View Full Version : Soldering A123's
cmezip
03-20-2008, 11:43 AM
What Soldering Iron are you using to solder A123's ?
Would this work?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GR3NMY
My 40 watt pencil iron will not, and neither will my 230 watt gun. I have done some searching and everyone seems to be talking about 80 watts and the Weller Irons.
I dont want to blow a huge amount on a soldering iron.
Thanks for the help
Cryofix
03-20-2008, 02:30 PM
Your not supposed solder A123 cells, I have but they say not to, I do need a good solution because the stock tabs are unreliable
cmezip
03-20-2008, 04:50 PM
So what kind of iron/wattage did you use to solder them?
Cryofix
03-20-2008, 05:44 PM
60 watt, simillar tot he one in your auction
istandalone
03-21-2008, 06:06 AM
when making my a123 packs, i broke the spot welded tabs off of the poles of the cells. BIG MISTAKE. the only solder i could get to stick to the + side (the - side soldered easy for some reason) was tin/lead solder from radio shack. i got one of RS's big soldering guns too, the dual heat one. it's around 150w/300w i think. very hot very fast. even then the battery bars didn't want to take. although when i did manage to get too big of a glob of solder on it and had to remove said blog with copper braid, the copper braid stuck to it well so you might want to consider using copper braided "desoldering wire" as a battery bar. an added bonus was that the braid is flexible, so if you mistakenly bend your pack the braid will flex- without the solder joint breaking.
I use a 40W iron, but it's temperature controlled and I use it at the highest setting - 380 degrees if memory serves.
My soldering technique is to make a small dab of solder onto the end of hte battery, then tin the wire and let lots of solder sink in. Whilst this is still liquid, I push the wire onto the battery tab and push it down with the soldering iron. Then I quickly take a cold screwdriver and press it against the lead, before removing the soldering iron.
I too suspect you might be having trouble because of having removed the tab. The battery is essentially an aluminium can and solder doesn't stick too well to aluminium.
K