soldering on battery bars

[redheat8]

Say guys got my hands on some SMC GP 3300 cells and need some help putting them together, I've got a Jig, Trinity bars. My problem is getting the solder to stick on the - side of the cell, sanded both ends , I'mthinking that my iron is finally going out , any tricks on putting the cells together? RED

[highroller]

After scuffing each end of cells, lay them out in configuration where you will need to hook up connectors for ESC and motor. Test the soldering iron to see if it is getting hot, clean tip on wet sponge then touch solder to tip both to tin and determine if iron is getting hot. Solder should melt instantly and flow over tip if it doesn't or takes 5seconds or more iron won't work.

If battery jig comes with a holder to keep bar in place the better is keep hand free to hold solder, but if it doesn't you need something (sm screwdriver or soldering/paste appl tool) to hold bar in place while soldering. Place bars on cells do not pre tin bar. Apply heat to bar and cell keeping contact to 5second no longer than 8, solder should flow over top of bar to top of cell. Once its cool solid it should have good contact, to ensure joint is solid try prying the bar up with the screwdriver; if you notice it can be pried up then apply another small amount of solder.

[redheat8]

Thanks Highroller for the help, I'll try again tonight when when I get home I'm thinking that the Iron is going out . First time putting cells together and it just seemed like my 100watt iron stopped getting hot . Is there a reason why the neg side of the cell is harder to solder as far as getting the stuff to stick or is it that I wasnt able to get the solder hot enough which is what I'm thinking, Thanks again, RED

[Piggy89373]

Red, another thing to help make the solder flow better is to apply a very thin coat of solder flux on the area you want to solder. Flux helps the solder flow more smoothly and evenly, thus cutting down on the bad addage of "bigger the glob better the job." The reason the negative sides are harder to solder is because there's more surface area to heat.

[redheat8]

Piggy thank you also , It all makes sense flux and larger area to heat up, I was messing with this pack at 1;00am this morning , RED

[Grizzbob]

Redheat, something else you might try, is to sand or file away a little material off your iron's tip. It is possible that the element is still heating up ok, but if the tip has oxidized too much, then it won't conduct heat well(& that would make it much harder for it to transfer heat to the cell), so check that out too, & if it's really bad, then see if you can replace it. If you're really using a 100 watt iron(& mean iron, not a gun), then you should have no trouble heating the cells up properly, unless the tip or the element is going dead(or both). Oh, & something else, if you can get the tip off the iron(& off the element), also look at the part of it that contacts the element, if that gets badly oxidized, that'll also reduce its ability to transfer heat(& if neccessary, you could scrape away the gunk from the parts that touch the element)...... :cool:

[redheat8]

Say Grizz thanks , ya the gun tip was looking bad so I sanded it and got the old stuff off works much better ,was able to finish putting the last pack together and throw a charge on them, they topped out at 3578mah very happy and well try them out this weekend, Thanks again to all that helped me out , Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, RED

[highroller]

If you are using a good 60/40 rosin core solder and iron is getting hot enough there is no need to use flux and you scuffed up the surface of each cell. Hold iron to top of bar, touching sides and top of cell with solder. If iron is reaching the right temperature solder should melt and flow it until it forms a bead around bar and top of cell. Some irons may only stay hot enough to solder one end at a time, that why I still like an adjustable soldering iron turn up the temperature for soldering batteries, turn it down or change the tip for soldering small items like esc or things I don't need high heat setting.

[redheat8]

To all thanks again for your help, have a Happy Holiday RED