How to Solder Flexwatt

[Reptilebasics]

Rosin core solder is what is generally available in places like Radio Shack and is the way most solder is made that IS NOT for plumbing. The flux is actually in the core of the solder.

Another tip- If you remove the laminate on the black side of the heat tape it is about 10X easier . The Silver side has the laminate adhesive on it and is a real pain to thoroughly remove from the buss bar. Give the wire a good firm tug after the solder has cooled, a "cold" solder joint will give way very easily. We like the 15 watt or 40 watt iron from Radio Shack- cheap and easy to come by. Don't use the same iron you use to melt holes in plastic tubs, the plastic residue can sometimes make it hard to get a good joint.

[DemmBalls]

Rosin core solder is what is generally available in places like Radio Shack and is the way most solder is made that IS NOT for plumbing. The flux is actually in the core of the solder.

Another tip- If you remove the laminate on the black side of the heat tape it is about 10X easier . The Silver side has the laminate adhesive on it and is a real pain to thoroughly remove from the buss bar. Give the wire a good firm tug after the solder has cooled, a "cold" solder joint will give way very easily. We like the 15 watt or 40 watt iron from Radio Shack- cheap and easy to come by. Don't use the same iron you use to melt holes in plastic tubs, the plastic residue can sometimes make it hard to get a good joint.

Great tips! Thank you!

[RichsBallPythons]

Rosin core solder is what is generally available in places like Radio Shack and is the way most solder is made that IS NOT for plumbing. The flux is actually in the core of the solder.

Another tip- If you remove the laminate on the black side of the heat tape it is about 10X easier . The Silver side has the laminate adhesive on it and is a real pain to thoroughly remove from the buss bar. Give the wire a good firm tug after the solder has cooled, a "cold" solder joint will give way very easily. We like the 15 watt or 40 watt iron from Radio Shack- cheap and easy to come by. Don't use the same iron you use to melt holes in plastic tubs, the plastic residue can sometimes make it hard to get a good joint.

Exactly why I tug on my connections once done to make sure they stay on. And once i Melt the plastic with solder iron, I just scrape where i melted to remove any plastic that is left over.


You Wanna make a Video soldering connection from the other side and post it in this thread. So others have 2 ways of connecting.


Forgot to add to those looking to buy Solder, Stay away from the Thick Plumbing solder. It may be cheaper, but its not for electrical and most solder irons cant melt it properly. Electrical Solder is thin and melts very easy and is what you want.

[Reptilebasics]

Technique is really the same whichever side you solder on, just is easier on the "black" side. As long as the plastic is gone you are all set!

[RichsBallPythons]

Technique is really the same whichever side you solder on, just is easier on the "black" side. As long as the plastic is gone you are all set!

So are you essentially melting the plastic and the black part to expose the metal under the black, then solder wire to it.

[Reptilebasics]

Yes, same thing but different. The laminate originally is two pieces of thin plastic. The element is the black lines which is sort of an ink type stuff with a specific carbon content to give a fixed resistance. This ink is then screened printed on to one side of the laminate and then it is laminated together. Sort of an ink sandwhich?? The side that you can see the silver buss bars has the laminate glue and the other side that is concealed by the black ink does not. Try cutting your little rectangles on the black side- they will come right off the buss bar. Very pretty!

While I am here and talking heat tape-

Several notable fires have occurred this year, one in the last few days. Fortunately no one has been significantly hurt that I am aware of, other than animals of course. There is understandably a lot of concern out there. My friends at PE had probably the most high profile case. After visiting them very shortly after the fire and looking around I learned quite a bit from a really horrible mess. I am using what I learned to try to develop some new things we can use in this hobby to help make us a little safer and even sometimes save us from our selves. Maybe save us from some things we can't always see. Safety is an ongoing and never ending process in most human endeavors.

Couple of things to keep in mind here- Two of the fires I have personally looked at and/or talked at great length with the victims. Neither had heat tape any where near the fire. It simply was not heat tape. I have some strong suspicions about a third and hope to learn more soon. Lesson- There are a couple of types of elements. I sell heat tape and not some of the others because I like the fact that heat tape, while not infallible, has a built in self destruct, it melts itself at the failure point very readily. If combined with self extinguishing materials it will scare the hell out of you and make a mess but is very, very unlikely to burn or allow substrate to burn. Some elements do not self destruct so easily. Every element available to us has risks as does anything that makes heat.

So what am I trying to say? No matter what source of heat you use, check it out. Use it right. If you do not know how to set it up or use it right then find out. Even then sometimes things just go wrong. How many fires a year occur from clothes dryers? Get a smoke detector. If you have a monitored alarm system for a few bucks you can add a smoke detector to that which will cry for help whether you are there or not. I have one and have had one for years. When I had my retail store at least 6 times a year I would have a customer tell me about how they melted their carpet or scorched their furniture by setting a heat lamp on it without thinking about it. We are involved in a hobby that requires heat and things that plug in, please think about this!

[Pickenprod]

Thanks so much for the video! I just soldered up my first set of flexwatt. Three strips connected in parallel. They work great!

[armison89]

i got some stuff to do my flex watt and wanted to know if i got the right stuff.

6ft 1.8m 16 gauge/13amp/125volts/1625 max watts extension cords.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/GE-6-Outle...oules/17190414
http://www.walmart.com/ip/30-Watt-So...-Iron/16539504

[RichsBallPythons]

Yes everything is fine. Its overkill and the best way to do this to minimize the overload risk.

No way you would ever overload the extension cords. Just make sure connections are good and insulated and your good to go

[RichsBallPythons]

Thanks so much for the video! I just soldered up my first set of flexwatt. Three strips connected in parallel. They work great!

I would of went against parallel wiring. As if something goes wrong you have to redo all the connections rather one shelf.

All my racks have their own plug per shelf. Yes its a lot more wiring, but some extra time organizing it its a life saver if needing to replace a shelf's heat