quick lipo connector question
 

hi guys,

I've just bought a turnigy lipo, and it has bullet connectors on it. I'm really bad at soldering so i'm gonna try and not have to do any.

so my question it, is there a way of attaching some kind of connector to the bullet connectors, with 2 (two) deans connectors on the other end to connect to my MMM? My MMM has 2 deans coming out of it (for my e-revo)


If there is such thing, please tell me!

I've never seen that configuration available for sale anywhere with those specific connectors. You would have to make one yourself, but that defeats the purpose of avoiding soldering. Maybe you have a friend or family member who can solder?

You need to have a jumper for one of the deans on the ESC to bypass it, then make an adapter to convert the bullets to deans. You're really better off just soldering a deans to the lipo pack.

What size are the bullets on your lipo, and are they male or female? Or a combo of one male + one female?

I'm also assuming your MMM has 2 Male Deans wired in series right?

It might also be easier to find a member on here who lives in the U.K. and would be willing to help you out for some minor compensation. ;)

Hi,
Whilst I'm no soldering legend, I can do this for you if you like? Mine have all stayed put that I've done.
Send the me the deans you want soldering on and some heat shrink, along with the lipo pack and some cash for shipping and i'll do it? Or maybe try your local model shop who might be able to do it for you?

Cheers

Sounds like it's time to learn to solder. Just like anything it takes a bit of practice to be good at it, but once you're comfortable with it, you'll save a lot of time and money for the rest of your life using it. Just practice on some scrap pieces first. Make sure you have a decent iron and solder. There are plenty of YouTube how-to videos that can really help.

Just yesterday I was able to solder my son's glasses back together after they broke. lol

according to the hobbyking website, they come with 5.5mm bullets, and i'm assuming they are female.

yes, the MMM has 2 male deans in series.

I've soldered before, but i didnt do a good job, and that was after some practice. Its quite a funny story. Basically i soldered deans onto my Neuenergy lipo, but I guess i didnt get it quite right because the lipo was always a bit underpowered, except it lasted 45 minutes in my e-revo! My only guess is that my deans were limiting the power flow, therby increasing runtime. So good and bad points lol

I tried soldering my turnigy packs when i got them, but the idiots use 8 guage wire instead of 10 guage. I couldnt get the solder to flow through that wire all the way. I tried and tried but the wires were just getting soo darn hot that i didnt want it to damage the battery. I ended up going to my LHS and had them do it. Even they said it was a major PITA.

Sometimes I'll just strip the 8 gauge wire with the 10 gauge stripper to cut it down to a more workable size. I don't think there is much in R/C that requires anything larger than 10 gauge.

looks like im gonna be doing this the hard way! time to break out the 80 watt iron

Just be very careful not to short out the wires! Lipos can't take even the slightest short. Your best bet is to cut strip and solider one wire at a time.

when i had to solder deans plugs on my 4 turnigy packs with 8awg wires, i got a few tips that really helped.

1. i used a 80w soldering iron
2. extra flux on the wires makes the solder flow so much better
3. helping hands (or at least some locking pliers)
4. a tiny bit of flux melted onto the solder surface of the deans plug helps too

the flux makes a huuuuge difference. all you have to do melt some non-spill-able flux onto the wire, load a ton of solder onto the tip of your iron and touch the iron to the wire. the solder will flow on very nicely. you may need to load the iron a couple tires if you have a small tip. i used a large chisel tip and it worked perfectly.

yeah lol when I was soldering my neuenergy lipo i shorted it out twice, i accidently let the two ends touch, and then later they shorted out over the metal pliers! they seem to still work ok 5 months later...



thanks for those tips, i'll keep them in mind. When you say flux, do you mean solder? I'm a bit confused.


cheers

Flux is the stuff used to help solder flow more easily- some solder ( rosin core ) has flux inside it so you dont need any extra, but, depends what you've got already.

I usually use a rubber band to hold one wire back around the pack so its impossible for them to touch while soldering.

that rubber band idea is a good one, i'll be sure to do it.

the solder i got says "super solder, tin/lead 60, N.W. 100g, the best fluz in core 0.7"

that make any sense? good/bad solder?


thanks

Also, josh9mille in your sig, why do you think the E-revo is a POS? I completely agree with you but im curious as to why you think also

60/40 with flux core will be fine- I prefer the lead free stuff, but apparently 60/40 flows better = **shrugs shoulders**

ok cheers, thanks for the help

How do you preserve your solder tips? I put a blob of solder onto it, is this a good idea? It's a bit brown now, but I think that's due to the heat.

Before putting it away, clean the tip on some fine sand paper/ sanding block or similar, then tin the tip. Keeping the tip clean & cleaning + tinning it regulary during use will do wonders for the quality of your joints and keep the tips in good condition.