtime to repair some of the mess I made at the weekend :thumbsup:

Cheers
Adam

[birdy]

Adam

As above, use Lead solder, all round easier to solder.

[Col]

I bought a secondhand solder station a few years ago after doing ok with a basic iron for a few years. Couldn't do it for toffee, the job was considerably worse than with the cheapo iron.
Turned out the problem was with the tips of the iron, rather than my lack of skills. Since fitting new tips it's considerably easier and neater, so my advie is to change them fairly regularly.

[HyperDunley]

What's the best style tip? Pointed, chisel, slanted or screwdriver style?

So many choices!

[andyg01]

Lead lead lead

Please watch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reNA5iwcg-w

:thumbsup:

[Lee1972]

Don't know if this has already been covered but don't use lead free solder it's gash. Buy some leaded got mine off Ebay much easier to work with.

[Zippy G]

Hi
I have been using these for a while now and they both work great, the maplin one has a better quality iron but is a bit bulky to carry around

The Precision Gold black unit is good for the hauler bag but the iron isn't as good, the irons are replacable at £10 if they do fail.

I can supply you with either of these solder stations, just pm me. Don't look at the prices in the post as they are old posts.

http://www.oople.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147959&highlight=solder+station

http://www.oople.com/forums/showthread.php?t=150067&highlight=solder+station

Regards Sam

[CHEVY]

Lead based solder available from brewsters in Plymouth