Why is soldering so difficult?

[Ty@Tekin]

There are a bunch of those big Weller stations in storage here, they look like something Doc Brown used to build the DeLorean. haha

[t3yf5g]

Oh, I didn't realized I did a video with that small one. lol. That is a 30w Harbor Freight special. I bought a 80w iron thinking I needed more heat. The tip is huge, hence my comment on me needing a bigger tip.

[Highmark]

I've used these things for years:

TowerHobbies.com | HCAHCAR0776 HCAR0776 Hobbico Soldering Iron 60 Watt

TowerHobbies.com | NOV5832 5832 Novak Lead-Free Silver Solder 15g

When I run out of tips, or the iron goes crappy I just buy new ones. You could probably buy cheaper solder elsewhere but I'm lazy.

Not as fancy, and probably doesn't do quite as good of a job as other people's setups but it works for me. I just make sure the iron is hot and tin everything - I've never had a joint fail.

[ik632]

Worth it's weight in ... well, tin:

Tip Tinner/Cleaner Compound (0.5 Oz.) - RadioShack.com

I use that on new tips, or an old tip I've touched up on the sander. For some reason the tips I have for my iron are copper so they wear out fast (got them at Radioshack with the iron I have). Anyway, they wear down and cup pretty fast so you have to either cut off the little nipple that forms at the end or hit it with a sander and grind a nice angle on it again. Then heat it up and stick it in the tinning stuff. It's not available at a lot of places and they usually only have 1 in stock at any time. Call before you go and tell them to hold it.

Then when you solder always keep a little solder on the tip so it's good and shiny and wipe often.

Some people like to put solder on the tip and dab it on what they are trying to solder together but I don't care for that method. I like to usually tin the two things I'm soldering and then press them together with the iron to melt the solder on both and then pull the iron away. Or, press the iron up to the thing and heat it and feed in solder. I find if you do the blob on the tip, you get poor penetration of heat and no wicking usually because the rosin is already gone at that point.

Anyway, practice, practice, practice.

[t3yf5g]

So the wiping bit, is that to wipe off the solder you leave on the iron or does it stay with the iron?

[skipxor]

Originally Posted by t3yf5g

So the wiping bit, is that to wipe off the solder you leave on the iron or does it stay with the iron?

It wipes off the solder from the iron along with any impurities that are on the iron as well, that is what cleans it. After each wipe you need to tin the iron again.

[M1tch]

I just use an 80 watt Weller. it has a large tip, but as it holds the heat well it takes just a couple of seconds to heat the joint. if you hold a tip on for too long the heat will spread and melt plastic (Deans plug or other), at worse it could damage components on a circuit board.
a small spot of solder on the tip can help transfer heat even if the tip is tinned.

after soldering for about 2 years after getting into rc it's an easy job. I don't bother with a temperature controlled station as all I do is wires and plugs. anything fancy I take it to someone who has the better tool for the job.

ps: practice makes perfect, and clean makes it easy

[Ty@Tekin]

Don't use the lead free silver solder, it takes a higher temperature to melt and is extremely easy to end up with a cold solder joint, which means more resistance and weakness, they can break pretty easy. Use the good old 60/40 rosin core lead solder. Much easier to get nice solder joints. Less is more when it comes to soldering!

[ik632]

A good solder joint should be smooth and shiny as well.

[92LILREDYJ]

Also if you put the gun down for a while or after the last solder connection you make, leave solder on the tip... That solder will protect the tip from burning. Then next time you use it, it will heat it up, wipe it off, and should be clean.

[t3yf5g]

Huh. okay. I do happen to have lead free solder. I will hit the store today to get some proper soldering equipment since I have ESC and pro4 comining tomorrow

[Non2os13]

i nee dto check to see if my solder is lead free too. it seem so brittle.

[ik632]

60/40 solder (the standard stuff) is 60% tin and 40% lead. It's perfectly safe to use, just don't eat it or sniff the fumes when soldering and you'll be fine. Stick with that and you'll be good. I don't like the silver solder because you need to get your stuff much hotter and it doesn't play well with regular 60/40 if you happen to have some already on the thing you're soldering.

[t3yf5g]

So I got some steel wool pads and cleaned the crap out of the tip. Looks mostly silver. The 60/40 solder did melt a lot faster but still wanted to ball up. Got some flux and tinned a wire successfully. I think I just need a handful of deans connectors since I screwed the only one I had up. lol.

[malibulvr]

Like others have said, just use the 60/40. You don't need to get it crazy hot, I usually run mine at 600 degrees. Your tip should be bright/shiny as others stated, if it will not take solder (tin) then the tip is either burned out or the iron isn't getting hot enough. It almost looks like it melts the solder but the iron loses the heat quickly. Use a damp sponge with a 1/2" hole through the middle (solder balls up and falls down this hole when tinning the iron). Get your iron hot, wipe, solder, wipe, solder. You should have a nice coating of solder on the tip now. This will keep the tip from burning up. Before you solder anything you have to make sure your iron is tinned, this helps with heat transfer and makes soldering so much easier. Once you get your tip situation figured out then make sure to always tin the wire first and then the Deans plug. A very light coating of flux on the wire is sufficient. Place the iron on the wire near the insulation and the solder on the opposite side of the wire at the same time. As it melts move both up along the end of the strands and off the end. You should see the solder wick into the wire. Repeat this process with the Deans plug.

One other thing to note is that the tip on your iron should have a flat almost the same size as the Dean plug, if it doesn't then it will cool too quickly. When it cools too quickly, you keep the iron on too long and end up melting the plug body before the solder.

Once both parts are tinned, set them up so they are touching each other and place a drop of flux on your parts. You should then place your iron on the back side of the Deans plug and touch your solder to the top where the plug meets the wire. The heat will pull the solder through the strands and onto the Deans plug. This step should take around 3-5 seconds. Anything longer and you will risk melting the Deans body. One other tip, don't forget to put your shrink sleeving on the wire BEFORE you solder it to the body, I swear I forget on every other part, lol.

Sorry for the long post, I ramble a bit, lol. I used to solder for my old company and was J-Std certified (soldered crap that went on airplanes, lol), so I figured this would be a good first post. Good luck!

[M1tch]

also use the plug a pair of connectors together. it helps keep everything in line if you do overheat while soldering

[t3yf5g]

Thanks for the walkthrough malibulvr. I think my issue will come down to tip temperature. I have about 3 times the mass for the tip compared to the deans plug, but I still end up having to hold the iron to it about 10 seconds which I know is too long and things start to go wrong. The tip isn't as shiny as I think it should be, so maybe put it up against a bench grinder wire wheel?

[Charlie-III]

Originally Posted by t3yf5g

Thanks for the walkthrough malibulvr. I think my issue will come down to tip temperature. I have about 3 times the mass for the tip compared to the deans plug, but I still end up having to hold the iron to it about 10 seconds which I know is too long and things start to go wrong. The tip isn't as shiny as I think it should be, so maybe put it up against a bench grinder wire wheel?

Maybe pull the tip and see if there is carbon between the tip & barrel. If there is, this will reduce heat transfer causing issues.
The tip also need to be "snug to tight" in the barrel.

[malibulvr]

There could be a problem with carbon buildup but unlikely if this is a new iron. What make is this iron and model number?

[t3yf5g]

Weller SP 80L