soldering on to D-cells possible?
- Thread starter monster
- Start date
lazarus2405
10 kW
I recommend buying a soldering gun, in the 100w-200w range. That'll let you keep your heating times nice and low.
I picked up one if these babies yesterday. I recommend it:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=4328
I got it for $15 at one of their brick-and-mortar locations. 180w, gets up to 1100*F. The handle angle is a little awkward, but it gets the job very well done.
You should be able to find a comparable one pretty easily at any hardware store.
I picked up one if these babies yesterday. I recommend it:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=4328
I got it for $15 at one of their brick-and-mortar locations. 180w, gets up to 1100*F. The handle angle is a little awkward, but it gets the job very well done.
You should be able to find a comparable one pretty easily at any hardware store.
TylerDurden
100 GW
Ja mon...
I usually dab some flux on the battery, then add solder to the hot iron until just before the blob falls off... then put the hot blob on the battery until it wets the battery and spreads a bit (about one second), then back off and blow to cool.
It's not textbook soldering, since I don't heat the work first... that would be bad for the cell. The blob usually carries enough heat to wet the cell's skin, without damage to the interior. If the solder joint looks bad/cold, don't reheat on the battery, grind it off and repeat.
I usually dab some flux on the battery, then add solder to the hot iron until just before the blob falls off... then put the hot blob on the battery until it wets the battery and spreads a bit (about one second), then back off and blow to cool.
It's not textbook soldering, since I don't heat the work first... that would be bad for the cell. The blob usually carries enough heat to wet the cell's skin, without damage to the interior. If the solder joint looks bad/cold, don't reheat on the battery, grind it off and repeat.
kbarrett
10 kW
monster said:
Use at least an 80W iron.
Rough up the cell with fine sand paper, clean, and paint with a bit of flux.
Melt a small blob of solder on your iron, and touch the cell ... wet the whole surface with a thin layer of solder.
Repeat this procedure on your battery tab.
Place the cold tab against the cold cell top, and press down on both with the hot iron. As soon as the solder remelts, hold it down with a wood stick, and withdraw the iron. Wait patiently for everything to cool.
Johnbear
10 kW
Search hammerhead iron. There is a iron that has a huge heatsink that keeps in the heat.
Johnbear
10 kW
Here's the one I bought http://members.cox.net/charliewhite/ - Good luck! :wink:
monster
100 kW
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2007
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- 1,411
so i bought a 100watt solder gun for £9. but when i opened it, it said you can only use it for 20% duty cycle? 12seconds on time maximum, followed by a minute of cool down time :x
whats the point in having a 100watt iron if it never get up to temperature? i did manage to solder on to the battery with two soldering irons together (and a second pair of hands to hold them)
whats the point in having a 100watt iron if it never get up to temperature? i did manage to solder on to the battery with two soldering irons together (and a second pair of hands to hold them)
kbarrett
10 kW
monster said:
The advertiser being able to get away with lying to a newbie who was told to get an 80 Watt iron.
I apologize for not being specific enough.
Here are some real soldering irons.
Here is a pic of a proper 100W iron from that page:
My current heavy duty iron is the red handled 80W Weller pictured on that page. I can leave it on and running at 80W all freaking day ... eventually the handle might get too hot to hold, but it will keep running.
The one you bought might be handy for other work. A proper large soldering iron is kinda overkill these days for most electronics stuff ... except this.
ahend
1 mW
I turned up a special hammer head tip (see the post above) for my Weller WES50 soldering station to solder F size (D on steroids) NiMH cells end to end. It worked really well and I am happy with the results. My iron was set to around 780 degrees F. The tip, being made from uncoated copper, would have to be thoroughly cleaned, quite often, as resin and oxidation took over and insulated the end pads. This worked well for applying the battery tabs too. It does hold a good deal of heat.
Each battery pole was lightly roughed up with a fine grit drum on a dremel tool, and then cleaned with isopropyl alcohol prior to tinning. After each solder joint, I would rapidly cool the cell with compressed air to minimize the chances of over heating them.
Each battery pole was lightly roughed up with a fine grit drum on a dremel tool, and then cleaned with isopropyl alcohol prior to tinning. After each solder joint, I would rapidly cool the cell with compressed air to minimize the chances of over heating them.
Knuckles
10 kW
I solder Ds, Cs and sub-Cs all the time now. The answer is YES YES YES. The only way to go and I prefer the button tops over solder tabs. I actually rip solder tabs off the subCs. The D's you can get (powerizers) for $0.55/WHr (bogus rating but still a good cheap NIMH bat IMO).
I'm a bit of a hack but each pack gets better and better. For NiMH pack I always imbed a 50-C Klixon to the pack + charge lead. tiny dab of flux and the right solder blend makes a big difference too. Min 80 watt or higher iron.
This is kinda cool too for a123's ... I like the iron.
[youtube]1irrxIIyGyU[/youtube]
I'm a bit of a hack but each pack gets better and better. For NiMH pack I always imbed a 50-C Klixon to the pack + charge lead. tiny dab of flux and the right solder blend makes a big difference too. Min 80 watt or higher iron.
This is kinda cool too for a123's ... I like the iron.
[youtube]1irrxIIyGyU[/youtube]
kbarrett
10 kW
Knuckles, regarding that video: I've found that those arched Dean's battery tabs tack down faster if you tin the undersides of them first.
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