View Full Version : How to solder!


n3rd420
04-07-2006, 06:40 PM
Ive tryed and tryed and tryed but I cant get it to stick!!! What am I doing wrong? I sand papered it. How do you guys do it? Thanks. Oh yea im using a 30w iron and solder.

bsracing8
04-07-2006, 07:19 PM
you might need a more powerful soldering iron and you need to get some silver solder and it should work for you then!! I found if u use solder with the flux in it it does not stick that well.

Brandon

n3rd420
04-07-2006, 07:50 PM
im using silver... when i put it on then it cools. but does not stick.. i cant peel it right of.. im tring to solder my motor.

CDW35
04-07-2006, 09:55 PM
I believe that is a sign that your soldering Iron is not getting hot enough and soldering is not an easy task , but get a stronger iron Im thinking like a 60w and get solder with flux and it Should solve the problem,

patcollins
04-07-2006, 09:59 PM
You are not getting the part that you are soldering to hot enough. Solder will not stick to a cold part.

Silver solder is actually making it harder, it doesn't have as low of a melting point. You may need a higher wattage iron, make sure it has a big heavy tip. There is a 40 watt Weller that has a 1/4" chisel tip that works really well for anything in RC except soldering circuit boards its too big for that.

1) Put soldering iron on part you are trying to solder.
2) Touch a little bit of solder to the very tip of the iron right where it touches the part.
3) Wait a second (just a second)
4) apply a little solder to the small bit of solder from #2 above.

The solder should not be beaded up, that means that the part you are soldering to is not clean or hot enough. Once the solder hardens it should have a smooth shiny look. A good joint is very shiny.

Sanding is bad, if you have to sand a part to get solder to stick it means you doing a poor job of soldering. Batteries are about the hardest thing to solder. I have been soldering battery packs for about 15 years without sanding the batts and have never had a bar come off.

Manning
04-07-2006, 11:05 PM
If the tip on the 30 watt iron is a skinny little pointed tip that's only 1/8 inch in diameter at the widest spot, you are going to have a tough time soldiering 14 gage wires to a motor tab. It can be done, but you may have to hold the tip on forever, and may melt the plastic endbell......

Like another poster mentioned, the classic Weller 40 watt iron with the 1/4 inch diameter chisel tip is the ticket.

See if you can find regular solder (not silver) that says "eutectic" or "63/37" on the label. It will have the lowest melt temperature. And use extra rosin flux, it may make a mess, but it will help the solder flow out.

briano_72
04-07-2006, 11:10 PM
i have a 100w 1/4 from snap-on, its perfect for making batterys !!

GEORGE LARRABEE
04-07-2006, 11:18 PM
I Just Had The Same Problem But I Went To The Hardware And Bought 60% Tin And 40% Copper And That Maid It Work Great. GOOD LUCK

The Jet
04-08-2006, 12:59 AM
Pat collins has exactly what I do.

Radio shack 60/40 rosin core solder is very available and does a great job.

I clean my batteries with motor cleaner before soldering (No sanding ever)

PS. Wipe your tip quickly on a wet sponge before each solder attempt.

DARKSCOPE001
06-14-2006, 05:22 PM
ok ok. I think I can help. When soldering rc parts it is very improtant to have a hot iorn. my favorite pencile tip iorn is the 50 watt unit for sears. gets over 1000 deg. also buy radioshack 60/40 rosin core solder. then go down to wall mart or home depot and buy a coper scrub pad and dutch boy all purpous paste flux.

To begin soldering quickly dip the hot tip of the soldering Iorn into the paste flux. then let some of the flux burn off. now tin the tip with solder (take solder and push it onto the tip and work it around untill most of the usable tip is shiny and colverd with solder) now wipe off any exes solder on the scrub pad.

touch the iorn to the part you need solderd then apply solder very close to the tip, sometimes I like to touch the tip with the solder to get it started then continue applying solder to the part being coverd with solder aka. tinned. then once the two pieces matereal that are to be solderd togeather are tinned put touch the two pieces to each other. then apply the tip of the iorn on top of the tow pieces untill you see the solder melt. continue holding the iorn thre till you see the solder melt and flow on boath pieces of matereal. once the solder is melted on boath pieces take the iorn away and contine holding the pieces in place untill you see the solder solidify. then whipe the tip of the iorn on your scrub pad and the next time you want to use it it will be ready.

p.s. a dirty tip always results in a bad soldering job. that is why you purched the scrub pad and flux. dip the tip in the flux scrub it off and then re tin. do this often to have the cleanest longest lasting tips.

mcRacing
06-14-2006, 05:27 PM
sliver takes a powerful iron and it will actuly cool the tip down try the radio shack rosincor works good for me and i have never had a joint breck

DARKSCOPE001
06-15-2006, 12:11 AM
Hear are some videos that I have found on the internet and hopefully they can help you. its always much nicer when you can see it in person. one word of caution in the one video the man tells you that he uses an acid based solder to clean his work. NEVER EVER EVER EVER USE AN ACID BASED SOLER ON ANYTHING ELECTRICAL ESPEECALY YOUR ESC, UNLESS YOU WANT TO SAY BYE BYE TO YOUR PRINTED CIRCUT BOARD.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1919863212115951662&q=soldering

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5055347101142736442&q=soldering

Just edit paste these url addreses into google and the video link will pop up.

Hope this helps
Sean Scott

n3rd420
06-15-2006, 12:35 PM
i got it........kill this thread!!!!!!! lol... i was using silver and like mcracings said it take alot of heat! I went and got my some rosin core electrical solder and my problems are gone. They only thing is when i solder deans they tend to melt sideways a litte. they its hard to connect them. I might be applying too much heat but other wise it wont stick. Thanks. Danny.