Soldering iron...again

[sacko]

I have read a few previous threads on here about irons. Just making sure there arent any better/better value for money irons about.

This one is on Maplins, but I have seen it £10 cheaper on fleabay.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/50W-SOLDERING-IRON-STATION-SOLDER-PUMP-3-SPARE-TIPS_W0QQitemZ220440768490QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Ho me_Garden_PowerTools_SM?hash=item33534b2fea&_trksi d=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72% 3A1683|293%3A1|294%3A50

Good one to get still?

[unleashed666]

thats the same one ive got.

ive had mine for 18 months, carnt fault it really, ive soldered deans with no problems.

[sacko]

Dont suppose you have tried soldering the balance wires back on to the pack? As thats where my 25W one doesnt cut the mustard.

[unleashed666]

thats one thing ive never had to do yet.

but i do a lot of soldering for various aplications (from realy thin wire/circuit boards to the realy thick wire/connectors like deans) and i just vary the temp depending in the size of wire/tab i need to work on. ive not had a job yet that this hasnt been able to handle.

[EtheAv8r]

thats the same one ive got.

ive had mine for 18 months, carnt fault it really, ive soldered deans with no problems.

Do you wind the temperature setting mostly all the way up?

[unleashed666]

for deans type stuff yes, then tin the tip of the iron, put a blob of solder on the tip, then put it on the connector along with some more solder till you get a nice blob (just dont keep the iron on the connector longer than a second or the plastic starts to melt)

as a general rule - The hotter the temp the shorter the time of contact.

[GravityKills]

Dont suppose you have tried soldering the balance wires back on to the pack?

It's possible that now you're dealing with lead free solder. That needs a higher temperature in any case. It's definitely the case, if the pack has a "RoHS" label (Restriction of Hazardous Substances EU directive).

[Dedcalm]

Lead free solder is a nasty horrible invention I am sticking to 60:40 lead solder for as long as i can source it.

[Grant85]

Sacko,I have the exact same soldering iron and i think it's really good and i have had no problems with it either,I got mine from Maplins and it was only £19.99 so i don't know if it must have gone up now??
Cheers Grant

[unwind-protect]

Dont suppose you have tried soldering the balance wires back on to the pack?

My understanding is that the cell tabs tend to be aluminium, which is completely unsolderable with normal solder. I believe you can get special aluminium solder, but originally I think the joins tend to be spot welded.

[Mart61]

I have one of those and paid £19.99 at Maplins. Perhaps the deal has ended?

[SRH990]

My understanding is that the cell tabs tend to be aluminium, which is completely unsolderable with normal solder. I believe you can get special aluminium solder, but originally I think the joins tend to be spot welded.

You also need a special flux, especially for aluminium, I'm guessing it's quite caustic as aluminium oxidises very quickly. I managed to find some aluminium solder and flux in a model train shop locally, seems to be in use in the model train world

After years of using the lead-free solder I finally ordered a good size roll of lead rosin cored solder - it makes a much better job with less hassle.

[unwind-protect]

You also need a special flux, especially for aluminium, I'm guessing it's quite caustic as aluminium oxidises very quickly.

That's the problem. I believe if you clean off the oxide and stop it re-oxidising (for example, by working in a pure nitrogen atmosphere...) it would solder fine with normal solder. Good luck with that!