Best RC LiPo battery connector types: Choosing and Soldering

[joshual1177]

Strip (the wire )
have a wet sponge to clean the tip (..oh boy..)
tin the wire (flux if necessary)
fill the connector cup with solder (~50%) hold it with something that does not transmit heat (non-metal), wood is ideal
while the cup is hot insert the wire, since it's pre-tinned this will all melt quickly
2-3s maybe add some more solder and done. If it's longer than 5s start cursing and buy a soldering iron with more power.
hold steady until it solder looses it's shimmer, you could use pliers to draw heat out of the cup ~ 20s
done
trim any overflow with a sharp knife (EC5 connectors)

Nneedle nose pliers, a wooden jig (or cloth pins) and a knife come in handy. Use a heat resistant work surface (silicon mat).

These are some great tips. I am having great success with my soldering today. The flux definitely helps the solder to flow into the wires when tinning. I have an 80 watt iron and I have it set to 500°c. Also having the solder in the connector first helps. Then when I see it melted, I place the tinned wire.

 

[jkflow]

I have a simple plug and play solder iron, no fancy thermal setting

 

[Primarrma]

Yeah, I tin both.

I'm not new to soldering, been doing it a long time. Back in the day I used to build battery packs because that's how it was done back in the 90s.
I can solder XT90's to 10 and 12 guage wire all day. But I just can't seem to get a good pool on the 8 guage with my soldering gun.

Maybe I will try the cheap gun with large chisel listed above. I'm holding out for a Hakko

A good solder helps a lot too

 

[Sloclone100]

Yeah, I tin both.

I'm not new to soldering, been doing it a long time. Back in the day I used to build battery packs because that's how it was done back in the 90s.
I can solder XT90's to 10 and 12 guage wire all day. But I just can't seem to get a good pool on the 8 guage with my soldering gun.

Maybe I will try the cheap gun with large chisel listed above. I'm holding out for a Hakko

We used to have 250-watt irons when I was working. They are not overkill as far as power on these projects. I like - hot iron, clean tip, fast in, steady out.

 

[Wes13]

Stupid question probably, but does a ec/ic3 fit in a ec/ic5?
If i get my big rock i would like to run it on my 2s first but that has an ec3 connector.

 

[Yas]

Stupid question probably, but does a ec/ic3 fit in a ec/ic5?
If i get my big rock i would like to run it on my 2s first but that has an ec3 connector.

No - you'll have to cut/sweat off the EC3 3.5mm connectors on the battery and fit EC5 5mm connectors instead, or use an adapter. I wouldn't downsize to EC3 as they have a lower amp rating

 

[Wes13]

No - you'll have to cut/sweat off the EC3 3.5mm connectors on the battery and fit EC5 5mm connectors instead, or use an adapter. I wouldn't downsize to EC3 as they have a lower amp rating

Aah ok then i just buy some 3s batteries straightaway

 

[burgerking]

Thinking of getting a big rock (waiting until the new 4s stuff comes out before I get one just in case), would I be better off changing it to xt-60 like all my other batteries or going with ec5?

 

[Primarrma]

Thinking of getting a big rock (waiting until the new 4s stuff comes out before I get one just in case), would I be better off changing it to xt-60 like all my other batteries or going with ec5?

XT60 is too small for 4s and I wouldn't be using them for 3s either. How many batteries and how many esc do you have with XT60s?

 

[burgerking]

XT60 is too small for 4s and I wouldn't be using them for 3s either. How many batteries and how many esc do you have with XT60s?

3 but they are tiny soft case ones for my trx4, ill just stick with the ec5 out of convenience

 

[Primarrma]

3 but they are tiny soft case ones for my trx4, ill just stick with the ec5 out of convenience

You might find that they are below the 35c minimum suggested for the 3s/4s esc's? If they are less than 4000mah you won't get much run time either. Are they 2s you could run them together for 4s?

 

[burgerking]

You might find that they are below the 35c minimum suggested for the 3s/4s esc's? If they are less than 4000mah you won't get much run time either. Are they 2s you could run them together for 4s?

nah ill get some hardcase batts, thinking of zeee 5200 mah, 60c

 

[arrma only fans]

Ose 8mm are the way to go!!

 

[TriggerHappy]

Anybody still running the tamiya connectors?

 

[#ARRMArcfanboy4life]

I suck at soldering (I kill about 3 xt90 connectors before I get the wire soldered), so I am planning on trying these.
https://www.amainhobbies.com/rcprop...8/p872936?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video

 

[Primarrma]

I suck at soldering (I kill about 3 xt90 connectors before I get the wire soldered), so I am planning on trying these.
https://www.amainhobbies.com/rcprop...8/p872936?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video

Try xt150s you can solder the pins before inserting the pins and you don't need a y connector if you join two batteries together. They are cheap as, you can buy a set of 10 pairs for $10 usd from HobbyKing, they are genuine XT150s.

nah ill get some hardcase batts, thinking of zeee 5200 mah, 60c

They are a good buy, you can get the ec5 connectors already fitted when you order them.

 

[jkflow]

My guess is that you are staying on the soldering post for too long. Probably a bad soldering setup, get a simple soldering iron that gets the job done, pre-tin your wires, melt some solder in the cup and insert, remove heat after 1-2s and you won't have that issue.
You are using something that is not capable of doing it in the right timeframe.

 

[joshual1177]

I had issues getting the solder in the cups to melt until I added solder to the tip before touching the under side of the cup when inserting the wire in it. Put a drop of solder on the tip and hold the tip on the under side of the cup and watch the solder start to melt. It helps to transfer the heat. Also make sure to clean the tip off periodically. I use a stiff brass bristle brush.

 

[Homer1959]

is it me or there is some EC5 blue housing that can be or should be insert on the pins from the back and some from the front ? Is so how one can tell ? I've ordered some from Amazon Hobbypark 5 pairs I think , so if one is familar with these please share with me how you put them together. I made EC3 before and the pins were always inserted from the back ... so ...

 

[Rowe]

When

is it me or there is some EC5 blue housing that can be or should be insert on the pins from the back and some from the front ? Is so how one can tell ? I've ordered some from Amazon Hobbypark 5 pairs I think , so if one is familar with these please share with me how you put them together. I made EC3 before and the pins were always inserted from the back ... so ...

When you look closely at the ridges you see a side rounded off and a side squared, they enter the connector rounded side first, i got some a little while back and looked it up, was happy i could insert them after soldering, there are some videos of it