soldering iron
 

after a mains soldering iron good for wiring speedo etc
cheers

Argghhh ive forgotten the name of mine , its yellow, adjustable and was purchased from Maplins .£49.00 though , but to be honest after spending 5 to 10 pounds on a bunch of Ebay specials i should have purchased this ages back.

Its truly fantastic..........remember boys n girls , you buy cheap you buy twice.

is it this one?

http://www.maplin.co.uk/50w-temperat...-220-240v-4085

Portable Soldering Iron
 

You might be better off with a Portasol or a Weller Gas Soldering Kit. They come with a hot air tip (good for heat shrink) as well as tips for soldering. Advantage being use anywhere if you race outdoors.

Good for quick soldering ESC's and Motors without over heating.

Electric need quite High wattage (at least 50 watts minimum) and a large tip. I use my gas iron when I need to solder motor tabs. :thumbsup:

By the time you have paid for a decent electric one the difference in cost of a portable gas iron is not much.

Agree totally, the portasol gas irons are excellent.

Not a fan of the gas irons; they always seem to have the hot gas outlet from the mantle in the wrong place for me, sending heat over places I don't want it to go!

The iron needs to have a good size tip. That means at least 6.5mm diameter with a single diagonal cut. It is the ability of the tip to hold heat that is the key to good joints in a short time, not just the wattage. Weller make a soldering gun with a copper 'wire' tip. It is rated at 140W, but is useless for motors and speedos as it loses heat from a very small tip so fast that it can't melt a larger joint.

As Traffman says, buy a good one once! The best on the market are Weller and Antex and both do 12v versions if you prefer. The 12v ones will also work well with a power supply of 5 amps or above.

Both these will make soldering motors and speedos very easy, although you do need to practice. Try using a smudge of paste flux (never acid flux!!) to make the job even easier but don't fogey to clean it off the joint afterwards. It doesn't do any damage to leave it, just looks grubby on your new install. HTH :)

double post :blush:

Kennedy 40 Watt, I have been using for years. Easily solders motor wires and the like and at a push will even do Sub C Cells. Sub £20 too! Clicky

Weller SP80 http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B002...dir_mdp_mobile

IF you want a good iron, spend £50 on it, temp controlled irons are the way to go, they usually come with a selection of tips for all types of applications. 12v irons always seem to burn out their tips, Gas irons are ok, but if it is cold and breezy, they are a pain, maybe some clubs won't like you using it indoors to.

I have a Maplin 50w Mains temp controlled iron, have had it a good few years now, it is used regularly, club members borrow it to.

solder station
 

I am using these from maplins and have sold a few at my local club. I have had nothing but praise from people who have used them. They heat up to your desired soldering temperature (I solder at 350*C) in about 10 seconds so its brilliant for those fast but solid soldering joints. I sell them for £45 if you are local too Taplow RC UB3 5AB or from maplins.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/60w-lcd-disp...station-218050

Solder station is the way to go. I have a high end gas iron and to be honest, it just doesnt get as hot, despite it being meant to. Also, as others have mentioned the heat port is a pain, melted a speed control casing with it once.

+ 1 :)

I can voutch for steves soldering iron,its really gd because its like he says temp controlled so u dnt over heat the speedo, nd steve soldering iron has wired up 2 speedos wer I used the soldering iron nd a further 3 rewires nd 2 installations witch steve has done.

Basically whitch ever soldering iron steve's got is the dogs doo daa's lol
(glad I got freinds like steve lol)