pour bleeding me Posted January 3, 2004 Report Share Posted January 3, 2004 were trying to solder the wire to the back of the pot as the directions say and everytime we solder it the solder wont stick to the back of the pot...what are we doing wrong? what can help this? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9of7 X 3of2 Posted January 3, 2004 Report Share Posted January 3, 2004 Does the solder contain flux? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pour bleeding me Posted January 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2004 well we have flux on the side...we might not have used it right but we tried it...we have rosin core solder...how do you use the flux? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbkim Posted January 3, 2004 Report Share Posted January 3, 2004 What kind of soldering iron are you using? You'll need at least a 30 watt iron to be able to heat the pot enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbkim Posted January 3, 2004 Report Share Posted January 3, 2004 Hmm... shouldn't this thread be under Electronics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted January 3, 2004 Report Share Posted January 3, 2004 Try making a bead of solder stick to the tip of your soldering gun or pencil without dripping off (does not have to be hugh), Place the wire you want to attch to the pot down on it and slide the tip across letting the solder bead cover the wire. If you have been trying to solder in that area already and notice a yellowish or gloss area you need to scrape it first to eliminate the rosen flux from your solder that melted when you were trying it before. It's acting like grease in a pan. P.S. Moved to Electronics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snork Posted January 3, 2004 Report Share Posted January 3, 2004 I'd recommend heating both solder points for a minute or two. then sloooooowly let small amounts of solder flow down the iron onto the joint. i think that you are not heating the joints. just take teh extra time to heat first and then solder. not just solder anyold thing. also use a lil' extra solder just to be safe. if not maybe score the pot and try again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbkim Posted January 3, 2004 Report Share Posted January 3, 2004 I'd recommend heating both solder points for a minute or two. then sloooooowly let small amounts of solder flow down the iron onto the joint. i think that you are not heating the joints. just take teh extra time to heat first and then solder. not just solder anyold thing. also use a lil' extra solder just to be safe. if not maybe score the pot and try again. Oh, yeah. You'll need to clean the pot (well, any mating surfaces) of finger oils, etc. You can wipe it down with a q-tip dipped in alcohol. What snork is describing is tinning. You'll need to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feylya Posted January 3, 2004 Report Share Posted January 3, 2004 Sand the back of the pot with some sandpaper. Gets rid of the lacquer on it and provides a surface for the solder to grip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted January 3, 2004 Report Share Posted January 3, 2004 Lots of ways to do it, lots of good advice given. I'll add my worthless .02. I think feylya is on the right track, but I don't use sandpaper, I use a flat-head screwdriver, it gives you a good flat clean surface. To solder to the back of a pot, it's all got to be right: To me (I was in the computer repair industry for 6 years back in the '80's, soldering was a way of life) this is your basic setup: A clean and hot soldering pencil, a wet sponge sitting right next to it, a can of flux sitting right next to that, and preferrably a solder sucker. 1) Start with a HOT and CLEAN iron tip. If you have to, scrape the tip with an X-acto knife to remove any built-up crud. This crud will act as an insulator. You want a very BRIGHT SHINY SILVER TIP showing. 2) the correct type of solder, which you already have. 3) the use of flux preferrably. I pre-dip my tinned leads in flux first, and I always dip the iron in flux right before soldering a joint too. Flux helps the solder flowwww out. Not too much tho. 4) a scraped clean spot on the pot to work with. 5) Everyone's different, and there is more than one right way, but the way I usually solder to a pot is like this: A. tin your leads back and dip them in the flux paste. This will help the solder flow into the wires and bond them better. B. solder a blob of solder onto the scraped clean pot. I usually take a small dot of flux and dab it onto the pot first. Again, the flux will help the solder flow out and adhere. Just a small dot, not a lot. Yes, there is flux in the solder itself, but a little extra really helps things. Do not waste time, you're cooking the pot. Lay the solder pencil slightly sideways so that as much of the hot silver tip is coming into contact with the pot and transferring heat as possible. You should be able to apply the solder and have it stick within about 45 seconds or less. If it's taking longer than this, something's wrong. C. now as you have the solder blob on the back of the pot hot and liquid, lay your wire into the hot blob and stick the pencil tip over top of it for a second or two, then remove the pencil, holding the wire very still and in place. I will hold the wire with a small pair of needle-nosed pliers 'cuz the heat will start to creep up the wires into your fingers sometimes, and you want to be able to hold it very still for 10 seconds or so. Yes, you can lay the wire onto the pot first and heat both together and apply the solder, for an experienced solderer this ain't no big deal and I do it too, but for a noob, the wires will sometimes interfere with the quick heat transfer needed between the hot pencil and the back of the pot. A noob sometimes won't hold the pencil correctly with the wire in the way and won't get the fast heat transfer that is needed, then what will sometimes happen is that since the heat is not transferring properly, he'll hold the pencil there for 2-3 minutes, in which case oxidation is already starting to build up and actually insulating the pencil from the pot, so fast heat transfer is really important, and soldering a blob to the pot first with no wire is easier for a noob to do until he gets the 'hang' of it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted January 3, 2004 Report Share Posted January 3, 2004 The back of the pot isn't aluminium by any chance? j/k I think cleaning the back of the pot should help as has been stated before. But now something to think about for all you electron-savvy guys out there: if aliminium oxide is non-conductive and the surface of aluminium is ALWAYS covered by the oxide, how does current flow if you hold two pieces of aluminium together? That's not a trick question, btw so long ace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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