- #1
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I have a 25W soldering iron. I am trying to learn this art from Youtube. From the videos, it seems that soldering is not much difficult. But in practice, it just doesn't work out for me.
For example, consider this video among a few thousands on this topic. You can see how easily the solder sticks to the twisted wires once the iron is touched. But in my case, the solder just doesn't stick! Sometimes, even the other end of the wire gets hot, but the solder won't stick. I have tried with wires of different thicknesses (from single wires to thick ones meant for carrying 18A, all copper), using solder wires with and without lead from different companies, and even used the flux paste (which is advertised to give a smooth and uniform solder), but with no success.
Solder, however, melts if I directly touch it to the soldering bit. But not on any wire.
I have tried cleaning the bit on a sponge, and then on steel wires to remove any residual solder. But with no effect.
Should I buy a higher power soldering iron? Something like https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HM1DMLN/?tag=pfamazon01-20 or maybe https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HM34RFZ/?tag=pfamazon01-20? Or is it something else that I am missing?
For example, consider this video among a few thousands on this topic. You can see how easily the solder sticks to the twisted wires once the iron is touched. But in my case, the solder just doesn't stick! Sometimes, even the other end of the wire gets hot, but the solder won't stick. I have tried with wires of different thicknesses (from single wires to thick ones meant for carrying 18A, all copper), using solder wires with and without lead from different companies, and even used the flux paste (which is advertised to give a smooth and uniform solder), but with no success.
Solder, however, melts if I directly touch it to the soldering bit. But not on any wire.
I have tried cleaning the bit on a sponge, and then on steel wires to remove any residual solder. But with no effect.
Should I buy a higher power soldering iron? Something like https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HM1DMLN/?tag=pfamazon01-20 or maybe https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HM34RFZ/?tag=pfamazon01-20? Or is it something else that I am missing?