Solder up!

[DFB]

Some recent threads show that there is a lot of people on TBN with electronic experience parts/soldering/repair general electrical maintenance auto. Even the last little motorcycle project I was involved in had to solder in new brushes and a wiring harness to update and rebuild an antiquated charging system.

So who uses what tools? At the bike shop its a basic high temp trigger actuated Solder gun.

The bench stuff I have from my old factory days is an old variable temp Hexacon soldering station. Was perfect for circuit boards. Doesn't get much use like it once did. Geez now I'm even remembering all the gas torches for soldering off lids on big cans after wet resin and oil impregnation






I've seen online some CORDLESS soldering tools. Anybody have any experience with them. Can they solder a 12V automotive wire or don't they make enough heat. Pig tail connector repairs. Seems they be handy for something like that. I got tired of reading the reviews they seem to run 50/50 people either hate em or love em. Quality varies too I guess. :confused3:

 

[k0ua]

I had one years ago, and it worked OK. It was handy, but of course it was worn out in a couple of years. I then got a butane gas powered one, and it worked OK too. It was a bit more powerful, and you did not have to worry about the state of charge of the batteries in the DC powered one. Of course like anything else, you probably get what you pay for, with the higher priced tools probably being better quality. For most users I would still recommend a good 120VAC electrical gun. and a pen type 25 to 40 watts for light work. But I have heard it said that Weller quality might have slipped some since the "old days". All of mine are "old" and they still work fine. Everyone needs to learn how to solder, it is not that hard to learn, and is a very useful skill. That said, I would put a pox on the manufactures of the new "lead free" solders that are being shoved down our throats lately. That is the most useless stuff on the planet. It wont' "wet out" it just wants to ball up. Useless. You need to find some good rosin core lead based solder or you will be a frustrated puppy. This is the tried and true below.

Kester 44 Rosin Core Solder 60/40 .031 1 lb. Spool - - Amazon.com

 

[Danno1]

.



James,

It's not the manufacturers shoving any down our throats. It's the EU and their RoHS rules driving it. Oh ya, and the EPA for our plumbing. Plumbum, funny...



.

 

[k0ua]

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James,

It's not the manufacturers shoving any down our throats. It's the EU and their RoHS rules driving it. Oh ya, and the EPA for our plumbing. Plumbum, funny...



.

I know.. I run into the RoHS thing in our circuit boards used in telephony. Some of them grow "tin whiskers" after a few years and short out between components. There are always unintended consequences when you start passing legislation..I just didn't want to "start anything" because this thread is not in un-friendly politics.

 

[s219]

Heh, I must have soldered 20 connections just today! I have an old Weller trigger gun that my dad bought in the early 1980s, and it's great. Really belts out the heat.

 

[DFB]

Hey I was just poking around online Radio Shack has that basic cheap cordless iron seen all over the internet on sale for $7.99 :laughing:

Says available in my store I don't know how accurate the online add is but I might stop and see. Batteries to run it would probably cost as much. Most reviews say its junk

I did find one with much more quality reviews Hakko F901 $32 on Amazon


Another $30 more gets a decent rechargeable unit.

 

[DFB]

Heh, I must have soldered 20 connections just today! I have an old Weller trigger gun that my dad bought in the early 1980s, and it's great. Really belts out the heat.

20 connections what were you doing? :thumbsup:

 

[s219]

20 connections what were you doing? :thumbsup:

Wiring up a front bucket camera for my L3200 -- and I have to re-do part of it, since I screwed up! I figured it would be cleaner to run a direct set of wires to the camera rather than use the clunky connectors they include in their harness, but didn't realize there was some (apparently important) circuitry hidden in the connectors.

After seeing the camera had no image output, I cut open one of the discarded connectors to double-check polarity and found what is probably a 12V to 5V circuit, extremely miniature... Luckily this was an $11.49 camera from Amazon, so this wasn't too expensive of a mistake.... I'll be back at it in 2 days....

 

[xzcVAbc5]

I ended up running my soldering iron today. I fixed up my music situation in the garage. The speaker wires needed to be tinned but also extended.

So for my main soldering rig I have a Weller with adjustable digital temp. I think its 80-90 watts of power. If you flip the switch in about 7 seconds its up to temp according to the display.

I have a little Bernzomatic butane powered one that I bought for my old job in case I needed it. It was cheap but it worked.

In my toolbox drawer I have 3 or 4 more irons. One of them is for plumbing. Another one looks like its about a million years old and I think it was used for stained glass. The rest I can't remember. These irons I've never plugged in. I bought the box at auction for the solder supplies.

I'll have to take some pics when I'm out there again.

 

[SweBota]

I do a lot of electronics. My favourite soldering tools is since many years the classic Weller WECP-20 range. I's a 50W temp control station. In my electronics workshop I keep 2 of them, one with a standard pen and one with a miniature. I also have a WECP in each of my other places for repair work. Whenever I find them used I buy them for around 100 USD. For portable use I have 2 Weller Pyropen Piezo Butane-powered irons. They are great for repair work, as they also come with hot air nozzles that is perfect for shrink tubing. I once had a electric cordless iron which was utterly useless, never again. Good work requires good tools.

/M
https://www.google.se/search?q=well...-pyropen-piezo-0051605999-weller.html;318;200