solder gun and soldering

[Virus]

ok this is a realy dum question

i just brought a solder gun it a 100watt and has the flux solder and 3 tips. the problem is i have never used one before [:I] and there aint no instrucions on how to use it [V]. im asking if anyone can help me out and explain how to use this tool plz [:I]

thank you

Paul

[Shodog]

For soldering I prefer an iron because it's always hot. The gun is great for doing a quick solder job but you will burn it out when assembling battery pack or on long jobs.

I also prefer a tub of the rosin flux as opposed to the rosin core solder. That way you dip the wire in the flux, coating it really well. Then when you apply the solder it sucks right into the wire.

What you have will work fine. just play around with it and you will get the handg of it in no time.

Jim

[Virus]

thanx shodog just melted 4 msc wires [V]

do u have to use the flux stuff i hace a pot of it but not sure where it goes or does [:I]

Paul

[WillyChang]

Solder guns (the type with the wire loop element?) may have big "power" but they do not have the thermal mass needed for good RC soldering.

Solder irons usually have big fat elements and chunky tips which can store a lot of heat. When you touch the wire/battery/motor a lot of heat is transferred away... but the iron still stays hot enough to flow solder. Usually stays hot enough to keep working for some time after you've off'd the power.

Avoid anything that's instant heating / instant cool. You need the thermal mass otherwise you'll start overheating your electronics and battery cells. With a good iron, you can make a perfect joint in under 2 seconds and the item stays cool elsewhere.

[GPZ1000RX]

As a lad in the sixties I spent two weeks paper round money on a solder gun, with the intention of building brass and piano wire slot car chassis with it. TOTALLY useless, due to the lack of thermal inertia in the thing, by the time you had enough heat in the joint to flow solder, the whole component was so hot that a solder joint elsewhere was busy melting!

Don't try to use it to solder battery packs, the busbar and cell can absorb heat faster than a solder gun can supply it, until the whole cell is cooked, and by then the cell could be destroyed.

You may have a similar prob with heavy duty cable and stuff too, I wouldn't want one near those connection posts on an ESC either (expensive fry up!!!)

I'm with Willy all the way on this one, be careful, it would be easy to do some real damage with a solder gun.

[Virus]

ok what sort of thing will i need i got solder and flux now i will chuck the gun away. i got about £20 to spend on one a few makes or model numbers would be handy (not online shops plz)

Paul

[mymonsterbeetleisbroken]

ive only ever soldered with a soldering iron and i think thats the easiest way to do it.

i soldered a wire back on one of my packs that had "some how" [] fallen off.

i did it the dodgey way, i melted a pool of solder onto the flat end of the iron, placed the soldering iron over the pack whilst holding the loose wire in place, and tilted the tip of the iron so the solder dripped off and landed right over the wire - soldering it back onto the pack! that way the pack never got hot as the solder cools in seconds.

worked fine and so far hasnt fallen off, it was the solder that already has flux in it, and the soldering iron i used must be about 30 years old (dont know wether thats a good or bad thing [:I][])

[Hellbilly]

When i solder, i usually pre-solder each part i'm about to solder.

Example, if i'm about to solder the wire from ESC to the motor, i warm up the metal ear on the motor (happens very quickly) and put a drop of solder on it. Then i do the same with the tip of the wire.

Then i place the wire on the ear i'm about to solder and place the soldering iron so it warms up both parts at the same time and it quickly melts the solder on both parts together to make the perfect solder.

Pretty easy. The ESC wire doesnt even get hot.

[Virus]

cool thanx guys think i need an iron then looking at this gun reminds me of a flash gordon film []

Paul