Definitely need help with soldering flexwatt...

Never done this before, just a few questions that weren't covered very in depth on the YouTube tutorials.

a) Does it matter how much plastic was melted away before making the connections? My soldering iron is a piece of junk and only has a really pointy end on it, which made it hard to melt the plastic away. So I did scrape some away, to the point where I could see a little bit of copper, but I didn't manage to expose the metal strip entirely.

b) Does the entire connection have to be covered with solder? I just noticed on the end of one of them, there's a tiny bit of the copper wire from the extension cord peeking out. Should I plug it back in and cover that up?

c) How do my connections look? Obviously I had a couple oopsie doopsie's where I got too close with the soldering iron. Is it okay that some solder overflows over the silver strip and onto the plastic?

d) I forget, on 11" flexwatt, can I ONLY cut it in 1 foot increments, or can I cut through the black elements, as long as they are insulated w/ electrical tape?

I haven't tested it out yet, I'm scared to plug it in. I'm a wuss.

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/a...42012002_1.jpg

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/a...42012004_1.jpg

it depends what type of 11" you have, some can be cut any where some cannot. I believe that the way to tell them apart is if the black lines are straight it can be cut anywhere but if they are zig-zagged it has to be cut in increments.

You should try to cover as much of the connection as possible when soldering not only will it make a better electrical connection, but it will hold better. there is a thread about this I will see if I can find it for you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SquamishSerpents

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/a...42012002_1.jpg

http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/a...42012004_1.jpg

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ok, ANY exposed metal is bad, I would have stripped less off of the wires, but you can just cover them up with lots of electrical tape.

I can't tell from the pictures but as long as most of the wire is actually making contact with the metal strip and not the plastic

here is the thread I was talking about:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...older-Flexwatt

I use the soldering iron to melt away plastic then use a razor blade to get the rest of the plastic off to allow a good contact. The entire connection doesnt have to be covered in solder, but needs to be on good to allow even continuity. I did end up getting a cheapo electricity tester because even though it was sticking good some of mine were not heating properly ended up they weren't getting full current.

As far as cutting of you turn the Flexwatt over you will see where it has little breaks. You cut it between the breaks. All pieces will need to be the same size if your daisy chaining them.

Also make sure you cover all the solder & wires with electrical tape, once powered it will give you a good shock if you have anything exposed.