Guest guest Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Would it hurt the board if you used say a 60 Watt soldering Iron vs. the 40 watt soldering Iron recommended? I am sure we have the 25 Watt no problem there.. but the only other high wattage one we have is I'm pretty postive that it is rated at 60 watts.. anyone know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 Jeremy:Definitely stay with the lower powered irons. The boards can be damaged if you use too much heat on the smaller pads (the copper will become unbonded from the board substrate). I personally used a variable temperature station to build mine, set the tip for 650F for all the regular soldering and upped it to 800F to do the heavy duty triacs, terminal blocks and transformer leads. The high power irons can get tip temperatures in excess of 900F, and would not be a good choice for things like resistors and IC's.Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 Thanks for the reply.. I have a lower wattage Iron for the Resistors,ect. But I was just thinking the 60 watt for like you stated triacs,ect.. Where did you find the station to adjust the temperature? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 Jeremy:Check the posts from Tom in this thread "DIY Kits & Soldering Iron Tips". He gives some links and models to find. I have the WES50 myself.Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 A 25 watt iron should be plenty for the entire board. Shouldn't be any reason to switch irons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 Hmm.. I read the assembly guide and they recommended a 25 watt iron and a 40 watt iron.. one for the triacs and ic's i think it was and then the 25 for resistors,capacitors,ect. I just want to be sure that I don't burn up the board by using a to high of wattage Iron.. I already need to try and do about 4 DIY kits before november. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 A 25 watt iron will be difficult for the heavy leaded parts, like the triacs and terminal blocks. The solder may flow on the bottom, but it will not go thru the via to give a solid solder joint on the top side where a lot of the heavy duty current traces are. A temperature controlled iron would be best, but two fixed ones would be OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 Is a 25 Watt and a 60 Watt asking to much at 60 watts? I'll double check it .. it might be 40 though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 The 60 watt would probably be OK for the big stuff. It's really all a matter of soldering technique. You don't want to burn away all the flux before the solder flows, so you get a nice smooth shiny solder joint. It would be worse if the solder did not flow through the holes to the top side of the board on the high current connections. Start with enough solder to make it flow, then just before removing the iron add a touch of fresh solder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 ok, thanks for the info i can't wait to order an DIY kit here soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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