Soldering Iron

[TRUCKPULL]

I found a Soldering Iron for soldering those large plugs.
$10.00 at the Salvation Army Thrift Store.

300W with a 7/8" dia. tip. the chisel tip is 5/8" across.
The only problem is that my light on my work bench dims for a couple seconds when I plug it in.
I think I will use my Dermel tool and cut a half moon on the bottom to fit my plugs.

I looked them up online, they are $195.00 new

Picture is beside my Weler 80W

Larry

[JohnZ]

Overkill. I use the 80 watt with no problems. You have to be very careful using that large iron. 300 watts is more than you really need. Not only that it looks too clumsy to work with small connectors.
And keep it away from servos and other electronic items. It looks like this type of iron may have been used for something other than small electronic work. Maybe stained glass or whatever.
Go ahead and see if you can make it work but be careful with it.

[TRUCKPULL]

The only thing that I would ever try to use it for is; 8 and 10 gauge wire to the plugs.
Also I want to use only Silver solder on my plugs from now on; melting point as high as 700F.

Larry

[gsbuickman]

the fastest and easiest way that I've found for soldering bullet connectors is using a pair of Helping Hands from China Mart that I got for about $3.50, and a handheld butane torch that I also got from China Freight for another $4 or so. I put a bullet connector in one of the alligator clips on The Helping Hands, then I heat it up with the torch then remove the torch and melt some solder in it, then I grab my wire lead in a pair of needle-nose pliers and stick it in the saucer and hold it there until the solder sets up. then I pull the hot connector off the alligator clip and set it aside to cool and repeat the process for however many connectors I need to solder. it's far faster and easier than any soldering iron or station I've ever used. at the moment I have an 80 watt Weller just like yours.

[bob horowitz]

Larry,
That's a very interesting tip on your 80 watt Weller. I'm no authority on soldering, but it looks like you need to re-tin that tip. You should clean it up until it's bright when it's cold, then dip it in some flux let it heat up and immediately melt solder all over the working area. The tip of a soldering iron should always have a bright, shiny coating of solder on it. That might be why you're having trouble with the larger bullets. I only use a 65 watt iron for 8mm bullets and have no trouble. The third hand as mentioned above is also very handy. That 300 watt iron is truly way overkill. Hope this helps.
Regards,
Bob

[TRUCKPULL]

Bob have you tried to use Silver Solder with a 65 or 80 Watt iron??

The tip on the Weller is called a Hammer Head tip,
Many years ago it was the only tip that worked for soldering round cells end to end.

You heated up both cells at once, removed the iron, and pushed the two cells together.
It was almost an art, with the correct amount of heat, and amount of solder so it did not spill out in-between the cells and cause a short.
The extra large copper slug in the middle is what made it work.
It cleans up very well with a good wire brush.

Larry

[bob horowitz]

I have to admit that I haven't done silver solder with my 65 watt iron. I forgot that you want to use silver solder. The solder I use melts at 420. I never tried silver solder with an iron. I'll see if I can get it to flow with an iron, but I doubt it. I have always used a torch for silver solder. You might be successful using with that monster on silver. Let us know how it works. That half moon cutout sounds like a good idea. Way more contact area. Make sure to use a good flux for silver solder. Boric acid works works very well. I just remembered one more thing, there is a low alloy silver solder called Stabright that will work with an iron.
Bob

[TRUCKPULL]

Sorry I made a mistake on post #3
I had said that the melting point of Silver solder is over 420F - yes it is way over - 700F

Stabright has a lower melting then other silver solder;

Do NOT use Stabright for electrictronics it has a high resistance.
If you read the fine print on the package it says not recommended for Electrictronics.

Larry

[TRUCKPULL]

Sorry I made a mistake on post #3
I had said that the melting point of Silver solder is over 420F - yes it is way over - as high as 700F


Larry

[properchopper]

the fastest and easiest way that I've found for soldering bullet connectors is using a pair of Helping Hands from China Mart that I got for about $3.50, and a handheld butane torch that I also got from China Freight for another $4 or so. I put a bullet connector in one of the alligator clips on The Helping Hands, then I heat it up with the torch then remove the torch and melt some solder in it, then I grab my wire lead in a pair of needle-nose pliers and stick it in the saucer and hold it there until the solder sets up. then I pull the hot connector off the alligator clip and set it aside to cool and repeat the process for however many connectors I need to solder. it's far faster and easier than any soldering iron or station I've ever used. at the moment I have an 80 watt Weller just like yours.

I've used this technique on the 8mm bullets but found (oops) that it's best to first tin the wire end - I've had one that wasn't tinned pull out over time when it did not sufficiently connect using the immersion method

[TRUCKPULL]

I should have mentioned in this thread that I do have a ST2200 BernzOmatic micro torch with a set of special tips.
I have used it in the past for removing short wires, and Silver Soldering new large wires onto the ESC boards.
The Silver Solder that I use is the same stuff that Castle used on there Hydra ESC's, as well as many others.

If you have ever tried to remove one of these wires on a Castle ESC with a 80W iron, you know what I am talking about.
I would never use this big iron on a ESC though.
When I saw it, I thought I would try it just for plugs, or joining two large wires together.

Larry

[NativePaul]

It looks great, torches can build up a lot of static so I would only use one on motor connectors not ESCs. I have tried to remove the 8g wires from a hydra 200 with a Weller 80 and kinda failed, I couldn't do it at first but when I cut the wires off as close to the board as I could to minimise their heatsinking, they came off a treat. They cant be silver soldered on though as they did come off, and an iron won't melt silver solder.

[TRUCKPULL]

It looks great, torches can build up a lot of static so I would only use one on motor connectors not ESCs. I have tried to remove the 8g wires from a hydra 200 with a Weller 80 and kinda failed, I couldn't do it at first but when I cut the wires off as close to the board as I could to minimise their heatsinking, they came off a treat. They cant be silver soldered on though as they did come off, and an iron won't melt silver solder.

Paul
To Silver Solder long wires back onto the ESC
I use the ST2200 BernzOmatic micro torch, I have a medium, and a large chisel tip, that inserts into the front of the torch.
It works very well.

Larry

[longballlumber]

I like this stuff. http://www.parts-express.com/4-silve...ProductDetails

[ray schrauwen]

That's nice stuff Mike.

Nice scoop Larry!!