View Full Version : soldering iron watts


X man
03-02-2005, 02:53 PM
What is the amount of watts needed to solder battery packs?
Thanks
Dan

BrentP
03-02-2005, 03:16 PM
I have a Hakko 936 that is a 60 watt soldering station that I have no problems using for battery assembly. If you have a cheaper iron/station, I would suggest borrowing someones or buying a 100 watt stained glass iron from Hobby Lobby. They are like 20 bucks & work very well. The only problem with them is they go through tips like crazy.

__________________
Brent Pearcy
Bulit Motorsports (http://www.bulitmotorsports.com/), TQCells (http://www3.sympatico.ca/tqcells/), BSR Racing Tires (http://www.bsr-racing.com/)

erock1331
03-02-2005, 03:42 PM
60w is ample.
I have done it with 40w but you have to leave it on the cell for a while which could potentially be damaging to the cells !!!

60w Hakko with the wide tip is the ticket.

hankster
03-02-2005, 04:09 PM
The wattage is not as important as the tip. A 40 watt iron if equipped with a large tip will work fine. You just have to wait a bit between cells. An 80 watt iron with a small tip will not solder cells with a darned. If it takes more then a few seconds to solder cells, it's too long! We have a soldering station for sale with an 80 watt iron, large tip, adjustable temp. range, holder, etc available on HobbyShopper. You can find it at www.hobbyshopper.com

gezer2u
03-02-2005, 11:17 PM
Hank is right. I have a couple of irons that have wooden handles. They are 60w. I don't know what the indended use is, but the one with the larger tip (about dime size around with a taper) solders cells in about 2-3 seconds. It stays hot so as soon as you get the other bar set you can hit it right away. The iron on Hobbyshopper is a good deal. :thumbsup:

PITBULL
03-03-2005, 12:03 AM
Yep a guy I was racing with has that same setup.It works extremely good !!!. It is also one of the rare bargains you will find when it comes to r/c racing..

hankster
03-03-2005, 12:28 AM
As a note, the 100W iron Brent talked about will burn up tips because you can not adjust the heat. I've even seen a few of these less expensive brand melt the handles because of that. Even on the iron I sell I recommend turning in down about 1/2 way when doing normal soldering and only use the highest setting when doing things like battery/bars.

Of course my super-duper solder always helps too! ;)

Ernie P.
03-03-2005, 05:20 AM
Hank; do you also sell replacement tips for your soldering station? Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

hankster
03-03-2005, 10:50 AM
I have some tips on order... better call them and see where they are!

Razoo
03-03-2005, 11:33 AM
I love the weller that Hank sells. You won't find it cheaper anywhere else or the scales either!!!

Colt-
03-07-2005, 10:45 PM
I had an older Ungar that worked the balls ,but can't find tips any more. Someone told me the 40W Weller iron from Home depot can't be beat for the price so I bought one. A nice big wedge tip that works better than my expensive Ungar did when it was new. Just $16 at Home Depot. It works awesome. Can't be adjusted so I use the old ungar for my general soldering and the new Weller just for soldering packs.