I just soldered 12g wire on my mm esc (pics) :)

[RUSTY XL-5]

I just finished soldering on Deans Wet Noodle 12g wire on my mamba max esc. I did this because the original wires (13g) had torn insulation, heated up pretty good at the end of a run, I'm doing the black/blue theme, the warranty expired earlier this month, and just because I wanted to. I used just under 2 feet of black wire and about 5 inches of red. It definitely wasn't the easiest thing to do because the esc is a VERY good heat sink....this made in difficult to melt the solder. And yes, the esc still works.

IMO it looks pretty good if you ask me. ;)









This is a comparison pic of the original 13g wire to the now 12g...BEEF lol.


I would be more than happy to do this on other mm esc's....at a small fee (I still have plenty of left over wire)

[BrianG]

Good job!

A good 60W iron helps to get the job done quicker while not heating the entire ESC.

[Raze ST Truggy]

Originally Posted by BrianG

Good job!

A good 60W iron helps to get the job done quicker while not heating the entire ESC.

I just bought a 40w iron from radio shack a couple weeks ago and have had great results so far. Mostly 10ga and 6.5mm CC bullets. Would you recomend a 60w iron and making a solder station like in your tutorial, or should the 40w do what I need for this rc stuff.

-Brian

[Dafni]

You did a good job. Looks well done. Only thing I'd do different is the small BEC wires on the battery input, they look like you could have got them more "into" the solder. But if they are well connected, it shouldbe fine.

I know how the heatsink on that MM can make it kinda hard to de-solder the original wires.... I have done this mod many many times. Though I never thought about charging people for
just playin

[RUSTY XL-5]

Originally Posted by BrianG

Good job!

A good 60W iron helps to get the job done quicker while not heating the entire ESC.

Thanks! It means a lot to get a "good job" from an electric guru. I was using a 80W weller, but that esc really soaks up the heat LOL.

[RUSTY XL-5]

Originally Posted by Dafni

You did a good job. Looks well done. Only thing I'd do different is the small BEC wires on the battery input, they look like you could have got them more "into" the solder. But if they are well connected, it shouldbe fine.

They are soldered on there very well, I didn't want to melt all of the solder holding the power wires in because they are hard to keep straight when the solder is melted.

I wasn't going to charge much at all....just for time/supplies. I like to solder, I find it more enjoyable than painting LOL.

[bruce750i]

I like soldering also. Good shinny solder joints are addicting.

[BrianG]

Lol, soldering isn't an onerous chore by any means, but to call it "fun"? Me thinks you've been inhaling the flux fumes a little too much lately. Almost like saying "it's fun to cut my toenails".

Anyway, 40W works, but I found you have to let that iron heat up quite a bit or the solder takes too long to melt because of the ESC heatsinking. A 60W iron gets the job done quicker while heating the whole ESC less because you don't need to apply it as long to get the job done. And you can always turn down the power of a 60W to a lower value (like 20-40w) for smaller jobs.

[mambarustler]

Nice job, my warranty expired too so i soldered a fan directly to the board so i dont have to connect it to the rx.(Brian is not gonna be happy about this )

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by mambarustler

Nice job, my warranty expired too so i soldered a fan directly to the board so i dont have to connect it to the rx.(Brian is not gonna be happy about this )

looks pretty good! i did the same thing on my Vxl motor, but i just replaced the old wires, didn't go larger then 12 gauge.

[Unsullied_Spy]

Originally Posted by BrianG

Good job!

A good 60W iron helps to get the job done quicker while not heating the entire ESC.

+1, looks very good.

For stuff like this I prefer to use a soldering gun. Mine has 2 settings, the first is 100 or 120 watts and the other is something around 180-200. Heats up very fast and gets very hot, if my 60W iron can't do it I pull the gun out and it does the trick. I paid about $35 for it at ACE Hardware, good price for a brand new Weller! It has a little light that lights up your work area well. The only thing I don't like about it is it has an aweful duty cycle, for every minute you use it you have to let it sit for 4.

[lincpimp]

Originally Posted by BrianG

Lol, soldering isn't an onerous chore by any means, but to call it "fun"? Me thinks you've been inhaling the flux fumes a little too much lately. Almost like saying "it's fun to cut my toenails".

Soldering got old quick for me after I built 15 lipo packs from individual cells (which I had to break down from prebuilt packs) in one weekend... That about wore the iron out, and did wear me out!