Antex XS25 punches well above its power, down to the tip design facilitating good thermal transfer to the workpiece. It easily solders quite thick wire to e.g. 1/4" spade terminals, so should be up to the job using a decent tip diameter e.g. 3.2mm. The Antex temperature controlled irons are better still.
- Thread starter Morrisman
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slim_boy_fat
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Does it 'must' be 100W ?
- this covers the range 100-500o C [allegedly] and is as cheap as chips. My pal soldered 2 x LEDs together for me no problem - I've yet to mester soldering as a string to my bow but he was so impressed that he asked me to get one for him.https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/p/diy/parkside-soldering-station/p28858
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Does it 'must' be 100W ?
https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/p/diy/parkside-soldering-station/p28858
John, it’s quite easy once you get the hang of it. I learnt as a teenager.
Get some old cable of varying thickness and learn to tin the ends.
You’ll soon work out how long to leave the iron there for it all to work
I find that tinning the tip of the iron with a blob of solder helps
Screwdriver
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Best soldering iron out there for general purpose use is the TS80. Affordable if not cheap. Thank me later.
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Once you get used to it, I’ve found that using a slightly more powerful iron works better for quick in and out dab
mtt.tr
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? Never seen the point
slim_boy_fat
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It did only seem to take him a few seconds.....
Might be seeing him & his Missus next week - I'll get a lesson on his Lidl job.
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It did only seem to take him a few seconds.....
Practice on some thin flex. Keep the tip clean and tinned. Heat the cable, apply solder. When it hot just right the solder will wick and flow nice
A cheap iron will do you for general purpose stuff.
Infact get one and start practicing
It’s much easier than welding
mtt.tr
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Hardest part is learning to bend your fingers in odd shapes making it possible to hold and solderIt did only seem to take him a few seconds.....
mtt.tr
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I’ve got a stainless steel cup to hold a sponge, however the few times I need to solder the sponge is always bone dry, so usually gets wiped on anything to hand, quite often my jeans
Yeah I can do it. Lol.
Key thing I find is using a small dampened solder sponge to keep tip clean.
slim_boy_fat
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The Lidl job comes with one....
An old fairy liquid bottle is handy to keep and dispense water
Other brands are available
pedrobedro
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I have a Draper gun same as yours, the light has gone in it but it still works well. I crushed the end of the tip closer together and to join heavy wire I twist it and flux it then load the tip with solder and hold it touching under the join. When it gets hot enough it wicks into the twisted wire and you can just touch the solder to the join with your other hand to add more if it's needed
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Very few hard and fast specifications on how to splice wires because most reputable organisations forbid it. I trained at the MoD where there were a range of standards (DefStan) that an acceptable joint had to meet. Those standards were also (I think) adopted by NASA.
Generally for joints (which I also extrapolate to splices):
Tin the wire (individual strands still visible, not a blob)
Allow for or incorporate strain relief
Mechanically secure the connection (twist, bend or loop etc.)
Constrain the component and/or wiring/loom (fix it somehow)
Then solder
There are times when the loom/component is constrained after the joint is soldered, depends on application.
Solder is not a mechanical connection, it's not even primarily an electrical connection. It's there to prevent intermittent contact arcing, corrosion and to maintain the existing electro mechanical joint. Like I said, no reputable organisation will legislate for splicing wires, there will either be a component join, a terminal or the wire should be replaced.
Been years since I was properly in the game though so I may be behind the times. I still do things the old fashioned way, belt AND braces.
Generally for joints (which I also extrapolate to splices):
Tin the wire (individual strands still visible, not a blob)
Allow for or incorporate strain relief
Mechanically secure the connection (twist, bend or loop etc.)
Constrain the component and/or wiring/loom (fix it somehow)
Then solder
There are times when the loom/component is constrained after the joint is soldered, depends on application.
Solder is not a mechanical connection, it's not even primarily an electrical connection. It's there to prevent intermittent contact arcing, corrosion and to maintain the existing electro mechanical joint. Like I said, no reputable organisation will legislate for splicing wires, there will either be a component join, a terminal or the wire should be replaced.
Been years since I was properly in the game though so I may be behind the times. I still do things the old fashioned way, belt AND braces.
