Which watt for soldering iron is better?

[the_yawn]

Is 30 watts better or 60 watts?

[B3Tyler]

Anything above 40 is good.

[TA03 Drive Hard]

60 watts is your best choice... but a fat tip on that iron is better... you want to achieve 600-700 degrees... this will help make better packs... the solder will melt like water and instantly bond nicely to your cells... thus again achieving a neat set of batteries :cool:

[ 06-16-2001: Message edited by: TA03 Drive Hard ]

[Leet TC3]

Those fat tips are great but...

Man, it takes a lot of dexterity to solder Dean's plugs and soldering motors. They are great irons, but be prepared to burn yourself once or twice...

[TA03 Drive Hard]

I use nothin but Deans plugs & silver solder :cool:

[the_yawn]

I have to burn myself???!!! :( :eek: :(

[Leet TC3]

Of course!

Golfers have to have bad callouses across their knuckles.

Professional bike racers have to have road rash scars.

Hockey players have to have their front teeth all knocked out.

RC Car racers have to have burns on their hands, arms etc. from a hot soldering iron that slipped. Oh, and we have to have strained vocal chords from always shouting "Turn Marshall!!" ;)

[Grizzbob]

I wouldn't say that, but then again, I use soldering irons at work a lot, so I've always been very comfortable with them. You do want a good, powerful iron(I'd say 50-60 watts is about right), & it needs to have a good sized tip on it to help you transfer heat quickly. One important reason why soldering guns(even those at 100 watts) don't work well for our purposes is because of their tips. Their tips are so small that they can't effectively transfer heat so it's still difficult to do any big jobs like building battery packs. With a big, flat tip, you have a lot more surface area to transfer heat, so you can heat up the item you're soldering much more quickly(& safely), which when building battery packs, is the best way to prevent them being damaged. Plus, you can still use it to handle wiring ESC's & installing wires on motors & assembling connectors, it does take practice & care, but it's more than worth it. So, if you can find a good 60 watt with a good tip, then I'd say go get it, & just be careful using it until you get used to it.... :)

[TA03 Drive Hard]

Ya i got a 100 watt gun and it really s*cked... :mad: couldnt get the solder to melt proper... darn you 100 watt guns!!!! :mad:

[the_yawn]

Is the hobbico ones good? Is the tip big?

[cck]

I am the one is using the Hobbico soldering iron (60-watt) It is pretty good, except you have to change the new soldering tip quite often. (I usually change the tip about 5-10 times of use).