trying to solder new electronics

[raddad1975]

Ok so I got the mamba x esc and castle bec. got my kit together and am now soldering everything up but for some damn reason cant the solder to stick to the deans connection to solder the esc and bec. The f**king solder just rolls right off the deans connection. WTF !!!!! Someone help

[frontedge]

Make sure the connections and tip are clean mayve use some flux. Also make sure your tip is hot enough.

[WHITE-TRASH]

Hot iron and you'll need to tin the connections by holding heat to it momentarily and touching the solder to the surface of the part. It should accept the solder and be ready to stick the wore on that will also need to be tinned.

[Donny939]

I had that happen before. I either turned the temp up or down and tried a diff brand of solder. Def use flux though. I'm pretty sure I just used a diff brand of solder and put the temp up to 800

[raddad1975]

Originally Posted by Donny939

I had that happen before. I either turned the temp up or down and tried a diff brand of solder. Def use flux though. I'm pretty sure I just used a diff brand of solder and put the temp up to 800

Thats kinda what I was thinking. Bought a new soldering gun at wally world last night and am thinking its a pos supposed to be a 30w gun. Handle gets hot and the stem is blacking. Guess I'll go back to the pistol style I was using its old and the tip is sorta loose but it still works.

[Donny939]

I bought a trak power station for 80 bucks and works good. If the pistol doesn't work for you. Get a station. They hold the temp a lot better

[cinnabun]

Deans need to be hot to get solder to stick to them


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[mikemcE]

Make sure the screw that holds the tip is tight.
Make sure all is clean, brass brush will clean tip, tin tip touch solder to connector to tin.
I always use a third hand with deans plugs

30w is a bit light for those fat wires


Hang up and Drive

[TacoCrawler]

are you using rosin core solder ? ( 60/40 ? ) If not, you will need use flux.

That said you need to tin the tip of the iron first, then tin the deans plug prongs and then the wire ends.
Then melt those together during soldering (heat) contact.

A wet sponge works great for cleaning and tinning the soldering irons tips.

30 watts is kinda low IMO for tinning Deans plug prongs... tho' it should be sufficient for soldering wires.
But those wires need be tinned first.

40 - 50 watts works better IMO.

higher/faster heat... reduced contact time (duration) is the better way.
Yer simply melting the solder together that is tinned on both sides of the connection.

If using a lower wattage soldering iron... and if holding that tip on the deans plug prongs too long...
it can overly heat the prongs molded into the Dean's plug housing and cause the plastic to deform (melt).

So hotter works better... as you can hold it on the deans prongs for a shorter period of time to melt the solder.

I use 60/40 rosin core solder wire... because using flux separately is somewhat more difficult and can be messier.
But either way gets it done.

My soldering station is minimally 40 watts... possibly it gets a little hotter.
But it's variable so you control the wattage/heat wanted.

Less inexpensive then other soldering stations and works well. Replacement tips are common place and easily obtained.
I got some spare assorted tips from Radio Shack. But ebay has them for cheap as well.

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/solderin...warehouse.html

[UGLY]

Originally Posted by WHITE-TRASH

Hot iron and you'll need to tin the connections by holding heat to it momentarily and touching the solder to the surface of the part. It should accept the solder and be ready to stick the wore on that will also need to be tinned.

This^. Always pre-tin your solder joints/tip and keep copper pad or damp cloth to clean the tip.

[nightcrawler48]

I use a damp cloth to clean the tip. Just be aware this will cool the tip slightly and you need to give it a few seconds to come back up to full temperature.

When solder "puddles" it generally means not enough heat. As mentioned, Dean's seems to need more heat than other connectors. One trick I use is to plug the two halves of the Dean's together when soldering. The plug you're not soldering to acts as kind of a heat sink. Has worked well for me. I clamp the connector in a small hobby vise to give me the "third" hand. If the connector and wire are tinned properly it generally takes less than 5 seconds to complete the soldered connection and that's at about 750 degrees.

Someone mentioned somewhere else on this forum getting a good soldered connection is just a matter of practice, practice, practice. Then, all of a sudden you've got the knack and a perfect joint!

Lots of helpful advice here so good luck.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by WHITE-TRASH

Hot iron and you'll need to tin the connections by holding heat to it momentarily and touching the solder to the surface of the part. It should accept the solder and be ready to stick the wore on that will also need to be tinned.

What kind of accent is "wore"? When I read your sentence and got to that word I read it with a New Orleans accent.

You can get the job done with a cheap soldering pen or iron, but it struggles to do the job well with thicker wire.

Tinning is everything. So is getting good, thin solder with a high lead content. If you get thick solder or solder with low lead content it makes the job more difficult. I also recommend rosin core solder which "cleans" the joints at your soldering. Having stand alone flux is good as well.

You either have dirty surfaces or you aren't getting them hot enough.

[QuesoDelDiablo]

I don't think anyone else has mentioned it, but I also find it helps to scuff the tab (with sandpaper) on Dean's connectors to promote adhesion of the solder.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by QuesoDelDiablo

I don't think anyone else has mentioned it, but I also find it helps to scuff the tab (with sandpaper) on Dean's connectors to promote adhesion of the solder.

I've never had to do that, but it certainly can't hurt.

[Highmark]

Yeah if you can tin the iron, put it on the deans connector for a second and add solder and it doesn't stick something, is off (iron iss too cold, solder sucks, ect). I used one of these guys for like 10 years and it was fine: TowerHobbies.com | Hobbico Soldering Iron 60 Watt.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by Highmark

Yeah if you can tin the iron, put it on the deans connector for a second and add solder and it doesn't stick something, is off (iron iss too cold, solder sucks, ect). I used one of these guys for like 10 years and it was fine: TowerHobbies.com | Hobbico Soldering Iron 60 Watt.

I used that exact soldering iron for years as well. For small stuff it's great. For thicker wires it struggles. I bought the ProTek soldering station for about $30 when it was on sale and when I had Tower e-Cash and that makes soldering even easier.

[aorquiz]

Thought you didn't need a BEC with this esc.

[raddad1975]

Thank you all for the responses and help! I bought the solder gun at wally world ( should have known better ) The pistol grip style soldering gun I have worked like a charm. Took yalls advice and heated the plug first then hit it with solder and bam it took. didnt even take but like 15 seconds. this soldering gun is a 30-35watt. Going to be looking for a knew soldering iron real soon.

[33m]

I always use my Weller 140/100watt soldering gun for RC stuff, quick in and out. Does your gun have a way to tighten down the tip?