Often you have to deal with a situation where, due to the lack of a working soldering iron at hand, you urgently need to connect wires without soldering in its direct sense, using some special techniques. At first glance, this approach seems impossible, since soldering is the only acceptable way to ensure a reliable connection of two conductors.
But if you show a little ingenuity and use the available auxiliary tools, it turns out that soldering wires at home without using a soldering iron is quite possible.
Learning to solder a variety of things and parts without a soldering iron should not be considered something completely impossible. To do this, it is enough to master the technique of preparing liquid solder, which is used for tinning and soldering.
The tinning procedure refers to the application of a thin layer of tin alloy to the surface of the terminals of radio components or wire ends to be soldered. Its main purpose is to improve electrical contact at the joint and facilitate the subsequent soldering process.
Preparing and heating the solder
Tinning of wires can be organized without a soldering iron at all, which is quite possible if you have the following attributes:
- you will need a metal trough of small capacity (like lids from glass jars or instant coffee);
- it is necessary to prepare strictly dosed (finely planed) pieces of low-temperature POS-60 solder and a little rosin crushed into powder;
- Another condition for the possibility of tinning without a soldering iron is the presence of a hotbed for heating the active compounds (any source of open fire is suitable for this, including a candle, dry alcohol or a small fire).
Heat sources
For safety reasons, the last method of heating the tinning zone can only be used outside a residential building (in a garden plot or vegetable garden, for example).
In urban conditions, some craftsmen manage to melt a soldering mixture carefully prepared for tinning (rosin powder plus solder shavings) with a well-heated steel nail on gas.
Tinning process
After thoroughly heating the mixture of solder and rosin ready-made composition starts to boil. The section of wire that needs tinning should be pulled through this melt. If you need to tin only the bare ends of a flexible conductor or the legs of radio components (resistors or capacitors), just dip them in a liquid boiling mass for 2-3 seconds. After removing excess molten composition, an even layer of solder should remain at the ends of the wires.
When working with wires, a section of insulation approximately 20-30 mm long must be removed from their edges.
In cases where it is necessary to tin the joints between copper sheet blanks, proceed as follows. First, these parts are pressed tightly against one another using clamps, after which the heated liquid mixture is poured directly into the joining area. After it has cooled completely, the clamps can be loosened and you can get two workpieces ready for soldering.
Another method of tinning flat parts involves using finely planed solder and a small solid piece of rosin for this purpose. In this case, the heating source (more precisely, the flame of an open fire) is brought to the bottom of the part, located directly under the soldering area. After the solder has completely melted, it, together with rosin, is rubbed over the surface to be treated with a steel bar.
Upon completion of this procedure, excess composition is removed with a clean soft cloth. When tinning surfaces steel billets rosin will no longer be needed. In this case, soldering acid is used instead, poured into finely planed solder. The process of tinning this metal without using a soldering iron is completely similar to the procedure already described.
Homemade soldering iron
Instead of electric tool You can make a soldering iron from copper wire and a wooden handle, which is heated over an open flame. The wire will act as a sting. With its help, molten solder is applied to the twist of two wires or to the pad to which the conductor needs to be soldered.
For these purposes, a regular nail clamped with pliers is also used. It is only important to warm it up well with the flame of the burner. In this case, the preparatory procedures (processing the wire with flux and tinning) occur as with conventional soldering. To make it convenient to solder the wires, the sting tester can be wound around a lighter, leaving one end free. When you turn on the lighter, its flame will immediately produce heat.
Dish repair
In order to solder certain products without a soldering iron, you should take into account their features. Although sealing of dishes is carried out extremely rarely today, knowledge of the basics of technology will never be superfluous. Soldering wires without a soldering iron is even easier.
Sometimes it becomes necessary to repair household utensils (a saucepan or bucket) in which a small hole has formed. It can be eliminated without a soldering iron only in cases where the size of the damage does not exceed 6-7 mm. In this situation, you can also use POS-60 type solder, which is melted specifically for this purpose.
Before soldering begins, the area around the hole is carefully processed using emery cloth, and the hole itself is given a conical shape, expanding inward. Next, this entire area is processed soldering acid, after which the hole is closed from the outside with a thin plate of sufficiently rigid and fire-resistant material. Such a barrier is only needed to keep the solder in the soldering zone, so it can be replaced with any heat-resistant sheet partition.
Carefully crushed solder is poured inside the cone along with rosin powder, and then this place is located above an open fire source. After the mixture melts, liquid solder fills the hole and then cools.
In order to solder aluminum dishes, you will need to prepare a special solder that includes zinc, bismuth or aluminum components. It can only be obtained by mixing them at very high temperatures.
Soldering paste
It is possible to solder two copper wires to one another using a specially prepared composition called solder paste and containing the following components:
- lead powder;
- zinc dust;
- glycerin and rosin;
- tin, ground to a crushed form.
The paste-like state of such a mixture is achieved due to the presence of liquid components in it. You can apply the paste without a soldering iron, which greatly simplifies soldering.
Using foil
To solder thin copper wires, you can also use the “groove” method, which requires foil no more than 1 mm thick. In the process of such soldering, the bare ends of the wires are first twisted and then laid on a flat plane.
After this, take a strip of aluminum foil, the length corresponding to the size of the area being connected, and fold it into a groove (tube). In this case, one of its ends is tightly wrapped around the wire and clamped using pliers.
Then a carefully crushed dry mixture of solder and rosin is poured into the resulting groove in small portions, after which it is heated over an open fire. When melting liquid composition first fills all free cavities, and then gradually cools. Once the soldering process is complete using this method, all that remains is to remove the foil.
A situation often arises when it is necessary to urgently repair an electrical appliance or wiring, but there is no soldering iron at hand, or it suddenly breaks down. There may be no power at this moment.
Often this situation arises on a camping trip, in a country house without power supply, or simply while driving a car. You can solder without a soldering iron, but not at all special devices not enough.
We use flame
The easiest way is to locally heat the joint with an open flame, candle or lighter. The melting point of ordinary solder is 200-280 degrees. Any combustion source can easily cope with this value.
So-called turbo lighters are best suited for these purposes, in which the flame comes out under pressure, creating a powerful local heating area. In addition, such a flame will not smoke the junction of the wires, and it can be directed with high precision.
There are compact gas burners that are generally ideal for such work. If you go on a hike, or to the country, this tool should be at your fingertips.
IMPORTANT! Of course, with any heating method it is necessary to have flux (or its substitute) and solder itself.
For such cases, it is better to use solder that is not refractory, for example, POSV33. Its melting point does not exceed 150 degrees. If you don’t have flux on hand, you can use the folk way. Apply crushed aspirin.
The wire is stripped, treated with flux, and heated with a flame. Solder in the form of a thin wire is placed directly into the heating zone. As soon as the tin begins to melt, a drop is applied to the heated twist, and then with a flame we achieve penetration of the melt throughout the soldering area.
Soldering without a soldering iron with a flame from a match or candle is accompanied by soot, so this method should be used only as a last resort. An alcohol lamp or a dry alcohol tablet is good for these purposes.
Homemade soldering iron from a candle
You can make an improvised soldering iron from a wooden block and copper wire.
When working with such a device, soot is removed from the work area. Of course, this method is only suitable for thin wires, since the efficiency of the device is low and the heat will be dissipated along the copper wire.
Using such a simple device, you can solder a wire to the board without a soldering iron. Direct exposure to open fire can damage other parts or lead to peeling of the board tracks, so this method is virtually indispensable when carrying out extreme repairs.
Considering low power an improvised “spark soldering iron”, with its help you can repair thin wiring without fear of burning it out with high temperature. For example, fixing headphones on the road.
IMPORTANT! Such "quick" repairs are a temporary solution to the situation.
Such connections are not reliable enough. Therefore, as soon as you get to a regular electric soldering iron, you should solder again.
How to solder without a soldering iron using extreme heating methods
Hot Iron
A metal object is heated on an open flame, for example a gas burner, or simply in a fire. A thick paperclip or nail will do. The size is selected based on the thickness of the material being soldered. The improvised tip is red-hot, then pressed against the prepared soldering area.
One of the most reliable methods of connecting wires and parts is soldering. How to solder correctly with a soldering iron, how to prepare a soldering iron for work, how to get reliable connection- more on all this later.
In everyday life, “ordinary” electric soldering irons are used. There are those that operate from 220 V, there are from 380 V, there are from 12 V. The latter are characterized by low power. They are used mainly in enterprises in areas with increased danger. They can also be used for domestic purposes, but they heat up slowly, and the power is not enough...
You need to choose the one that fits comfortably in your hand
Power selection
The power of the soldering iron is selected depending on the nature of the work:
In a household, it is enough to have two soldering irons - one low-power one - 40-60 W, and one “medium” one - about 100 W. With their help, it will be possible to cover about 85-95% of needs. But it is still better to entrust the soldering of thick-walled parts to a professional - this requires specific experience.
Preparing for work
When the soldering iron is plugged in for the first time, it often starts to smoke. This burns out the lubricants that were used in the production process. When the smoke stops coming out, turn off the soldering iron and wait until it cools down. Next you need to sharpen the tip.
Sharpening the tip
Next, you need to prepare the tip for work. It is a cylindrical rod made of copper alloy. It is fixed using a clamping screw, which is located at the very end of the heat chamber. In more expensive models the tip may be slightly sharpened, but basically there is no sharpening.
We will change the very tip of the sting. You can use a hammer (flatten the copper as you need), a file or emery (just grind off the unnecessary). The shape of the tip is chosen depending on the intended type of work. It can be:
- Flatten it into a spatula (like a screwdriver) or make it flat on one side (angled sharpening). This type of sharpening is needed if massive parts will be soldered. This sharpening increases the contact surface and improves heat transfer.
- You can grind the edge of the tip into a sharp cone (pyramid) if you plan to work with small parts (thin wires, electrical parts). This makes it easier to control the degree of heating.
- The same cone, but not so sharp, is suitable for working with conductors of larger diameter.
Sharpening with a “spatula” is considered more universal. If it is formed with a hammer, the copper will be compacted and the tip will need to be adjusted less often. The width of the “shovel” can be made larger or smaller by trimming it on the sides with a file or emery. With this type of sharpening you can work with thin and medium-sized parts to be soldered (rotate the tip to the desired position).
Soldering iron tinning
If the soldering iron tip does not have a protective coating, it must be tinned - covered with a thin layer of tin. This will protect it from corrosion and rapid wear. This is done the first time you turn on the instrument, when the smoke has ceased to be emitted.
The first method of tinning a soldering iron tip:
- bring to operating temperature;
- touch the rosin;
- melt the solder and rub it along the entire tip (you can use a wooden sliver).
Second way. Moisten a rag with a solution of zinc chloride and rub the heated tip on the rag. Melt the solder and rub it with a piece of table rock salt over the entire surface of the tip. In any case, the copper should be covered with a thin layer of tin.
Soldering technology
Almost everyone now uses electric soldering irons. Those whose work involves soldering prefer to have a soldering station, “hobbyists” prefer to make do with ordinary soldering irons without regulators. Having several soldering irons of different power is enough for different types of work.
To figure out how to solder correctly with a soldering iron, you need to have a good understanding of the process in general, then delve into the nuances. So let's start with brief description sequences of actions.
Soldering involves a sequence of repeated actions. We will talk about soldering wires or radio parts. These are the ones you encounter more often on the farm. The actions are:
This completes the soldering. It is necessary to cool the solder and check the quality of the connection. If everything is done correctly, the soldering area will have a bright shine. If the solder appears dull and porous, this is a sign of insufficient temperature during soldering. The soldering itself is called “cold” and does not provide the required electrical contact. It is easily destroyed - just pull the wires in different directions or even pick it up with something. The soldering area may also be charred - this is a sign of the opposite error - too high a temperature. In the case of wires, this is often accompanied by melting of the insulation. However, electrical parameters are normal. But, if the conductors are soldered when installing the wiring, it is better to redo it.
Preparation for soldering
First, let's talk about how to properly solder wires with a soldering iron. First you need to remove the insulation. The length of the exposed area can be different - if you are going to solder wiring - power wires, expose 10-15 cm. If you need to solder low-current conductors (the same headphones, for example), the length of the exposed area is small - 7-10 mm.
After removing the insulation, the wires must be inspected. If there is varnish or oxide film on them, it must be removed. Freshly stripped wires usually do not have an oxide film, and sometimes varnish is present (copper is not red in color, but brownish). Oxide film and varnish can be removed in several ways:
- Mechanically. Use fine grit sandpaper. It is used to process the exposed part of the wire. This can be done with single-core wires of fairly large diameter. Process sandpaper thin wiring is inconvenient. Stranded ones can generally be cut off.
- Chemical method. Oxides are highly soluble in alcohol and solvents. Lakovoe protective covering can be removed with acetylsalicylic acid (regular pharmacy aspirin). The wire is placed on the tablet and heated with a soldering iron. Acid will corrode the varnish.
In the case of varnished (enameled) wires, you can do without stripping - you need to use a special flux, which is called “Flux for soldering enamel wires”. It itself destroys the protective coating during soldering. Just so that it does not subsequently begin to destroy the conductors, it must be removed after soldering is completed (with a damp cloth or sponge).
If you need to solder a wire to some metal surface (for example, a ground wire to a circuit), the preparation process does not change much. The area to which the wire will be soldered must be cleaned to bare metal. First, all contaminants (including paint, rust, etc.) are mechanically removed, after which the surface is degreased using alcohol or a solvent. Next you can solder.
Fluxing or tinning
When soldering, the main thing is to ensure good contact soldered parts. To do this, before starting soldering, the parts to be joined must be tinned or treated with flux. These two processes are interchangeable. Their main purpose is to improve the quality of the connection and facilitate the process itself.
Tinning
To process the wires you will need a well-heated soldering iron, a piece of rosin, and a small amount of solder.
We take the stripped wire, lay it on rosin, and heat it with a soldering iron. While warming up, we turn the conductor. When the wire is completely covered in molten rosin, put a little solder on the soldering iron tip (just touch it with the tip). Then we remove the wire from the rosin and run the tip of the tip along the exposed conductor.
Tinning wires is a mandatory step when soldering
In this case, the solder covers the metal with a thin film. If it is copper, it turns from yellow to silver. The wire also needs to be turned a little, and the tip must be moved up/down. If the conductor is well prepared, it becomes completely silver, without gaps or yellow paths.
Flux processing
Here everything is both simpler and more complicated. Easier in the sense that you only need the composition and a brush. Dip the brush into the flux and apply a thin layer of the compound to the soldering area. All. This is simplicity.
Difficulty in choosing flux. There are many varieties of this composition and you need to select your own for each type of work. Since we are now talking about how to properly solder wires or electronic components (boards) with a soldering iron, we will give several examples of good fluxes for this type of work:
For soldering electronic components(PCBs) do not use active (acid) fluxes. Better - water or alcohol based. Acidic ones have good electrical conductivity, which can disrupt the operation of the device. They are also very chemically active and can cause destruction of insulation and corrosion of metals. Due to their activity, they prepare metals very well for soldering, so they are used if it is necessary to solder a wire to metal (the pad itself is processed). The most common representative is “Soldering Acid”.
Preheating and temperature selection
If you want to know how to solder correctly with a soldering iron, you need to learn how to determine whether the soldering area is hot enough. If you use a regular soldering iron, you can navigate by the behavior of rosin or flux. At a sufficient level of heating, they actively boil, release steam, but do not burn. If you lift the tip, drops of boiling rosin remain on the tip of the tip.
When using a soldering station, proceed from the following rules:
That is, at the station we set it 60-120°C higher than the melting temperature of the solder. As you can see, the temperature gap is large. How to choose? Depends on the thermal conductivity of the metals being soldered. The better it removes heat, the higher the temperature should be.
Soldering
When the soldering area is hot enough, you can add solder. It is introduced in two ways - molten, in the form of a drop on the soldering iron tip, or in solid form (solder wire) directly into the soldering zone. The first method is used if the soldering area is small, the second - for large areas.
If you need to add a small amount of solder, touch it with the soldering iron tip. There is enough solder if the tip turns white and not yellow. If a drop hangs, this is too much, it must be removed. You can tap the edge of the stand a couple of times. Then they immediately return to the soldering zone, running the tip along the soldering area.
In the second case, we insert the solder wire directly into the soldering zone. When heated, it begins to melt, spreading and filling the voids between the wires, taking the place of evaporating flux or rosin. In this case, you need to remove the solder in time - its excess also does not have a very good effect on the quality of soldering. In the case of soldering wires, this is not so critical, but when soldering electronic elements on boards it is very important.
In order for the soldering to be of high quality, everything must be done carefully: strip the wires, warm up the soldering area. But overheating is also undesirable, as is too much solder. This is where you need measure and experience, and you can gain it by repeating all the steps a certain number of times.
Device for more convenient soldering - third hand
How to learn to solder with a soldering iron
To begin, take several pieces of single-core wire of small diameter (you can use installation wires, those used in communications, etc.) - they are easier to work with. Cut them into small pieces and practice on them. Try to solder the two wires together first. By the way, after tinning or fluxing, it is better to twist them together. This will increase the contact area and make it easier to hold the wires in place.
When soldering is reliable several times, you can increase the number of wires. They will also need to be twisted, but you will have to use pliers (two wires can be twisted by hand).
Normal soldering means:
After you have mastered soldering several wires (three...five), you can try stranded wires. The difficulty lies in stripping and tinning. You can only strip it using a chemical method, and tin it by first twisting the wires. Then you can try to twist the tinned conductors, but this is quite difficult. You will have to hold them with tweezers.
When this is mastered, you can train on wires of a larger cross-section - 1.5 mm or 2.5 mm. These are the wires that are used when laying wiring in an apartment or house. Here you can train on them. Everyone too, but working with them is more difficult.
After soldering is completed
If the wires were treated with acid fluxes, after the solder has cooled, its remains must be washed off. For this they use damp cloth or a sponge. They are moistened in a solution of detergent or soap, then the moisture is removed and dried.
You know how to solder correctly with a soldering iron, now you need to acquire practical skills.
The need to solder something at home often arises even among people who have never held a tool specially designed for such a task in their hands. How to deal with small problems, like broken wires or a fallen part, without a soldering iron?
How to solder without a soldering iron - simple ways to solder wires
It is advisable, but not necessary, to have a soldering iron for connecting metal parts. To get by without it, we'll take:
- small metal container;
- solder, for example brand POS60, you can use pure tin;
- rosin.
- We connect the wires: first we strip them, removing the insulation by 2-3 cm.
- We heat the container with rosin and tin (for example, on a gas stove or using a burner).
- We dip the ends of the wire without insulation into molten rosin (immerse so that the composition completely covers the entire surface), and then into molten metal. It is advisable not to collect excess tin, or remove it immediately after removal.
- Copper wires with a diameter of up to 0.75 mm² are simply twisted together after tinning.
- Next, the “problem” area is heated again so that the solder sets. It will have to be heated with some narrowly focused tool: a candle, a lighter, etc.
- If you need to connect one piece of wire to the middle of another, its bare part is wound around the junction, and then soldered.
How to solder parts and dishes without a soldering iron
To tin a part of a flat surface for subsequent soldering, place small tin shavings and a little rosin on it. The fire source is placed below, and when the solder melts, it is carefully rubbed with any suitable metal part (you can also remove excess). When tinning a steel part, rosin is not used (its functions are performed by treatment with soldering acid). To solder objects made of aluminum, you need a special solder consisting of tin and lead.
Other cases of soldering without a soldering iron
A little bit more complex cases connecting parts requires a special approach. For example:
- When working with large, multi-core wires (up to 2 mm), conventional tin plating may not be enough for reliable soldering. You should pour crushed solder on top of the twist and heat it until the particles melt and penetrate inside, filling the slightest gaps.
- To solder a wire to a part: tin the surface of both objects. Then we press the wire to the plane, pour solder shavings on top and heat it from below until it melts.
- Soldering wires up to 3 mm: can be done without a soldering iron, using the trench technique. The latter must be made of aluminum foil, whose thickness will be about 0.8 mm. The ends of the wires are twisted and folded in parallel, and a groove is placed around them, the width of which does not exceed the size of the area being connected. Rosin and solder are poured into it, one end of the foil is twisted so as not to spill the components. Required area The foil under the wires is heated until it melts, and then unwinds and separates.
Another common method of soldering without a soldering iron is the use of so-called “cold welding” or various soldering pastes that can be purchased or made by hand.
A variety of soldering methods and techniques are always used to assemble any electrical circuit, to create a finished printed circuit board with radioelements, so that all the parts are held firmly in place. Not only different wires and cables are soldered, but also light bulbs, resistors, transistors, diodes, microcircuits, keys, buttons, bridge circuits, etc. Not everyone knows how to solder wire to wire, although such a skill is sometimes very necessary.
Soldering can come in handy even at home: if you accidentally burned out a wire in your favorite radio due to a voltage drop in the network, or you decided to build an amplifier with your own hands so that the music at your party would be louder.
Choosing a soldering iron and other tools
Before you start directly soldering, you need to choose a soldering iron and everything else that you may need for the job.
First of all, a soldering iron is selected; they differ in power. Therefore, you should consider what exactly needs to be soldered. If these are radioelements that are afraid of severe overheating, or microcircuits, then the optimal power of the soldering iron will be 5-20 watts. To solder a wire to a wire or terminal, a soldering iron with a power of 40-50 watts is suitable. To connect metal elements that have a thickness of 3 mm or more, you need to choose a soldering iron with a power of 50 watts or more. Also, to work with a soldering iron you need to prepare:
Rosin, flux or soldering acid.
How to prepare for soldering
Before work, the soldering iron tip is cleared of carbon deposits by cleaning it with a file. Then the soldering iron is connected to the network, heated and dipped in rosin.
If you've never used a soldering iron and don't know how to solder wire to wire, you need to practice. 
To do this, take a piece of unnecessary wire without insulation and divide it into 12 approximately equal parts of 2.5 cm each. Using tweezers, a soldering iron, solder and flux, try to assemble a cube from these pieces. This will be good practice for learning to solder. After the structure is ready, let it cool and check how tightly all the connections are held. If something falls off, resolder it.
Before work, all places where soldering will be done must be tinned.
Important soldering rules
Soldering wires with a soldering iron requires compliance with certain rules so that the resulting work is accurate and reliable. Solder is required for soldering; the most commonly used are POS-40, POS-50, POS-61. The latter is successfully and most often used in production. To perform soldering, you need to heat the place where the solder will be applied to the temperature so that the solder can melt and the wires do not overheat. 
All work on soldering wires consists of successive stages:
The wires are prepared for soldering. The oxide film must be removed by wiping with soldering acid or rosin.
A pre-heated soldering iron is brought to the solder, taking very little of it to avoid large deposits in the soldering areas.
The soldered wire is applied to the wire and a soldering iron is brought to the place of their contact exactly for the time required for the solder to remain at the junction of the wires.
There is no need to hold the soldering iron too close to the wires. A couple of seconds is enough for the solder to hold the wires together. After the tip is removed from the soldering site, the solder hardens. To ensure that the joint does not have to be re-soldered and that it turns out neat, the wires must be held motionless until the solder has completely hardened. If there is an excess of flux at the soldering site, it must be removed. This is necessary so that the soldering area does not oxidize over time.
Before you can practice on personal experience, how to solder wire to wire, here are some useful tips you may need.
When soldering, you do not need to use a lot of solder; a little bit is enough so that the solder can get into the micro-gaps of the material and hold the wires together. This will be enough for the forces of intermolecular interaction to begin to act.
To remove excess solder, you can use braided shielding taken from any cable. You can also use a soldering iron that has a groove on the tip into which excess solder falls when it touches the soldering area. 
Too much solder can cause the contacts to short out.
If you put too little solder on the tip of your soldering iron, you won't be able to solder anything.
If there is a lot of carbon deposits or flux left on the soldering iron, the soldering will be of poor quality. The same thing will happen if the soldering iron is not heated to the required temperature.
Do not forget that you need to solder with good exhaust hood or in a well-ventilated area.
Now you know how to solder wire to wire correctly.
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How to solder (attach) wires if you don’t have a soldering iron?
Usually, a broken wire can be returned to working condition if you simply connect its two ends together at the break point - in theory, for electric current It is not even necessary that the wire be one piece and it will flow, even if the wires are just tightly adjacent to each other. Therefore, to restore the working state of our device, it is enough to simply, for example, twist the wires together (only when the electrical appliance is turned off, of course. For extra safety, you can even wear rubber gloves), and then wrap the fastening area with electrical tape.
If you still need to solder the wires, then in the absence of a soldering iron you can use solder paste.
Without a soldering iron, you can firmly attach the wiring to the wiring in order to further use it for its intended purpose.
It’s not news to anyone that wires can be twisted by hand, having first disconnected them from the electrical network. Twisted wires must be well insulated with insulating tape.
But there is also The best decision. Twisted into one electrical cables(their junction) must be covered with molten plastic on top. On the market you can buy special finger plastic, which is melted using a special gun and coated with it on the twisting area. This plastic can be heated with a match or a lighter.
You can also buy a wire connector at an electrical parts store. Insert the wiring into it on both sides and tighten it with clamping bolts, and then insulate this connection.
There are at least several ways to attach wires without a soldering iron. Here are just a few of them:
- using electrical tape
- use " hot glue" One of the advantages of this method is that it not only glues, but also insulates. By the way, keep in mind that hot glue guns are produced for professional and household use.
- using a "clip". This method is the weakest, but it is ideal as a temporary rescue measure.
- pressing method. The most effective, but to implement it you will need to purchase special tools and some experience. In any case, the instructions tell you how to use these tools.
No way. Personally, I had to solder the torn “wiring” with a square Soviet boiler, well, that’s how the circumstances turned out. This was possible because the end of the broken rein and the contact pad were generously tinned; they just had to be warmed up and connected. But this, in my humble opinion, is an extreme experience that no one needs in everyday life. From time to time I had to solder the wires with a lighter, in your case it won’t work, you need skill and you won’t be able to solder it everywhere. For example, the wire to the board will not work.
Conclusion: for a pretty girl like the one in her avatar, it’s easier to find a guy with hands and a soldering iron than a soldering iron itself.
My father had homemade soldering iron, which was a copper bar with a pointed end (it was the size of a matchbox) on a metal rod that ended with a wooden handle. This soldering iron was heated with gas stove and was good at soldering wires. But since you only need to solder one wire, you can even use a nail, clamp it with pliers and heat it on fire.
A soldering iron is just an electric heating element. Have you seen the soldering iron used to solder buckets and pans?
These were heated either in a stove, or in the fire of a blowtorch, or on a primus stove. You can do the same here too. Take a screwdriver, heat its end on a gas stove and solder it with whatever solder you have. If you don't mind a screwdriver, take something that you don't mind.
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Soldering is used to connect parts on a board - this is the most common way to connect two elements to each other. But sometimes it happens that you urgently need to connect wires, but there is no soldering iron at hand. What can be done in such a situation, especially if you need to attach a radio component to the board? It is this question that we will try to answer today. But before you start soldering, you need to prepare your tools and tinning.
What might you need for work?
To solder without using standard equipment, you will need the following items:
- tin solder;
- rosin;
- solder paste;
- a piece of fabric;
- fire source;
- steel container;
- pliers.
Depending on which connection method without a soldering iron will be used, this equipment changes.
Tinning method
If you need to solder two parts and connect them together, you must first apply solder to their surface. This applies to both wires and radio components. Tinning is necessary in order to improve the contact properties of the surfaces of the elements being connected. To do this, you cannot do without a soldering iron, which melts the solder, especially if you need to fix the radio component on the board. But today we will tell you how to do without it.
To make tinning without a soldering iron, you will need a small metal vessel. This could be a jar lid or something similar. Solder is placed in it. No need to put large pieces. Pieces of rosin are also placed there. It is better to use solder from pure tin; POS60 is perfect. After this, the composition is heated on gas or electric stove until complete melting, and it can be used for its intended purpose - it can be soldered.
This way you can quickly and easily tin the wires or contacts of the part before installing them on the board. To do this, just dip the contact in the resulting composition, then move the wire along wooden block so that the solder spreads over its entire surface, or wipe off the excess with a rag. This is the easiest way to tinning without a soldering iron.
Foil as a soldering method
Connecting a pair of contacts without a soldering iron can be done using foil. This method applies especially well to wires. First, you need to remove the insulating layer from them - about 30 mm, no more. Then the same operation is carried out as described above, this is the easiest way to solder. But in in this case With the help of heated solder, not tinning, but soldering is performed. If there is no electric or gas stove nearby, you can use a fire, candle or other source of fire.
The wire, stripped of insulation, is placed in a vessel with molten solder so that the entire bare end is covered with it. After this, the wire is removed and the remaining solder is quickly wiped off with a thick cloth. The main thing is not to get burned. Only a thin and even layer of tin remains on the surface. Then this procedure is done with the other wire, after which you can solder. It is advisable to press them with something, for example, pliers, but not too much, just so that adhesion occurs.
If it is necessary to solder or tin any flat surface, then everything is done differently. Solder is poured onto it, previously planed with a knife as finely as possible, and a small piece of rosin is placed. The back side of the part is brought to the fire source. When the solder begins to melt, it must be rubbed with a metal object, knife or foil. Using a rag, remove all excess. And then we begin to solder, that is, everything is done in the same way as described above.
Soldering copper wires
To connect copper wires with a cross-section of no more than 0.75 mm without a soldering iron, you can go the other way. The ends of the wires are pre-tinned, after which they must be twisted together, they are wrapped in foil, which prevents overheating of the wire and damage to the insulating layer. The area to be soldered is heated until the solder begins to melt. Heating in this case can be done using matches or a lighter. The solder that was used for tinning will melt and connect the 2 ends together. When it cools, the connection will be strong, just like using a soldering iron.
Approximately the same thing is done when you need to solder one contact to the middle of the wire. In this case, the end is wound to the desired connection point, the second wire, to which the first is attached, is bent, and then everything is carried out according to the standard scheme.
Alternative soldering method using foil
There is another method for quickly soldering using foil. To do this, a narrow strip the size of the connection area is cut out of it. From this piece a trench is made into which the twisted ends of the wires are placed. Tinning in this case is not necessary. Crushed solder and rosin are poured into this chute along the entire length of the connection. Then the foil is wrapped (and quite tightly) around the contacts so that nothing spills out of it, and heated to the melting temperature of tin.
You can use pliers to secure the foil firmly. When the solder starts to melt, heating stops. After the connection has cooled, the foil is removed. Subsequently, excess solder is removed with a file or sandpaper, and a neat and strong connection is obtained.
Soldering parts to boards
This process is more complex and serious than the methods described above, and it is not so easy to do it without a soldering iron, but it is quite possible. In this case, to solder, you will need the following tools:
- autogenous lighter;
- pliers;
- clip;
- brush;
- flat screwdriver.
This will be quite enough. But the most important item, without which such soldering will be impossible, is solder paste. Using this method, you can solder not only a wire, but even a radio component to the board.
First, you need to clean the area on the board where the connection will be made, and remove the insulation from the wire contact. Then the paste is applied to the board: a brush is used for this. The soldering area is heated by fire sources. In this way, a connection occurs, and as a result, the contacts are soldered. There seems to be nothing complicated in this process, but heating should be done carefully, and it is desirable that the flame be directed, so it is recommended to use an autogenous lighter. Do not hold the wire or part with your hands - pliers or pliers are suitable for this. A screwdriver or paperclip is used to connect the wires on the board and hold them until the final connection is made.
How to make a homemade soldering device?
Another way out of the situation when you need to solder elements, but there is no soldering iron at hand is to make homemade device. All you need for this is copper cable, no longer than 10 cm and with a diameter of at least 4 mm. One end of it is ground down at the corners so that the shape of a screwdriver tip is obtained. A handle is made at the other end - it can be made from any piece of wood. To work with such a device, it must be heated over a fire.
You can also build a convenient stand for it. You will need a flat metal container for solder and rosin. Now you can solder almost anything. Soldering must be done near a fire source - this can even be street fire. The main thing when working with such a device is maximum caution and accuracy.
Home » Electrical » Soldering wires with a soldering iron: how to do it right
Soldering wires with a soldering iron: how to do it right
One of the most reliable methods of connecting wires is soldering. This is a process in which the space between two conductors is filled with molten solder. In this case, the melting temperature of the solder must be lower than the melting temperature of the metals being connected. At home, soldering is most often used with a soldering iron - a small device powered by electricity. For normal operation, the power of the soldering iron must be at least 80-100 W.
What you need for soldering with a soldering iron
In addition to the soldering iron itself, you will need solders, rosin or fluxes; it is advisable to have a stand. While working, you may need a small file and small pliers.
Most often you have to solder copper wires, for example, on headphones, during repairs household appliances etc.
Rosin and fluxes
To obtain good connection wires, they must be cleaned of contaminants, including oxide film. While mono-cores can still be cleaned manually, multi-core conductors cannot be cleaned properly. They are usually treated with rosin or flux - active substances that dissolve contaminants, including oxide film.
Both rosin and fluxes work well, but fluxes are easier to use - you can dip a brush into the solution and quickly process the wires. You need to put a conductor in rosin, then heat it with a soldering iron so that the molten substance envelops the entire surface of the metal. The disadvantage of using fluxes is that if they remain on the wires (and they do), they gradually corrode the adjacent sheath. To prevent this from happening, all soldering areas must be treated - the remaining flux must be washed off with alcohol.
Solders and fluxes for soldering copper wires with a soldering iron
Rosin is considered a universal remedy, and fluxes can be selected depending on the metal you are going to solder. In the case of wires, this is copper or aluminum. For copper and aluminum wires, use LTI-120 flux or borax. A homemade flux made from rosin and denatured alcohol (1 to 5) works very well, and it’s also easy to make with your own hands. Add rosin to the alcohol (preferably dust or very small pieces of it) and shake until dissolved. Then this composition can be used to treat conductors and strands before soldering.
Solders for soldering copper wires with a soldering iron use POS 60, POS 50 or POS 40 - tin-lead. For aluminum, zinc-based compounds are more suitable. The most common are TsO-12 and P250A (made of tin and zinc), grade A (zinc and tin with the addition of copper), TsA-15 (zinc with aluminum).
Convenient to use solder with rosin
It is very convenient to use solders that contain rosin (POS 61). In this case, there is no need to pre-treat each conductor in rosin separately. But for high-quality soldering, you must have a powerful soldering iron - 80-100 W, which can quickly heat the soldering area to the required temperatures.
Auxiliary materials
In order to properly solder wires with a soldering iron, you also need:
- Stand. It may be completely made of metal or have metal holders for a soldering iron attached to a wooden/plastic stand. It is also convenient if you have a small metal box for rosin.
It’s more convenient to solder with a soldering iron with a homemade or factory-made stand - not very important
This is how you need to sharpen the soldering iron tip
Pliers - to hold the wires
Alcohol may be required to remove flux, and electrical tape or heat shrink tubing for insulation. various diameters. These are all the materials and tools without which soldering wires with a soldering iron is impossible.
Soldering process with an electric soldering iron
The entire technology of soldering wires with a soldering iron can be divided into several successive stages. All of them are repeated in a certain sequence:
- Training of conductors. When soldering wires, they are freed from insulation. After this, the oxide film is removed from them mechanically. You can use a small piece of fine-grit sandpaper. The metal should shine and be light.
- Tinning. Heat the soldering iron to the melting temperature of the rosin (it begins to actively melt when touched). Take a conductor, bring it to a piece of rosin, heat it with a soldering iron so that the entire stripped part of the wire is immersed in rosin. Then take a drop of solder onto the soldering iron tip and spread it over the treated part of the conductor. The solder spreads quickly, covering the wire with a thin layer. To make it distributed faster and more evenly, the wire is turned slightly. After tinning, copper conductors lose their redness and become silvery. This is how all wires that need to be soldered are processed.
That's all. In the same way, you can solder two or more wires, you can solder a wire to some contact pad (for example, when soldering headphones, you can solder the wire to a plug or to a pad on a headphone), etc.
After you have finished soldering the wires with a soldering iron and they have cooled down, the connection must be insulated. You can wrap electrical tape, put it on, and then heat up the heat shrink tube. If we're talking about When it comes to electrical wiring, it is usually advised to first wrap a few turns of electrical tape and put a heat-shrinkable tube on top, which is heated.
Differences in technology when using flux
If active flux is used rather than rosin, the tinning process changes. The cleaned conductor is lubricated with the compound, and then heated with a soldering iron with a small amount of solder. Further everything is as described.
Soldering twists with flux - faster and easier
There are also differences when soldering twists with flux. In this case, you can not tin each wire, but twist it, then treat it with flux and immediately start soldering. The conductors don’t even need to be cleaned - the active compounds corrode the oxide film. But instead, you will have to wipe the soldering areas with alcohol to wash off the remnants of chemically aggressive substances.
Features of soldering stranded wires
The soldering technology described above is suitable for monocores. If the wire is multi-core, there are nuances: before tinning, the wires are untwisted so that everything can be dipped in rosin. When applying solder, you need to make sure that each wire is covered with a thin layer of solder. After cooling, the wires are twisted into one bundle again, then you can solder with a soldering iron as described above - dipping the tip into the solder, heating the soldering area and applying tin.
When tinning, multi-core wires must be “fluffed”
Is it possible to solder copper wire to aluminum
Aluminum cannot be combined directly with other chemically active metals. Since copper is a chemically active material, copper and aluminum are not joined or soldered. The point is too different thermal conductivity and different current conductivity. When current passes, aluminum heats up more and expands more. Copper heats up and expands much less. Constant expansion/constriction to varying degrees leads to the fact that even the best contact is broken, a non-conducting film is formed, and everything stops working. That's why copper and aluminum are not soldered.
If there is such a need to connect copper and aluminum conductors, do bolted connection. Take a bolt with a suitable nut and three washers. At the ends of the connected wires, rings are formed according to the size of the bolt. Take a bolt, put on one washer, then a conductor, another washer - the next conductor, a third washer on top and secure everything with a nut.
Aluminum and copper conductors cannot be soldered
There are several other ways to connect aluminum and copper lines, but soldering is not one of them. You can read about other methods here. but bolted is the simplest and most reliable.
Wire to wire: how to solder and with what
Every man has had to solder something to something in his life. The temperature effect on the parts for their subsequent connection is considered almost the most reliable method of connection. It is believed that soldering is quite simple, but one cannot ignore the fact that to successfully carry out this procedure, certain skills and experience will be required.
The article below will allow users who do not have the proper experience and skills to become familiar with the process of soldering wires, and will also help to select a soldering device. This can also raise certain questions for a person who will be soldering for the first time and simply does not know how to solder correctly.
How to choose a soldering iron
Of course, it would be ideal if the user has a soldering station, and not just a soldering iron. But it is not always possible to purchase such a useful device, and soldering irons may well be suitable for soldering wires.
First, let's look at what a device such as a soldering iron is. A soldering iron is a device that is used for soldering using temperature.
It is recommended to choose a soldering iron with a three-way grounding plug. The advantage of such a device is that it prevents voltage dissipation along the current path. In principle, for a person who has no experience in soldering, a soldering iron with a range of 15 to 30 Watts is also suitable, but it should be remembered that such a small voltage is not enough even to solder audio wires. Car enthusiasts can recommend soldering irons with a power of 40 watts, since such devices are the best option for using them in cars.
Soldering Station
Above in the article such a device as a soldering station was mentioned. This is a very interesting and productive device that provides autonomy, as it is connected to a source alternating current and is capable of emitting power up to 80 watts. Experts say that when using this device for soldering, a certain ease is observed, in contrast to the use of simple soldering irons.
The advantages of such soldering installations can be expressed in a separate list:
- Possibility of temperature control down to almost one degree;
- Using a soldering station, you can make even some of the most difficult and complex connections made of steel, stainless steel, aluminum, etc.;
- Durability of the device;
- Easy to solder polypropylene pipes, as well as plastic, since temperature control allows this to be done.
But of this device there are also disadvantages. We must not forget that to use a soldering station you should have at least some initial skill and a little experience, otherwise difficulties and even certain risks may arise. In addition, soldering stations are quite expensive, and they consume a lot of electricity. The user must weigh all the pros and cons before purchasing a soldering machine, since with all the advantages there are also disadvantages.
How to solder correctly?
After we have looked at what soldering irons exist, we should move on to the actual act of soldering wires. But first, you need to understand the components of the process itself. Let's consider points regarding the features of soldering and those things that the user will need to solder wires.
To solder two wires, you must first tin the soldering iron and wires. The fact is that if you ignore this procedure, the device simply will not solder, so it is highly recommended to do this. By the way, if the user has a soldering station and not a soldering iron, then tinning will not be required.
How to tin a soldering iron?
- To tinning a soldering iron, take a file and apply it flat to the cut of the soldering iron tip. You need to sharpen the tip until it becomes smooth, flat and shiny.
- The heated tip should be immersed in rosin, and then in solder (usually tin). The solder will hardly stick to the tip, so after the procedure described above, you should attach the tip to a board of natural origin. It should be remembered that chipboard is not suitable for such purposes.
- You should repeat these manipulations with the tip (immersion in rosin - tin - application to the board) until it becomes completely silver from the solder, evenly covering it. This is called “tinning” the soldering iron. Tinning a soldering iron is not so difficult, so any user can perform this procedure, even those who have never dealt with soldering before.
How to tin a wire?
After the user has tinned the soldering iron itself, he needs to tin the wire before soldering.
First you need to remove the insulation from the wire. It is necessary to remove just enough so that in the future there is enough space for subsequent soldering. The process of removing the insulation should also be monitored in order to subsequently avoid short circuits.
Of course, tinning the wire is much easier. The fact is that under the insulation the wire has pure metal, and not oxidized. The exposed wire should be dipped into the rosin already mentioned above, placing a soldering iron tip (preheated) on top of it. Then you should pull the wire out of the rosin. after it starts to melt and smoke. This procedure is necessary so that the molten rosin envelops the wire, namely its contact part. Then you should enrich the soldering iron tip with solder, using the same tin, that is, by touching it, after which you need to bring the tip to the rosin that has stuck to the wire.
It is impossible not to mention the point that if the wire is copper and clean, tinning will occur literally immediately. If tinning does not happen the first time, you need to repeat the procedure, or use a special substance - solder paste. which is a very effective assistant in the soldering business, given the fact that with its help you can even tin iron.
How to solder a wire correctly?
To solder two wires special effort will no longer be needed. Perhaps the most difficult thing was the procedure of tinning both one wire and the other.
The soldering process itself will consist in the fact that you just need to bring one tinned part of one wire with the tinned part of another. Then you should bring a hot soldering iron tip to the place of their contact. which had to be previously enriched with solder. The solder should cover the tinned parts of the soldered wires well and tightly. This will be facilitated by rosin, which is beneficially involved in this process.
Once the wires are in the molten solder, you should try to avoid any movement so that the soldering is successful. You can also lightly blow on the area where the melted solder is until it turns from shiny to dark, which will indicate that the solder is hardening.
That's basically it. The user can be proud of the work done, especially if this is his first soldering, and he did everything right, following the tips described above.
Unsolder the wires. By the way, it also seems possible. If suddenly the user needs to unsolder two wires, he should follow the same procedure, only reverse method. You just need to heat the soldering area with a hot soldering iron tip. You should bring the tip to the junction of the wires and melt the hardened solder. After the solder has melted, it is possible to simply disconnect the previously soldered wires. By the way, we must not forget that during soldering the soldering iron tip should also be in rosin.
Soldering wires doesn't seem difficult. Even a completely inexperienced user can perform this procedure without any serious problems. It may seem that this is not such an easy procedure, but basically such thoughts arise due to the need to tinning the soldering iron tip and wires. The tinning process itself is not at all complicated. but all these manipulations can simply be exhausting, especially if the user has no experience at all.
It should be remembered that the choice of soldering iron should be made in accordance with the needs of the user. You need to know that different operations will require devices with different powers. As stated above, soldering irons in the 15 to 30 Watt range are too weak and can only be used in low-to-light soldering applications. In addition, even simple soldering of wires from audio equipment for such devices will be an exorbitant task. It is recommended to use soldering irons with a power of 40 watts or more. They are the best options for any user.
Soldering stations are very good and useful devices, but they have a number of disadvantages. Their use requires a certain amount of experience, they are energy-consuming, and they are very expensive. As advantages, we can mention their durability, as well as the ability to control the temperature down to a degree.
The tinning procedure is very important in the soldering process, so it should not be neglected and is not recommended. It’s better to tinker a little with rosin and solder than to be content with poor-quality soldering later.
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How to solder correctly: 3 types of soldering tools
Before you start soldering, you should study the theory of soldering - this is a technological process that consists of connecting two metal parts solder. This process has existed for many millennia. Initially it was used to create jewelry. For example, gold can easily be soldered with silver-copper solder, and silver with copper-zinc solder, but copper products can be easily soldered with an alloy of tin and lead. Years have passed, new technologies have appeared, but soldering with a manual or pulse soldering iron is still relevant today.
The modern market can provide huge selection various soldering irons. Today, there are such varieties: hammer, gas and electric heating. They are all good and each of them is used for different purposes.
Electric heating soldering irons are used by 9 out of 10 people. They are the most in demand and popular. They are widely used in everyday life to eliminate various damages.
When choosing a device, you need to pay attention to its power. The most optimal power is 20 - 40 W. This soldering iron is used by both beginners and experts who repair home electronics. Electric heating soldering irons are distinguished by the type of heating element.
Types of electric heating soldering irons:
- Ceramic;
- Metal spiral;
- Pulse.
When buying a soldering iron, you should ask the seller for a certificate confirming its quality
The pulse type is the most modern, it positive feature is the rapid heating and cooling of the device. You can use a pulse soldering iron to solder wires, boards and microcircuits. You can even solder cellophane or book covers made of plastic film with a soldering iron.
Learning to solder with a soldering iron: preparation and process technology
It is very easy to learn how to use a soldering iron from scratch at home. To do this you need to be patient necessary tool and material, and only then start training. The soldering process itself is not at all difficult; after a few attempts, you will become more confident and experienced. You can also view a lesson for beginners on the Internet, where you will be provided with complete information on how to solder correctly and which device to choose for this.
A well-chosen tool is the key to proper soldering. The variety of soldering irons is very large, so to choose the right tool you need to know what you will need it for. With a soldering iron you can solder not only wires, but also circuit boards, various microcircuits, and electrical appliances.
It is best for beginners to train on multi-core wires or with a large cross-section, which can be found in every apartment or house. Take, for example, wires that are designed for wiring; they are thicker and easier to work with. Before you start working with a soldering iron, you need to prepare it first. To do this, you need to do the following: clean the tip, tinning with rosin and then clean the surface under the solder. A box of rosin should always be nearby. After preparatory work You can begin the soldering process itself.
Soldering technology:
- Connect the device to the electrical network;
- Dip in rosin;
- Cover the joints with solder;
- Connect the products together.
This is how we learn to solder. In this way, you can solder different wires or cables, choosing the necessary solder. The most common of them is an alloy containing tin and lead. This solder is in the form of a wire with a diameter of 2.5 mm, and is perfect for soldering microcircuits. But only the same solder sticks to aluminum.
Correct soldering of wires: flux and its types
Why can't you solder electrical wiring if it's live? Those who understand at least a little about electricity can easily answer this question. If you try to start soldering, a short circuit will occur, and this is very unsafe. Therefore, soldering of power wires is not possible.
Flux for soldering wires can be purchased at a hardware store or specialty store.
Before you start soldering the wires, you need to clear them of insulation. The exposed section of the wire can be of different lengths. Its value can vary from 7 – 10 mm (wiring) to 10 – 15 cm if headphones are soldered.
After the insulation has been removed, the wire must be cleaned of the oxide film. To do this, it is cleaned mechanically with sandpaper or acetylsalicylic acid. The soldering will be more reliable after this. If the wires are enameled (varnished), then they must be cleaned with flux. A special flux is selected, which is suitable only for enameled wires.
Types of fluxes:
- The most common is LTI-120;
- POS-40, 50, 60 solder copper;
- TsA-15, TsO-12, P-250A solder aluminum.
Then the wires need to be twisted and soldered. The technique and pattern of twisting can be different, for example, thin wires can be twisted around one another. In general, soldering copper wires is the easiest, but with aluminum products you need to tinker. You can independently solder: headphones with a microphone, extend the cord intended for an electric guitar, connect the antenna to a USB cable, or repair the microphone cable and proceed to the keyboard.
How to solder boards: do it right
The most difficult soldering is working with diode strip. You can start soldering this tape only after numerous training sessions. This is a very responsible job that requires special attention and concentration. The very first thing you need to do is prepare the surface, it needs to be cleaned. For this you will need ordinary acetone.
If there are solid deposits on the circuit, they must be removed with a special compound, which can be found in any electrical store. The best one is methyl hydrate, it is safe and has a neutral odor.
The location of the contacts on the board must be recognized and soldered in turn. The smaller parts (resistor) are soldered first, and then the larger ones (capacitor, microphone or transistor). This sequence is a guarantee of the safety of all elements.
Board soldering basics:
- Preparation;
- Accommodation;
- Heat;
- Solder application;
- Removing excess.
All men should know how to solder a board. Knowing what the board looks like and what to do with it, you can proceed to the microcircuit. You won't be able to unsolder it right away; you need skill and experience. Using the knowledge gained, it will be possible to repair the plug, modem and even the radiator.
Soldering wires: reasons for poor-quality solder
Why is this or that part not soldered, the connection is broken, and does not hold? This question is asked by many who are just starting out in this business. What can happen if everything seems to be done correctly, but something doesn’t work out?
The soldering process is a very responsible and painstaking task. For everything to work out correctly and reliably, you need to follow clear instructions and do everything clearly and consistently.
Solder wires in good lighting
If somehow the solder still does not stick, you need to find out the reason why this is happening and then eliminate it. If there is a defect in the solder joint, then this process can be called cold soldering.
Reasons for unsuccessful soldering:
- The amount of flux is insufficient;
- Tool overheating;
- Insufficient heating;
- The surface of the device is not cleaned.
For all these reasons, the solder will not hold, contact connections will not occur. To fix all problems, you must first clean the surface of the soldering iron with sandpaper or solvent. This treatment will remove body fat and film will return the instrument to its former condition. Then you need to tin it and warm it up, but only now can you start soldering.
How to learn to solder with a soldering iron (video)
The soldering iron is one of the most widely used devices today. Every owner of a house or apartment should own it. Using it, you can eliminate broken wires and contacts of a broken socket, repair various boards and microcircuits, solder headphones, and so on. And it doesn’t matter whether you are a master or a beginner, such a tool will be useful to anyone.
6watt.ru
How to solder with a soldering iron, video, photo instructions
The soldering iron is used for a wide range of works. Using a soldering iron you can repair headphones, connect light diode strip, repair electrical appliances, microcircuits and circuit boards. Soldering with a soldering iron is simple and, with careful preparation, does not cause difficulties even for those who have never encountered such work before. 
Content:
Tool selection
A soldering iron is a tool with a heating element used to join fusible materials. According to the method of heating they are divided into:
- electrical;
- hot air;
- gas;
- induction
Soldering irons: 1-Electric, 2-Hot air, 3-Gas, 4-Induction Electric soldering irons are used to work with electrical circuits and SMD boards. On average, they have a power of 15-40 watts. Using devices with a power of more than 100 W, large parts are soldered: radiators, copper tubes of different diameters, etc. Large hammer soldering irons with power up to 550 W are used in various fields industries: mechanical engineering, metallurgy, etc.
The choice of a particular tool is influenced not only by the size of the parts, but also by the thermal conductivity of the material from which it is made. It is this that determines the heating temperature, and, consequently, the required power. For example, copper may require higher temperature heating than a steel part of the same size. It is worth noting that when soldering copper parts, a situation may even arise where high thermal conductivity leads to unsoldering of connections made earlier.
The main element of the device (I remind you that we work mainly electrically) is the heating rod. He is copper tube and a nichrome spiral wound around it. On one side of the rod, hidden in the handle of the device, current flows, and on the other, a tip made of a knurled copper rod is inserted. The tip of the sting is sharpened to a bevel. The tip is heated by closing the current on the nichrome spiral.
For electrical work, a lightweight, compact size tool with low heat capacity is suitable. To avoid voltage dissipation, it is better to choose a model that has a three-way ground plug. For a novice electrical engineer, a model up to 30 W will be sufficient. If you plan to repair a car using a soldering iron, then it is better to turn to 40-watt devices - for quickly connecting wires of any type to large area. For comfortable operation of soldering irons in cars, special attachments are sold.
Many electronics repair technicians use a soldering station. This design includes a set of everything necessary for soldering work tools: soldering iron with replaceable tips, stand, voltage control unit, hot air gun, cleaners and desoldering pump.
Many people are interested in the question of whether it is possible to solder without a soldering iron. Yes, you can, in this case the solder and parts will have to be heated for tinning and soldering over an open fire. This allows you to create more or less high-quality connections, but the technology is less secure. In addition, a beginner who does not have sufficient experience may have great difficulties when working with materials such as copper, aluminum or stainless steel.
Solders and fluxes
Before soldering wires or electrical circuits it is necessary to select a suitable solder. Tin-silver and tin-lead solders and rosin are suitable for this work. Lead-containing solders provide more high quality soldering, however, has the disadvantage that this metal is harmful. Tin is used for soldering parts and materials that require safety for the body, for example, dishes.
The marking of solders indicates the metals included in its composition and their content. So, for example, POS-40 solder contains tin and lead (tin-lead solder). The number 40 indicates 40% tin content. The amount of lead in PIC solders affects the color (becomes darker) and the melting point (increases). For electrical work, POS with a tin content of 30% to 61%, as well as PSR-2 and PSR-2.5, are most often used. In the marking of tin-silver PSr-2.5, the number indicates that 2.5±0.3% of the solder is silver.
To clean the surface for soldering from oxides, special mixtures are used - fluxes. They are one of the most important factors affecting the quality of soldering. The flux must be selected to match the properties of the material being soldered and be strong enough to destroy the oxide film. Active acid-based fluxes are prohibited from being used for soldering microcircuits and circuit boards, as they cause corrosion and destroy contacts, but when working with chemically resistant metals, you cannot do without them. Today, when soldering, as a rule, they use soldering acid (zinc chloride), alcohol-rosin solution LTI-120 and borax (for soldering metals such as copper, cast iron, steel, brass).
If you are going to solder headphones, speakers or motherboard contacts, then you can use rosin as a flux. However, it should not be used for soldering microcircuit elements and circuit boards. And pay special attention to the following: you cannot use rosin for musical instruments! It heavily contaminates the adhesion site.
Preparing for work
Of course, in order to become a master and solder parts of any complexity, you need time and experience. However, in order to repair headphones, attach an LED strip, or change capacitors on a computer board at home, you do not need to have special knowledge. Compliance with the instructions and electrical safety rules will allow you to complete this work without difficulty.
The condition of the tip is of great importance for the quality and efficiency of soldering. The process of caring for it is called tinning - the process of covering its surface with a thin layer of solder. This is done so that the copper from which the soldering iron tip is made does not oxidize. A soldering iron with an oxidized tip interacts poorly with solder and the material being processed. Each time, before soldering with a soldering iron, you should prepare it. First, we treat the tip of a cold soldering iron with a file or a stiff brush, cleaning the copper from dirt.
Cleaning the soldering iron with a brush (you can also use a file) 
Then, after heating the soldering iron to operating temperature, you need to alternately touch the rosin and then the solder several times. The alloy should evenly cover the working part. 
Dip the soldering iron into the flux. 
Below is a video on how to tin a soldering iron and prepare it for use. Perhaps the video shows it even better than our photographs, so we recommend watching it.
Soldering boards and microcircuits
Very often, electric soldering irons are used for soldering printed circuit boards. A special small device of medium power is suitable for this. We recommend reading the article on choosing soldering irons for boards and microcircuits in more detail.
Below is a video that clearly describes the whole process: This soldering method allows a beginner to easily solder a radiator to the circuit, solder a button on a modem, an LED strip (more on this below) or repair a plug.
Soldering wires
The ability to solder wires can be useful in many situations. One of the most suitable examples is headphones that came out due to a broken wire. There are two main methods used to connect wires:
- The cores are placed on top of each other and soldered using solder.
- The wire strands are pre-twisted together and then tinned using solder.
In both cases, rosin is used. If it is necessary to clean the wires, liquid flux is applied with a brush. Other methods of soldering wires together are based on the two main ones described above and are presented in the following figure.
Methods for soldering wires together To solder radioelements without printed wiring, two methods are used. The first (lap) is faster, and the second (twisting) provides greater reliability of the connection.
In order to repair headphones, the second indicated method is best suited (as it will provide greater connection strength). The procedure is approximately as follows:
- Find the damaged section of the wire and cut it out. Strip the edges of the wires to a sufficient length. To remove insulation, it is best to use a heated soldering iron or a flat, not very sharp knife.
- Place the wires next to each other (by color) and tin with rosin or FS-1 mixture.
- Wrap the treated area with electrical tape.
If the wire is damaged at the plug or headphone input, you will need to disassemble the case and solder the wires directly to the input pins.
Soldering LED strip
Today, LED strips are actively used for installing interior lighting of varying complexity. It provides wide design possibilities, is small in size and is not inferior in performance to others. lighting fixtures.
Regardless of the size and installation conditions, the tape is soldered according to the same instructions:
- Having cut the tape to the required length, the surface on which it is to be attached is degreased and dried.
- Tearing off the protective film from reverse side, the tape is glued to the mounting surface.
- After this, the wires on the input contacts, small parts, dimmers, and controllers are soldered. During operation, you must avoid overheating the tape, this can lead to failure of the diodes.
Pay attention when soldering two strips! Plus should go to plus, and minus to minus!
The soldering process is shown in the photographs below:
We fix the LED strip (electrical tape was used) 
A little solder on each contact. 
Solder the wires, observing polarity. Soldering irons with a power of up to 40 W are well suited for soldering diode strips. It is best to use wires with a cross section of 0.75 mm. Red ones are soldered to the positive contact, and black ones to the negative one.
Roll LED strip. Now let's talk about how to solder LEDs directly onto the board to create LED backlight with your own hands. To do this, you will need the diodes themselves, a piece of the board for them (you can buy them at a radio store) and soldering accessories. To remove scale, we will use aluminum flux and tin as solder.
- We insert the diodes into the board so that the positive contacts (long “legs”) are located on one side, and the negative ones on the other. And bend the contacts to the sides. Be careful - if even one diode is connected incorrectly, everything will burn out.
- After treating the “legs” with flux, we solder them to the board.
- Cut off the excess length of the contacts using wire cutters. We strip the power wires to a length equal to the length of the diode row, apply them to the corresponding contacts and solder them.
- Ready! Now you can check the operation of the circuit by connecting the wires to a 12 V power source.
Soldering aluminum
There seems to be no difficulty in how to solder aluminum. After all, this material has high thermal conductivity and is easy to process. Despite this, when processing this metal, it is necessary to take into account some features.
Aluminum, when exposed to high temperatures, very quickly forms oxide films on the surface, and therefore for its soldering it is necessary to use special fluxes and soldering tips (coated with steel). And if processing aluminum wires is practically no different from working with other metals, then soldering flat aluminum surfaces is a much more complex process. First of all, you will need a soldering iron with a power of 60-100 W in order to heat large parts well.
- Before soldering aluminum, its working surface is cleaned of scale with sandpaper or a file.
- Afterwards it is degreased with gasoline, acetone or another solvent. Then the joint must be lubricated with a special flux.
- The soldering iron tip is dipped into rosin or ammonia until a slight haze appears. This cleans the copper from which the tip is made from oxides of other metals.
- Further actions are practically no different from working with other materials: the tip is lubricated in solder, after which a small amount of it is transferred to the soldering site for tinning. After this, the main layer of solder is applied.
Stainless steel is soldered in a similar way - this process also requires careful cleaning of the working surface before applying solder.
