Good Quality Soldering

[GLPoomobile 958]

I hate soldering. Always have. But I think part of the problem is only ever having used those cheap and basic (sub £10) soldering irons.

 

So first of all, I plan to get a new iron. I was looking at the ones on VWP (here), and I'm not sure what would be best. The top one looks good, but I'm also drawn towards the gas one as it's more portable (having no power supply means I'd have to use my invertor in the car). But would the gas one be safe to use in the car? Working incramped conditions it might not be the best as I'd have to be careful where I put it down!

 

Also, any other good tips for simple soldering? I know about tinning the wires first, but are there any tricks such as correct temperature to use for certain wires etc? The thing that f***s me off most is actually holding the wires as you need 4 hands, so I want make a little stand with some clamps to hold the wires, so that I can clamp them together leaving my hands free to hold the solder and the iron.

[Cameron 16]

I've got a gas one but it's only really good indoors and for thin wire, if you try to do anything thicker than 1.5mm^2 with it you'll struggle. I've also got a cheap mains iron and it's a pile of wank!

 

From using one of these (click) at uni I'll definitely be getting one for the next time I do wiring, it's an awesome bit of kit and will keep a constant temperature no matter what thickness wire you're using.

[GLPoomobile 958]

Unfortunately over twice my budget I don't really want to spend more than £50.

[Rippthrough 98]

Electronics or wiring?

 

If it's just wiring then I'd get one of the 130w instant heat guns, if it's for electronics then Weller do a nicely built 40w unit that's fairly cheap.

Treat yourself to some decent solder too, that can make a big difference.

 

I personally like the Comsol S-T-L alloy as it produces neat little joints provided you can get enough heat into it, and it doesn't creep or corrode at the temperatures in the engine bay either, otherwise, a 50:50 tin/lead or a decent free-flowing (usually marked as such) 60:40 will do so long as it has a reputable flux in the core, both will wick very well.

Edited September 18, 2010 by Rippthrough

[GLPoomobile 958]

Electronics or wiring?

 

Just for wiring. Great tips above, thanks

[Anthony 1,003]

A decent soldering iron makes a HUGE difference - I honestly don't think that I could go back to a cheapo iron since I got a decent Weller solder station a few years back. Certainly does everything I ask of it, mostly just general wiring making/converting looms and redoing cracked/dry solder joins on PCB's, although I have also used it to build a couple of Megasquirt's without issue. Expensive new, but occasionally they come up on eBay and the like for reasonable money.

 

Personally, I've never found gas soldering irons to be any good whatsoever - just about passable for making emergency repairs to small gauge wire, but no good for anything substancial. That said, I've only ever used the comparitively cheap ones - maybe a more expensive model is alot more useable?

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

Another Weller user here, this one in fact http://uk.rs-online.com/web/search/searchB...amp;cm_vc=av_uk changeable tips which allows different uses etc, Thankfully I borrowed mine from a old company but as said the mains one really are poor after using one of these

[Alastairh 47]

Another weller user here. Very robust and the changeable tips

Is very handy. Unfortunatly they aren't cheap unless you gain them from work...

 

Al

[GLPoomobile 958]

Well I don't think I can justify spending more than £50 on one of their soldering stations (unless I find one 2nd hand), so would their instant heat solder gun be alright (the first one on the VWP page I linked to)? It doesn't need to be the most versatile tool in the universe, just capable of producing better results than the s*it soldring irons (I guess that's a given!) and be less annoying to use.

[nick 3]

I also hate soldering, but get good results (strong, but not the neatest) Even if your solder wire is "fluxed" I would still dip the ends of the wires into a pot of flux, the pots are cheap and will last forever!!

 

Nick

[shalmaneser 26]

I've done a lot of soldering and the best advice I can give you is to use some flux whenever you're soldering, if you can get the liquid stuff that is the best one to go for. The modern lead and roisin free solders just aren't as good as the toxic old stuff but hey ho that's how it works, but with flux you can make them nearly as good.

 

Be careful to heat up the wire, not the solder, don't get a blod of solder on the tip of the iron and mash it into the wire, get the wires hot, then introduce the solder to the wire, you should be able to see solder flowing into the wire forming a good bond.

 

Obviously tinning makes the job easier, but it's not the end of the world if you can't do it (due to the location or whatever) just use plenty of flux and be patient.

 

Oh, and it's also really important to use good clean wire, oxidised copper will never be any good as the solder just won't take, so be prepaired to strip back a bit more of the insulation until you get to good clean wire.

 

And don't forget to put the heatshrink on first! Nothing like doing a really nice bit of soldering and then having to undo it all because you forgot the hearshrink!!!

 

Oh, and since we're counting...Weller soldering irons FTW!

[Alastairh 47]

What is it you need solderig up anyway? If its something that can be chucked in the post and not a huge job i don't mind taking it on.

 

Al

[Stevo309 0]

I always find it useful to introduce solder to the union between tip and wire at the start to help the heat flow into the wire. Only a small amount though and then once the wire is hot melt the solder into it. As said above you don't want a load of solder on the tip though and clean it off when you finish with the wet sponge instead of leaving it on the tip to set as it will corrode the tip.

 

I have found it's best with most jobs to have more power than not enough, nothing worse than an iron that is just not powerful enough for the size of wire you're trying to solder because the wire just absorbs the heat and the solder won't melt. I have a massive soldering iron that is capable of soldering starter motor cable and 0 guage amp wires but it still works well on the smaller jobs (as long as you're quick).

[Richy_cti 0]

if your just joining wires together nothing overly complicated (like mod chiping the old playstations 2's raaa)

 

then a chepo is fine to use, i have had the same 10 quid mains powered soldering iron for the last 5-6 years (altho i dont use it much) ands a gas one for ease of use (as its been said its not the best for bigger wires but it still works)

 

i generaly solder specker wires, alarms wire ect

 

all i do is dip then in a put of flux, heat the wires up first( with the iron below the wires then introduce the solder from the top) and end up with a very neat connection

 

obviously make sure ur using cleam wires

 

and take ur time no need to rush if u spend 30-60 seconds maing sure the wires are hot thats fine makes it easyer and neater.

[HERMAN 33]

This is the make I use very good quality and quick to heat up. Also nice and light to use.

http://www.rapidonline.com/Tools-Fasteners...source=googleps