Soldering wires to battery pack

[timmydos]

I don't solder too often, but I thought I'd save some loot and get some assembled packs that came without wires. I got Deans pigtails and figured I'd quickly wire up the packs....

Using Deans Racing Solder with Proflux I tried soldering the wires onto the tabs on my new Fusion Total Power NIMH pack. The solder doesn't stick to the tabs! Is there some prepping I need to do to the tabs, like sand them or something? Is my 25 watt iron not enough? Do I need different solder, more flux.... The solder and the wires cool and slip right off the tab when the iron is removed. The tabs feel greasy.

Am I making any sense? :confused:

DOS

[insano]

Get a larger soldering iron, i.e. around 40-50 watts. Make sure it is one with the large flat tip on it. Scuff the end of the battery just a little bit with a hobby knife, and it will make a WORLD of difference. I had a small iron and tried to make some packs and it was IMPOSSIBLE, but as soon as I got the bigger iron I could solder a whole pack in a couple minutes.

[tadium54]

and 60/40 rosin core(not acid core) is the best type of solder of rc stuff

[baih]

you need more power.
at least 40 watts for the soldering iron

[ITurnLeft]

Tadium, silver solders are more conductive then non-silvers, and I've found the Deans solder to be excellent to work with.

Timmy, go to Sears and get the 40w Weller they sell. I have that iron and it works nicely for this. Also, go to Radio Shack and get a tube of rosin flux. Trinity makes some too if you wanna pay their price.. Apply a small dab of flux to both items you want to solder, then apply solder to them separately. This is called "tinning" and it will help make a stronger joint. Once they're both tinned, hold them together and apply heat. You can apply a little more solder now, just to get things flowing together smoothly.

[timmydos]

Alright. Looks like a common suggestion is a more powerful iron, so I'll head to Sears for that. I'll get flux as well, but I thought the Deans solder had flux built-in. Am I misunderstanding the product's "pro-flux" ingredient?

Check the Deans solder I'm using here. (http://wsdeans.com/products/solder/index.html)

One more thing. insano recommended that I scratch up the battery surface for soldering. I should clarify that I am not assembling the pack - that was done by the vendor. I am only soldering wires to the tabs that are attached to the pack.

Thanks everyone.

DOS

[cheerwhiner]

Sears also has the soldering flux, right next to the irons. I work there LOL :D

still want to scratch off the part you are soldering. here are the steps:

-wipe off part you are soldering
-scratch it a little
-wipe off again and apply a little bit of soldering flux
-put some solder on the area, it will go on really easily with the flux
-soldering the wire/etc. to it.

*try to minimize the ammount of solder used. Otherwise it will make the wire very stiff.

*don't hold the iron on too long- this is why more watts are desired!

done

[tadium54]

Tadium, silver solders are more conductive then non-silvers, and I've found the Deans solder to be excellent to work with.

Timmy, go to Sears and get the 40w Weller they sell. I have that iron and it works nicely for this. Also, go to Radio Shack and get a tube of rosin flux. Trinity makes some too if you wanna pay their price.. Apply a small dab of flux to both items you want to solder, then apply solder to them separately. This is called "tinning" and it will help make a stronger joint. Once they're both tinned, hold them together and apply heat. You can apply a little more solder now, just to get things flowing together smoothly.


the point was not to use acid core, and as far as I know of, deans isn't acid core

[kschauwe]

I use Kester 63/37 rosin core solder with a 60w, Temperature controlled, Iron (700F).
There's no need for "Silver Bearing" Solder, for R/C work.. It's only 2-3% silver, not enough to make any drifference in resistance.
btw, 63/37 solder has the lowest melting point.

[cheerwhiner]

I just use radio shack 60/40. Took me 2 years to use up the small spindle, and that includes building a bunch of dischargers that should never be replaced.

[ITurnLeft]

Sears flux isn't the same as Radio Shacks. Sears' is for piping, not electrical work. And the flux in the solder isn't enough to do the job properly. By the time you get enough flux out of it, you have a big fat solder blob.

[cheerwhiner]

OK the stuff I got does the job, maybe not available in all stores. Sorry if I was wrong.

[insano]

I have found the flux in the deans silver solder more than sufficient. It has worked very well for me with no additional flux. I guess it just depends on preference. As long as you get that bigger iron, you will be fine.

[tadium54]

Most people use just the solder. flux helps, but it can also make a mess on your packs, etc that you don't want need

[ITurnLeft]

I'm not suggesting to use a ton of it. Just enough to help it flow.

[Razoo]

Flux is not needed with deans solder.

[mp75unlimited]

Flux is needed if you solder onto bare copper metals as the oxidation of the copper's surface is preventing the solder from bonding properly.

With flux, 25W solder is more than enough - at least from my experience it is so. It all depends on the size of your tip, soldering battery packs - use the large solder tips. The bigger the tip, the more heat it holds at any one time. If you use small tips, as soon as you make contact to the cold metal, the tip's temperature drops too much.

With regards to mess, use a small brush with isopropyl alcohol and all is back to clean :)

[Razoo]

A 25W iron is no where near enough for soldering packs! 40W minimum, 60W is better. Use the widest tip possible. You don't want to keep the iron on for more than 2-3 seconds. In the last year alone I've made in excess of 25 packs (4 and 6 cell). I use deans solder and have never used Flux.

[mp75unlimited]

Its enough if you prepare both surface first and made sure the tip is as hot as it can get.

If you "tin" the surface of the battery terminal then "tin" the surface of the battery bars, it would be quick to install battery bars onto the battery with a 25W iron.

Mind you - I perform these in seconds as well in tropical(ish) weather. If you are doing the soldering in winter, the battery terminals + battery bars will be quite cold and bigger Wattage soldering irons are needed.

[JonBoy]

BTW sears has both kinds of flux. I dont use a lot of it just enought to know its there and it makes a ton of a difference.

[Raster]

Sears does carry both kinds - the plumbing and the electical flux. I just saw a small plastic squeeze bottle of rosin flux the other day in there. It looked like it would be a little handier than using the paste flux from Radio Shack.

Ras

[ITurnLeft]

I have the squeeze tube kind from Radio Shack, the thick brown sticky stuff... Works great and only takes the smallest dab to do the job. Sears has both ehh? I've only found the plumbing kind at mine. Maybe my Sears sucks?

[cheerwhiner]

phew so i do have the right kind then. LOL I knew all along. BTW Sears has a huge variety of stuff in different stores. I work in the smallest one in our district. Biiiiiiig variations in sizes of stores!

[tadium54]

as long as you use the right stuff, thats all that should matter