100 watt soldering iron

[premmington]

An old fairy liquid bottle is handy to keep and dispense water

Other brands are available

The above made an old man laugh - LOL



Back to the subject:

I am a Auto Electrician - I do allot of soldering in awkward positions. Its OK with copper wires and older type solder - but new ALU strand wire and solder - you need plenty of heat/flux. You also need to get the connections you are soldering in the right "plane" - as ALU drips/runs.

Someone metioned above ALU does not have a "tinning effect" - it does - but it is harder to achieve (or impossible sometimes). Mild acid cleaning helps - (the mild acid in question is strong wheel cleaning acid to me and you). I have this acid in a small tub and apply in with a artists paintbrush - dry off with an airline - five litre can of wheel cleaning acid will last me ten+ lifetimes - one drip at a time.

ALU wires and components oxidise over time - it is this oxide that is the problem.

There is a lot on the internet - mostly from the USA - about ALU metal content repair soldering.

 

[Ashley Burton]

I also should mention that I find using some flux helps me personally

 

[bricol]

A Portasol Super Pro gas iron would solder those no problem. But really automotive wiring joints should always be crimped not soldered. Crimps allow some flex whereas a solder joint is rigid, leading to joint failure when vibration is present.

Lucas aerospace told me similar in relation to fighter aircraft wiring looms . . . if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me - I've not had one fail in the abused Dutton trials car I rewired a decade ago.

Simple wire to wire joints as the OP suggested should be fine though.

 

[bricol]

Yeah I can do it. Lol.

Key thing I find is using a small dampened solder sponge to keep tip clean.
View attachment 208883

Or a brass pot scourer - which doesn't need dampening.

 

[Morrisman]

this stuff works well. How much do you need? I can bung a length in the post to you if that would help.
Basically you want 60/40 tin lead alloy with rosin cored flux.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/362882499968

edit. Another one, almost the same, just as good, half the price.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/143305720584

I’ll order a few metres of that second one, it’s pretty inexpensive. Thanks for the offer though.

 

[Morrisman]

It is not just the temp, you need some thermal mass or you have to leave the iron on to long & get heat transfer causing melting of insulation or component damage

That’s part of the problem, I can hold it against the joint so long the plastic starts smoking and my fingers are burning. Not sure if the temp control has gone erratic in the gun, or what. New solder on order, hopefully that will,work.

 

[Morrisman]

Hardest part is learning to bend your fingers in odd shapes making it possible to hold and solder

A few months I bought a little gadget with arms like a robot, that hold the two wires where you want them. It was for soldering some wires on my bike, where I needed at least three hands to hold the wires and gun. Works quite well. Those wires were smaller than the ones I’m playing with now though.

 

[Morrisman]

Used my gas Portasol soldering iron the other day on some thick cable & worked a treat whilst working outdoors

Which one do you have? I’m thinking of the torch style, but don’t want to go melting everything in the vicinity. I don’t do any circuit board or anything, just wiring.

I used to work with a guy who had a small cigarette lighter that was like a mini blow torch, that worked well on heavy wires, but it was 30 years ago and I haven’t seen them around for a long time.

Something like this? Too big?

 

[Domdom]

A few months I bought a little gadget with arms like a robot, that hold the two wires where you want them. It was for soldering some wires on my bike, where I needed at least three hands to hold the wires and gun. Works quite well. Those wires were smaller than the ones I’m playing with now though.

View attachment 208901

And that, Sir, is why the good lord saw fit to give you multiple digits on each hand Grasp one wire between index and middle fingers, the other wire between thumb and ring finger. You'll find you can move the wires into position nicely. Just don't hang around with the iron, heat travels up the wire if you do.

 

[Morrisman]

And you hold the iron and solder with you other two hands I guess?

 

[Ashley Burton]

Which one do you have? I’m thinking of the torch style, but don’t want to go melting everything in the vicinity. I don’t do any circuit board or anything, just wiring.

I used to work with a guy who had a small cigarette lighter that was like a mini blow torch, that worked well on heavy wires, but it was 30 years ago and I haven’t seen them around for a long time.

Something like this? Too big?

View attachment 208902

Portasol Super Pro 125, Love it!

 

[Morrisman]

Just ordered one of these from Screwfix. I don’t do any precision soldering, and this should be big enough to solder my battery cables as well, plus do my heat shrink.

Good reviews and not too spendy.

 

[ukracer]

Just ordered one of these from Screwfix. I don’t do any precision soldering, and this should be big enough to solder my battery cables as well, plus do my heat shrink.

Good reviews and not too spendy.

View attachment 208904

I would never use naked flame to solder... Just burns the sheathing.

 

[Morrisman]

I would never use naked flame to solder... Just burns the sheathing.

I’m hoping it will be hot enough to get in quick, and do the job, before it melts anything.

 

[Ashley Burton]

@ukracer looks like it's got a soldering tip

 

[Domdom]

And you hold the iron and solder with you other two hands I guess?

Hahahahahaha
Ern, not quite. If you have tinned the wires properly there is already enough solder to flow into the joint so you only need one other hand to dab the iron on while it flows together. Too little solder gives you a dry joint but too much takes more heat to flow the joint and that heat travels back up the wire rather quickly which burns insulation and fingers. Yeah, maybe your gadget has some advantages, one handed soldering leaving the other hand free to drink coffee

 

[Ashley Burton]

Another tip I used at the weekend is tin the wires & use a single crocodile clip to hold them together while you join them. Worked well for me!

 

[premmington]

I have a Nimrod (Iroda) SolderPro 120k - paid £75 for it and I hate it...

 

[premmington]

Lucas aerospace told me similar in relation to fighter aircraft wiring looms . . . if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me - I've not had one fail in the abused Dutton trials car I rewired a decade ago.

Simple wire to wire joints as the OP suggested should be fine though.

That is about where I am - solder joints on wire repairs - crimps and the like to terminal end that contect to something.

 

[Morrisman]

Lucas aerospace told me similar in relation to fighter aircraft wiring looms . . . if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me - I've not had one fail in the abused Dutton trials car I rewired a decade ago.

Simple wire to wire joints as the OP suggested should be fine though.

Crimps are very useful, and work well, but I find them mind of bulky, and ugly, and ‘unprofessional’ looking. I’ve actually used quite a few on my wiring but some joints will work better soldered and heat shrinked. Shrunk?

I’d like to try the bare metal crimps some time, with heat shrink over, that would work well....

...but I just ordered the soldering torch.