My son and I are pretty new to RC and though I soldered in junior high 25 years ago and my son has done some basic circuit board stuff, we're struggling with soldering deans connectors and batteries. We have a 25w and 30w soldering iron and 96/4 "Silver Bearing Solder" --- the problem is that it just beads up and drips off without ever sticking to the connector. It does okay on the wire. Is the iron too low of wattage? I'm guessing it is some sort of thing where it's reached the heat point to make the solder turn to a liquid, but it's not hot enough to get to a state where it can really stick.

If I bought an 80w, would that solve my problems?

Thanks,
Hans

i dont know much about that topic either, if it hardens up and falls off then im guessing buying an 80w would probably do it.

A better iron would help if you on a budget get the weller 40 watts one you can find it in home depot for around 20 dollars if you are willing to spend more and really like this hobby you might want to buy a hakko which will coat roughly 100 dollars
also you should either get the deans solder or the 60/40 solder from raio shack

get the 40 watt , use deans solder , pros say no need , cause they can solder , make sure your heating the part till it melts the solder , not the iron melting the solder , hope this helps , ray

A hotter iron will help. You can also score/ scratch the end of the deans plug to give the solder somthing to grab onto.
Also a good helping of patience really helps.

Agree that you need a more powerful iron, IMO a quality 40w is minimum. I would think that Weller would fit the bill, many posters have mentioned them for budget performance. The Hakko 936 is fabulous if you are willing to spend 100.

Agree that you need to apply solder to the work, not the iron, with one exception: 'tin' the iron with a little solder, this will help it transfer heat to the workpiece, so the above suggestion will actually work.

Google 'soldering guide' or 'how to solder', there are lots of sites with good info.

And just like everything else in life, practice may not make ya perfect, but it will help!

OK, I'm going to weigh in because I continue to see this same thing on dozens of forums I lurk and contribute at -- and it's the same issues I see at the track as literally no one REALLY knows how to solder.
Seems simple, but it ain't -- unless you know the secrets.

1) You HAVE to have an iron with more than 40w rating unless your working on micro curcuit boards. That said, JUST getting a hotter/more powerful iron does not in itself solve the problem. Heat is bad for electronics, so just going hotter will likely make your problem worse as you'll start melting things. I recommend 40w minimum and 60w max for RC stuff. Any cooler and the heat from the tip just transfers too quickly to what you're trying to solder, and the part acts as a heat sink and sucks all the heat out of the tip of the iron so you're fighting a losing battle - and any hotter and you have to work with precision speed to keep things from getting too hot.
2) Silver solder is harder, and thus requires more heat, to get it flowing properly. And while it "might" be good for brazing and soldering jewelry, or anything else permanent, it's hardly of any use for us RCing. Just get the 40/60 or 60/40 cheap stuff - it'll do fine for what we're doing.
3) You NEED to buy flux (comes in small tins, or small squeeze tubes). Do not rely on using rosin core solder, as so many people tend to recommend it to do the trick, as it does not allow you to apply solder only where you want it. Flux is an acid, and it etches the metal you're trying to solder together and allows solder to flow and make a solid connection using the least amount of heat. Flux also keeps you from ending up with "cold solder joints" where it either beads up and drips off (as was described in the first post) or just turns into a huge glob on the parts you have sorta soldered together. As I said, flux allows the solder to flow - and by flowing I mean that it will flow like water creating a pool of solder that when cooled looks smooth and shiney.
4) Realize that you HAVE to "pre-tin" items you plan to solder together instead of just pressing the parts together, hitting them with the iron, and trying to gob solder into the joint. By pre-tinning I mean that you have to apply a bit of solder to each of the two items you plan on soldering together, AND then attempting to make your solder joint.
5) Get a spray can of motor spray, or electronics cleaner, and have it on hand when you are done (either is available in any auto parts store).

And start soldering......

a) PRE-HEAT your iron - and let it sit, heating, for maybe 5 minutes before starting work.
b) as mentioned above, take your two parts you want to solder together and apply a small amount of FLUX wherever you want solder to stick (this, of course, is after removing any insulation or oxidation that may exist). remember, a little flux goes a long way!
c) take your now pre-heated iron, and clean the tip - by whiping it with a wet paper towel or sponge (it should be shiney and silver-looking - if not, the tip needs replacing)
d) apply a small amount of solder to the tip of the iron
e) one at a time, take each item you intend to solder together and apply/trasnfer the solder from the iron tip to the part - watch as the flux starts to sizzle and the solder flows where the flux once sat (they are now officially PRE-TINNED)
f) after each pre-tinned piece has coold for a few seconds (30 or so), now take then and RE-flux each of them
g) take the two (pre-tined and re-fluxed) parts and put/lay them together in the fashion in which you want them attached to each other...
h) re-whip the tip of the iron on the sponge or wet paper towel, getting it shiney again
i) apply just the smallest amount of solder possible to the tip of the iron, and then immediately apply the tip of the iron to the two parts you intend on soldering together.
j) listen as the flux again starts to sizzle, and watch again as the solder starts to flow between the two parts and becomes one in a combined pool of bright shiney sodler. (this should take no more than 5 seconds - max)
k) remove the iron from the parts, and blow (even if you have bad breath, it will not self combust) gently on the two parts - watching as the shiney solder turns almost an aluminum color. Your parts are now soldered together.
l) grab your can of motor spray or electronics cleaner, spray some in another paper towel - and remove any grease-looking, brownish gooey stuff (this is the reconstituted flux). It should wipe off pretty easily.


TA- DA...... YOU ARE DONE.........AND YOU ARE NOW A SOLDER PRO !!!!!!!!

RocketRob40's advice was straight on. I bought the 60/40 solder, some flux and this $9 40w iron, all from Radio Shack:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=search

And had no further problems. We mowed through all 8 batteries.

Thanks to everyone for advice. It feels good to be able to solder so quickly. We'd managed a few deans a month ago, but it took forever and was frustrating.

Hans

is that 100 dollar soldering iron the one were you press a button and it ignites the butane in the solderer and heats the tip for instant soldering?

i was sharing a tent at a race with this guy who ran nothing but electric and i ripped one of my wires in my battery pack on my t-maxx, and im like CRAP!!! and hes like "dont worry dont worry" and hes pulls out a soldering iron, presses a button and a flame is burning in the middle and he instantly solders my wire back together!

first return that soldering iron and get a 60w hobbico slodering iron. more power for a less price($5.99)
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXPR36&P=ML

I've been soldering sense i was 6 years old. when i came into r/c i found it difficult to solder the large wires involved, and went through many irons until i found a good one. i use a weller 40 watt i bought at sears it has a tip about 1/4 of an inch or more in diameter, this is important. secondly using the right solder makes a huge diffrence i found that smaller is better as it melts quicker and gives you better control. also use rosin core that way your flux is in the solder. the technique i use is to first put a little dab of solder on the tip of your iron, then lay the iron down on the wire, take you solder and stick it in between the iron and wire, coating the wire tip with solder, then do the same with the connector, then all you need to do is lay the wire on the connector and solder them together, most of the time no additional solder is needed to join them.

here is a link to the iron i'm talking about http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...soldering+iron

sorry for the double post

Personally I've been using regular silver solder and flux (the kind you use for soldering pipes ) and have never had a problem with the solder sticking. I believe flux is the key component, it literally sucks the solder onto the piece you're working on.

Can anyone tell me what the difference is between silver solder and 60/40? Does it flow easier? Melt at a lower temperature?

BTW to add to my high tech soldering equipment I use a Weller 40w that was made in the early 70's. Believe it or not my grandmother used to use it in an electronics factory that she worked in back then and it was eventually passed down to me and I've been using it ever since.

use a 60wt iron 50/50 solder and buy some flux
wipe the surface with flux place wire to surface then place hot iron with solder to part you will hear a hiss and job done in seconds no burnt fingers
flux comes in two forms 1 paste 2 liquid i use liquid and apply it with a cotton tip the type you use to clean your ears

You're correct on your premise(s).

The difference "between silver solder and 60/40" is that silver solder is primarily used in jewelry-making and/or repair.
It's a lot harder, and thus it melts at a higher temperature.
Likely that some high-end guys/racers use it on battery and motor connections, I know that's what I did back in the day, because it doesn't come loose quite as quickly and you don't end up having a wire come free at the wrong time and force you out of a race.
But, for most purposes - and thus the majority of RC soldering - it's not really neccesary.

40w iron is the standard, and likely plenty enough for what most of us do in this hobby. IMO going a whole lot higher than that is sorta overkill, though it will get the job done (you just need to be fast), but going lower is generally where people run into trouble as it doesn't get hot enough and loses it's heat too quickly being heatsinking into whatever you're attempting to solder.