Rack Heating

[LeviBP]

I am looking for everything I need to purchase for heating my rack.
So far I am buying a Herpstat, Temp gun, and Flexwatt with clips, insulators and cords. Is there anything else that I need? Do probes come with the Herpstat?

[OhhWatALoser]

If you know someone who knows how to solder, I would highly suggest soldering the connection instead of those clips

[Powerspythons]

If you know someone who knows how to solder, I would highly suggest soldering the connection instead of those clips

I agree x10. Even learning how to solder is worthwhile.(I did..its pretty easy if you have any welding experience) There are some helpful youtube vids on how to wire flexwatt by soldering instead of the clips...also I'd recommend getting the cords from a local hardware store for a dollar instead of having to pay for them to be shipped.

Also the herpstat I bought came with a probe.

[LeviBP]

Cool, thanks guys. I can solder so hopefully your guys input will save me a few bucks

Found a helpful Youtube video:

[OhhWatALoser]

Cool, thanks guys. I can solder so hopefully your guys input will save me a few bucks

its not about saving money, its about getting a good connection, those clips are crap honestly. if you save money all the better, but if solder connect cost more, id still go with a solder connection.

[LeviBP]

its not about saving money, its about getting a good connection, those clips are crap honestly. if you save money all the better, but if solder connect cost more, id still go with a solder connection.

I understand.
Just one more question though, in the video above he solders solely on top of the wiring, however, would you suggest I solder beneath the wiring and then above, or is soldering solely above the wiring fine?

[OhhWatALoser]

I understand.
Just one more question though, in the video above he solders solely on top of the wiring, however, would you suggest I solder beneath the wiring and then above, or is soldering solely above the wiring fine?

I was wondering what you were talking about, then i watched the video, hes not soldering properly lol, he can't guarantee a good bond that way.

Ill try to find a video of someone doing it correctly tomorrow, but in short, you bond solder to the two surfaces first, the heatape and the wire separately. then you just use the soldering iron to bond the two part together. ill try to find you something after work, if not ill make my own video lol

[saber2th]

The only thing missing from your list is some aluminium tape to hold down the Flexwatt. And I'm pretty sure all Herpstats come with a probe, unless you buy it used. And the next time I have to use Flexwatt, (which I hope is soon) I will be using the soldering method!

[LeviBP]

I was wondering what you were talking about, then i watched the video, hes not soldering properly lol, he can't guarantee a good bond that way.

Ill try to find a video of someone doing it correctly tomorrow, but in short, you bond solder to the two surfaces first, the heatape and the wire separately. then you just use the soldering iron to bond the two part together. ill try to find you something after work, if not ill make my own video lol

Sweet. Yeah, if you can snag me a video, that would be great.

[OhhWatALoser]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_NU2ruzyc4
this one shows how to solder and theory behind it, problem is its just shows circuit board type of stuff and flexwatts a little different than a circuit board, your dealing with bigger wire.

for flexwatt your going to want to tin the wire and the flexwatt separately before putting them together (see above video about oxidation). it makes sure you have a good connection directly between the wire and flexwatt with no oxidation, as opposed to adding solder after your pushing them together. the bigger wire takes long to heat than circuit board components and we don't need to risk over heating the flex watt and I want to make sure you get the best joint possible.

flexxwatts like a circuit board, heat it too much and it separates easily, so don't leave the iron on it too long

i find when tinning both the flexwatt and the wire, I normally do not need to add anymore solder but sometimes you do

when their both tinned, I put a little flux on the tinned part of the flexwatt, and set the wire on top of that, set the soldering iron on the wire, couple seconds later the iron will push the wire into the flexwatt's tinned puddle and thats it your done, you'll tear the flexxwatt apart before you break that connection.