With Electric helicopters becoming more and more popular, soldering irons and soldering stations should be on everyone’s Christmas list this year. Don’t just go out and buy any old soldering iron, you need to take into consideration the correct soldering iron or station for the application.

Most of the wires we are soldering with big electric helicopters are 10 or 12 gauge. The bullet connectors can be as large as 6.5mm. With that in mind, you will need a soldering iron with enough power to heat those thick wires and large connectors.  If you don’t have enough heat you will likely create a weak or “cold” solder joint. This can hurt the performance of your helicopter or potentially cause a failure if the cold solder joint decides to break. Most of the inexpensive irons are rated in watts while the higher end soldering stations are a little more accurate and give not only watts but a temperature range the tip can be operated within.

If you are just a weekend warrior that is just going to solder a few wires here and there and never try any new motor or ESC combos, I would recommend getting an inexpensive Weller 40 watt iron. These are available from pretty much any Lowes, Home Depot, or Ace Hardware for around $20 bucks. Get a few extra tips because you will eventually need them.

Now if you are a little more serious about the hobby and want something that heats up almost instantly, is rated for 80 watts, and reaches temps of around 850 degrees F…… You need a soldering station! Weller also makes an excellent soldering station which is the Weller WD1002. Just like any other high end product, they can be hard to come by in your general hardware store as they probably would not sell many of them. This is more of a specialty item that you would need to purchase online. The Weller WD1002 goes for around $300 bucks.

Which ever way you decide to go, be careful not to burn down your house!

Matt