Tinnning a wire ?

[digsy]

I'm a newbie to electrics (I soldered my first wire this morning !)

I would like to tin some wires which I think I do by wrapping solder around the wire and then melting it.

My solder (0.0625") is much thicker than my wire (22 guage). Is this still OK ?
Or should I use thinner solder ?

Thanks,
Digsy

[Lammergier]

To tin a wire means to apply solder to it. Anything you are going to solder together should be tined first. Apply the hot iron to the wire. Wait a couple of seconds for the wire to heat up. Apply the solder to to wire not the iron.
it should melt and flow into the wire. Remove the iron as soon as the solder soaks into the wire. Repeat the above on the other wire you will be soldering together. Then hold the wires together and put the iron on just long enough
for the solder to melt together. You should have a smooth shiney solder joint

[Andy W]

Download and watch my video on how to install Deans Ultra plugs (awilletts.ezonemag.com/deansultra.mpg). At around 14 seconds, and 40 seconds, you see me tin Deans 12ga Ultra Wire.
..a

[Happy Hobit]

Hi Digsy,

One thing Lammergier forgot to mention was Flux. Flux cleans the metal being soldered and allows the solder to stick. You’re probably using a ‘Rosen Cored Solder’. The Rosin is the flux and is inside the solder.

If you’re using solid solder, no core, you’ll need some additional flux. Rosin Cored Solder is specifically for electrical work because it won’t corrode the copper. (Cored Solder smokes when heated.)

Acid is also used as a flux but should never be used with electrical work. (There is an ‘Acid Cored Solder’.)


Heat the metal being soldered, apply the solder to the metal and melt the flux. As the flux melts and coats the wire the solder will start to flow.

Sometimes melting a little solder, between the iron and the part, helps improve the ‘Heat Transfer’. Remember the objective is to heat the wire and not pile solder on top of it.

If you are soldering stranded wires together do not tin them first. This will make them too stiff to twist together. Tinned Stranded Wire has the individual strands tinned allowing them to be twisted together tightly.

Jay

[hwhall]

If the iron sits hot for a while, oxidation of the solder, and flux burning can create a film on the solder on the tip that slows heat transfer. I always wipe the tip clean first, then apply a light touch of fresh solder just before bringing the iron to the wire. This really helps if you need a fast solder job to minimize the heat flow (to protect components or plastic connector parts, and so on). Also, be sure the wire end is not old & cruddy. Old wires can oxidize a lot & are hard to tin or solder.

> Wait a couple of seconds for the wire to heat up. <

If it is very light wire, you may not need to wait even this long.

> hold the wires together and put the iron on <

This is sometimes called 'tacking' a connection. For a permanent connection, it is best to make a 'mechanical joint' before soldering, such as twisting the wires together, even just a little. That also helps by holding the wires together while your hands are busy holding the iron and the solder!

--Wayne

[Kaos116]

:D

Soldering at times is an art. The military sent me to an advanced soldering training school. Here are just a few things to remember when soldering.

1. Soldering is an electrical connection not a mechanical one. If the solder joint will be under and physical stress you must make a good mechanical connection too. Looping or hooking wires works best.

2. Clean your solder with rubbing alcohol if it's not shiny. Oxidation has started and that will make a weak solder joint.

3. 'Shock'/clean your soldering tip on every joint. Have a damp sponge handy when soldering. Right before you apply it to the component wipe it on the sponge. This does 2 things. Cleans the tip of gook that is building up and 'shocks' the tip. The soldering iron heats up to a certain temperature and then cools down untill it reaches a certain temperature then it heats up again. By shocking the tip you will drop it below this cool down point and it will start to heat up again. At this point you will put the tip on the component and it will transfer some of the heat to it while raising the tip temp. Heating everything up quicker and creating a very good joint.

4. Flux is your friend. Where ever the flux goes, so will the heat. I prefer paste flux over liquid. Much more control and less sticky. If rosin core solder is what you have, then it will work fine. NEVER use acid core on electronics. As for the diameter I use .02 for most of my work. But I have been known to use .062 in a jam. Even pulled out the plumbing solder once ;)

5. Apply the heat and the solder to the component being soldered. That is the text book answer, but as someone stated above. Applying a little solder to the tip of the iron does help in getting things flowing. I think that has to do with the 'shock' principle stated above

6. The bigger the glob the worse the job. Solder joints should look like fillets on rudder/elevator glue connections. Concave in shape. This goes back to electrical connection, not mechanical.

Practice makes perfect in this case. Just keep practicing and you will learn the 'art' of soldering in no time.

I hope this helped.

Todd

[vitik]

Bizarre advice: When flux is not available or is not working try … Aspirin.

[OmegaDot]

Bizarre advice: When flux is not available or is not working try … Aspirin.

On the joint... or for the headache that the soldering frustration is giving you???

[hwhall]

kaos116 - A damp sponge is what I use most, but a bit of cotton cloth works well most of the time too, though I've heard some claim the cloth wears the tip too much if it is one of those iron-coated ones. Never noticed it myself, and a light wipe doesn't seem likely to do harm. Anyway, tips are cheap. <g>
Vitik - Aspirin on the joint! I've heard of that somewhere before, but aspirin is acidic and a really good cleanup will probably be needed to prevent eventual corrosion. A big roll of thin, rosin core solder is a worthwhile investment!
--Wayne