Sodderang iearn

[Obi112]

Hehe, caught you looking. I know it's spelt soldering iron...


Anyway, it's about time to upgrade my 30 watt Radioshack iron. I saw a nice temperature adjustable one for $60. I just wanted to know what kind of temps you guys use for batteries and motors.

I'd like to get an adjustable one because I also do electronics work, where high temps can damage components.

[Gutter Ball]

Obi: Sure you did, you had to use speling chek didn't ya ;) Heehee...anyway, I use a 35watt and it seems to work for my purposes (motors, battery connectors and ESC wires). I've heard that's not enough to do battery packs though. The guys that do make side X side packs use 60 watts! I think an adjustable one would be my next iron once this one dies..

[maxxxracer]

personaly i like my $150 dollar 70 watt profesional soldering iron. If u wanted to u could solder copper pipes with this thing, thats how powerfull it is.

[XXXER]

I like to mooch off of Nairb's 40 or 50W Wellar, you cannot go wrong with a Wellar Iron!

[maxxxracer]

mines an Edyson, i have a weller, it a cheapy though.

[outsider]

Don't get a radio shack iron! The pen ones are OK, but I got a 100watt gun to make side by sides really fast and halfway into the 2nd pack it started smoking and poof! I haven't tried it since and I'm a little afraid to in fact. I had to finish with a penner (35watt). My next iron will be a wellar 60watt.

[Crazy Canuck]

I use a 2 heat weller pistol gun. It has 140 and 100 Watt settings. Melts solder in a second. I got it for $40 Canadian at Home Depot

[KIWIRCGUY]

Well I opted for the easy way out.. I have a 25 watt pen type iron for elctrics, 90 watt gun type (instant heat) when Im in a hurry and a 100 watt pen type for batteries etc. I also have a butane soldering torch for the track, this sucker can melt gold..

[Railman]

We (me & my 3 boys)now use a 40?? (watt you say?) Weller soldering station, but I really like the 100/400 watt Craftsman profesional pistol grip gun thaqt we used in the past. It has absolute kick but heat in about 10 seconds & unlike the other pistol versions is extremely light. The same unit is also sold by Snap On Tools. My only problem was that the tips are rather expensive ($40?) to replace, but for a single person's use they last plenty long. At $59 or so for the gun it's well worth a look. :cool:

[Obi112]

Thanks for the replies, but I'm really more interested in temperatures, not wattages (there's probably an equation, but I don't know it.... Jeep? :confused: ).

The iron I'm looking at is adjustable from 450 to 750 (or so) degrees. I want to make sure the highest setting will be enough to easily do batteries and motors.

[cck]

Obi112, this soldering station may be the one you are looking for.
http://www.mpja.com/product.asp?product=11171+TL

[Obi112]

The iron I'm looking at is the same thing, just it has individual LED's to mark temp, not a display ($15 cheaper, too).

[JP]

For batteries, or general use, your best bet is to go with something inbetween 1000 and 1200 degrees.

[USR56K]

Crazy Canuck: Sound like we have the same irons...I use a 2 heat weller pistol gun. It has 140 and 100 Watt settings. Melts solder in a second. Its sure nice not having to wait 5min for this thing to heat up!! :)

[outsider]

rc10gt_bb , You can manage well with a 40watt iron. I got a real fat copper tip for my radioshack 35 watt iron and it did a better than I thought job on motor tabs I was working on. I tried making some batteries and it worked well too. I just had to give it a good 5 minutes to heat up the huge tip to the right temperature.

[rc10gt_bb]

could you translate that into wattage for me. I have a 40 watt radio shack penn iron. Is that good enough to do motors and bataries?

[Crazy Canuck]

USR56K, you have excellent taste. Have you ever built btteries with it? And if you want mega heat, get the bigger one: 200/240W.

[rc10gt_bb]

will it work better with that big tip, cause that is what it came with, or the smaller tip?

[Grizzbob]

Big tip, definitely. You need as much surface area as you can get, that's what allows you to solder things quickly, no matter how hot your iron gets. That's actually been the problem with people who've tried soldering guns, those tiny tips just don't conduct heat well, so it's as if you're using a much lower wattage iron. So just make sure you have a good sized tip & you should be fine..... :)

[Nitrotruckman]

Crazy Canuck, I also have that soldering iron you have. 240 Watts? WOW! If I want that much wattage I use our welders.

[Crazy Canuck]

That one was probaly intended for industrial pipe soldering. it would probably melt more than just the solder ie the plugs or wire.

How do you convert wattage to degrees? I think it also has something to do with the size of the tip.

[Ras Thavas]

I really don't know how I survived with my old irons. Couple months ago I got a Hako 936 soldering station. Now I just set the temp for 800 degrees F and have no problems. Heck, I actually look forward to having to solder things now :)

[JP]

1000-1200 degrees is 40-60 watt. Some are warmer, some are cooler. For some reason, the Radio Shack irons never heat up to a better quality iron. Even though advertised at 40 watt, they tend to be around a 30 watt. Hakko is your best bet, followed by Weller.

[Gutter Ball]

I picked up a Crappy Tire one today! I was making saddle packs for my XX4 so I needed something more than 35watts. I picked up the 80watter and it's AWESOME!! That super big tip works a lot better than I expected. Now I can convert a few of my 3000mah stick packs to side x side for my future XXX-s or street weapon!

[rc10gt_bb]

Well then. How much is a wheller or hako. (whatever) For just a 60 watt iron.

[jeepinator]

I recommend the two iron approach. Get a nice soldering iron "station" with the nifty little sponge holder and stuff.
AND get one of these for soldering motors, batteries, or your sister:

http://www.theshreves.com/pics/iron!.jpg

[Hawki]

Obi ... I spent years in electronics and taught soldering. 800 deg. is more than sufficient when proper techniques are used. Weller has several stations that are reasonable in price that should do the job well. Use an 1/8" screwdriver type tip because it will have a larger heat reserve and keep the tip tinned the whole time its on.

[Obi112]

Thanks guys. The last two posts have been the most helpful. Heck, it only took a week :D