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Soldering Iron


geoffk100

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soldering guns are the worst thing ever...a 100W soldering gun is probably the same as about a 35-40W soldering iron with a medium sized tip.

if you want a soldering station then go for a hakko unit..i heard the 959 (or it might be the 956) is supposed to be pretty good..but with a not so good price tag.

what ever soldering iron you get make sure its atleast 60W (above 80W is best..try and get something like a 100W) but what ever wattage iron you get make it sure it has ATLEAST A 5MM TIP.....even a 100W iron would struggle with a tiny tip.

the size of the tip makes all the difference...5mm is probably smallest that would work well for batteries...bigger the better.

also, dont just start soldering batts when the iron will melt solder....switch the iron on to heat up and leave it for around 20-30mins to get some good heat into it...one tip, solder the battery bars onto the negative terminal first ..makes life so much easier ;)

Edited by mth
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soldering guns are the worst thing ever...a 100W soldering gun is probably the same as about a 35-40W soldering iron with a medium sized tip.

if you want a soldering station then go for a hakko unit..i heard the 959 (or it might be the 956) is supposed to be pretty good..but with a not so good price tag.

what ever soldering iron you get make sure its atleast 60W (above 80W is best..try and get something like a 100W) but what ever wattage iron you get make it sure it has ATLEAST A 5MM TIP.....even a 100W iron would struggle with a tiny tip.

the size of the tip makes all the difference...5mm is probably smallest that would work well for batteries...bigger the better.

also, dont just start soldering batts when the iron will melt solder....switch the iron on to heat up and leave it for around 20-30mins to get some good heat into it...one tip, solder the battery bars onto the negative terminal first ..makes life so much easier ;)

Couldn't agree more

I have a maplins 50w solder station and it took me 2hours to convert 5 side by side cell to saddles. They are just not hot enough.

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yeah martin....the hotbodies one is actually 7.2v though but what everyone does is cut the 12v plug off and put croc clips on it to power it from 12V

but if you leave it on to long without using it, the tip glows orange and the iron burns out :D (ive been through 3 of them because of that).

my 12v iron is one from RS and its 25W...but it can build batt packs no problems at all.

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can never be to powerful......a 200W iron won't actually get any hotter..it will just get upto temp quicker...sow hen you solder it will retain its heat better making soldering easier/quicker.

but if your going to buy a 200W one, make sure its a decent quality one..if its a cheap crappy one it will just burn out.

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I think i will get that 100W one. For £10 you cant go wrong! (unless its a pile of poop of course!)

Whats baffled me is this though....

(I want to also get a gas powered one later on for portable-ness)

In maplin they have a 50W temp controlled 240V iron. Temp adjustable from something - to max 450 degrees C.

They have a cheap gas one (£20) and that gets up to 1300 degrees!!!!

Then they have a gas one that is £30 - but equivalent to a 50W elec iron - yet it doesnt say the temp. Surely the cheap one is equivalent to a lot of watts of elec power if the tip is some 3 times hotter then a 50W 240v iron!

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well...my gas iron is from 50W to 120W but it does kinda suck..its ok for things like motors, brushes and stuff..bu batteries are a big no no.

stay away from cheap high powered irons..they burn out easily (i found out the hard way :D:o

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i think that would be handy for things like new reciever ariel wires..servo wires and stuff like that because where there are small components that could easily be fried by a normal high power iron....a cooler iron that stays cold until you solder would be better.

i saw the cold heat about 4 month ago though...only available in US at the time though.

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I think i will get that 100W one. For £10 you cant go wrong! (unless its a pile of poop of course!)

Whats baffled me is this though....

(I want to also get a gas powered one later on for portable-ness)

In maplin they have a 50W temp controlled 240V iron. Temp adjustable from something - to max 450 degrees C.

They have a cheap gas one (£20) and that gets up to 1300 degrees!!!!

Then they have a gas one that is £30 - but equivalent to a 50W elec iron - yet it doesnt say the temp. Surely  the cheap one is equivalent to a lot of watts of elec power if the tip is some 3 times hotter then a 50W 240v iron!

where you getting the £10 one from??

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