Soldering feeders to the buss

[mikesmowers]

    I am wondering how important it is to solder the feeders to the buss wire. I have a 12 ga. buss with 22 ga. feeders about every 3-4 feet and am having a heck of a time getting the buss hot enough to melt the solder. I am now running in DC and have a new Digitax Super Chief that I will install when I get home, (I am in MO now). The layout is working fine on DC now with the feeders simply wrapped around the buss. Is this good enough or do I need to get the feeders soldered to the buss?     Thanks.       Mike

[WSOR 3801]

 Might be time to get a bigger iron.  It might work fine now, but over time the connections may become loose.  Might as well get it done right before the problems crop up.

[rrinker]

 You need the right tools - a big 150 watt or so soldering GUN for doing soldering with #12 wire. Save the small iron for soldering the decoder wires. It'll never heat up the #12 enough to properly solder to it.

                           --Randy

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Think of it this way. The electrical continuity of your layout is only as good as the weakest connection. I can guarantee that the weakest connection will be one that is not soldered.

[mikesmowers]

 That's kind of what I was thinking. I have a 25 watt and a 35 watt soldering pencil and a Weller soldering gun, I am not sure what the wattage is. I know it is a dual watt gun. I will check it out when I get home (Tuesday). I also have a micro tourch but am afraid it will get to hot.   Mike

[selector]

Your micro-torch will do just fine, providing you can verify your control over the flame contact footprint by scorching a piece of scrapwood and seeing how small you can make the scorch mark.  (Have baking soda or a cup of water nearby! )  When you know how far away from the bus wire you will need to hold your nozzle, you will have saved yourself the cost of a 60-120 watt iron.

-Crandell

[rrinker]

mikesmowers

 That's kind of what I was thinking. I have a 25 watt and a 35 watt soldering pencil and a Weller soldering gun, I am not sure what the wattage is. I know it is a dual watt gun. I will check it out when I get home (Tuesday). I also have a micro tourch but am afraid it will get to hot.   Mike

 The Weller gun should do the trick. If you've already tried it, either the tip is too dirty or it isn't working properly.

                               --Randy

 

[Texas Zepher]

mikesmowers

I am wondering how important it is to solder the feeders to the buss wire.... The layout is working fine on DC now with the feeders simply wrapped around the buss.

It would sort of defeat the purpose of having a bus if the connections aren't solid.  While they might be good and tight now, tiny vibrations will eventually loosen them up.  Remember the purpose of the solder is to keep those connections tight.

I have a 12 ga. buss

Yipe! Why so large?

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Texas Zepher

I have a 12 ga. buss

Yipe! Why so large?

Mine's almost that big at 14 gauge. Maybe 12 was what he had at the time.

[mikesmowers]

    Exactly the issue Jeffrey, that is what I had and it was free. When we get home, (We are leaving this morning, ) I will check on the big Weller gun and the micro tourch and see which one works the best. We will be taking two days to make the 650 mile trip since my mother fell Friday morning and broke her ankle, we are going to have to make lots of stops along the way and will stay overnight somewhere along the halfway mark.I will be home sometime Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for the advice/help.      Mike

 

[TomDiehl]

A most important issue that hasn't been addressed yet is how clean the wire is where you're trying to solder it. "New" does not equal "clean." After stripping the wire, buff the exposed metal part (called the conductor) with a track cleaning eraser, wire brush, or just a regular pencil eraser until the metal is shiny. Then wrap the wires together tightly, add a drop of flux, then put a bubble of melted solder on your iron tip (helps heat conduction) and touch this to the joint. The flux should vaporize (don't breathe this or let it get in your eyes), then the solder should flow. Touch some more solder to the joint (not the iron) to coat the entire joint area. Allow to cool, clean off the flux residue, and cover with your insulating material.

You MAY actually get this to work with your 35 watt iron (I use a 42 watt on 14 gauge stranded buss wire).

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 This is one place on the layout where an acid type plumbers flux paste is useful.

[rrinker]

 Except that's not probably not the best thing for the joint long-term, and there's really no way to clean the excess flux under the layout.

 Seriously - I have NEVER EVER EVER needed to apply 'extra' flux of ANY SORT to any electrical or electronic solder joint. EVER. The key remains in having the right tool for the job. A 200 watt gun will make a rapid mess of a decoder installation or circuit board assembly..and a 15 watt iron you could strap to a #12 wire joint and leave heating overnight before it MIGHT melt solder. I don't even own a container of flux.

                 --Randy

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

rrinker

a 15 watt iron you could strap to a #12 wire joint and leave heating overnight before it MIGHT melt solder.

I love that! I almost fell off my chair when I read it.