You might be alright soldering to that brass pill of the S2 but I don’t think that will heat up enough for heavy copper
It’s an Amazon purchase…I can return for free. Do you have a different budget recommendation? I want to do it right, and if this soldering iron is going to give me poor results, I don’t want to use it.
Thanks for telling me.
I’ve been using these for years —- I use genuine HAKKO tips —- they work well and cheap enough to replace when they fail ( they last a couple years with moderate to heavy use)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/371993129984?hash=item569c84b400:g:4O4AAOSwkJVgDphV
These are the 2 Tips I use all the time —I have 2 stations— one with each tip
HAKKO T18-B shape - B
HAKKO T18-D32 shape –3 2D
So, I just got my build parts today, and I’m a bit disappointed. I bought a 17” driver to go along with the Convoy S2+, but the retaining ring doesn’t fit back on once the driver is seated. The 7135 chips are in the way.
I got the QLITE REV.A 7135*8 DRIVER.
Is this a normal occurrence?
Please let me know if there is anything I can do.
Thanks!
Yes, that is common. Before the S2+ came out, there was the S2 & S6 and we all had to solder in the driver.
The 12 group, ramping and 4 mode 17mm drivers are easier to install in the S2+ and I like the retaining ring quite a bit. They do, however, come lose and you won't have the issue with soldering. You picked a good driver and Guppydrv is nice.
Okay, that makes sense. I looked into it a tiny bit, and it seems the soldering iron needs a bit of help with the thicker brass pill. Many people suggest preheating the pill somehow. I even saw a suggestion to use a butane torch and melt the solder directly, without the use of a soldering iron.
Have you found that a soldering iron won’t get the brass hot enough for a solid connection?
If it’s a good enough Iron it will work fine — try tinning a little spot in a couple places on the pill —then it will solder pretty easily
Sometimes I tin a couple of spots before assembly, using a torch. Then the two pieces can be sldered at the tinned spot with less trouble, less heat/time. An iron that can get real hot at highest setting with a broad flat tip helps.
If you do pretin be careful not to get solder running into the place where you want to fit the driver. If you do, that will need removal. Not a real big deal but nice to avoid if possible.
If his Iron won’t solder a S2 brass pill —He’s in trouble
He could heat up the pill in an old pan, transfer with pliers to something that holds it steady and solder while still hot. Gotta move quickly but not necessarily frantically.
A side note —If you’re using some sort of vise to hold the pill — put some wood in between the pill and the jaws — the vise will draw all the heat
Not only that but could damage the pill threads.
Thanks guys, I haven’t tried doing anything yet…just thought I’d gather all the info first. I did replace the crappy $18 iron that I bought on Amazon with a Yihua 939D+. Should be robust enough for anything, but I wanted to make sure.
I appreciate all of the replies. I’m sure I’m not the first noob to come on here with basic questions.
And we have success!! My first build is done and working.
However, boy oh boy soldering really sucked. I used the solder that came with the iron, and I’m wondering if that had anything to do with it. I had the iron cranked to over 800 degrees and the solder was melting on contact. It was sooo annoying.
Additionally, the soldering iron did not heat up the pill enough to get the solder to stick…the solder kept beading up and not transferring to the surface I was working on.
The solder also beaded up and wouldn’t really transfer to the driver or les board without some effort.
Again, I don’t know if it was the solder, the iron, or perhaps both.
Super ugly job, too! Haha
It was frustrating, but I’m happy I had success in the end. I would have been bothered all night otherwise.
I’m currently using the following mode:
ML - 5% - 15% - 50% - 100% | Memory
Who’s a memory lover and who’s a no memory lover and why?
Thanks again to all those who have contributed to my thread.
Did you clean and Tin your Iron Tip thoroughly — The tip that comes with that iron isn’t the best but usable
Haha NOPE!! Yet another newbie mistake. D’OH! I will find some YouTube videos about prepping my soldering iron. I basically thought it was ready to go out of the box.
Hopefully my work on this first build will hold up.
you can always go back and fix it
Were you using separate flux? If not, I’d highly suggest you pick some up - it’s your best friend. If the solder that came with the unit was still a typical rosin-core fluxed solder, that’s good, but sometimes it’s old and the flux is less effective…plus running the iron that hot can pretty much vaporize the rosin before it has a chance to do its magic. But congrats on getting it done, and your first build! It gets addictive… 
So, I went through a tinning tutorial and followed the steps. Here is what my tips look like now.
Is it typical that only a small amount of the tip gets tinned, or is this the sign of bad quality?
Additionally, I tried melting already melted solder that pooled up on my work surface and the solder just wouldn’t remelt … again, bad quality or user error? Haha
I bought separate flux, but realized after that it said I can’t use it for electrical. I have to buy a different kind.
Also, I’m not really sure what temps are good for what tasks. I’ll have to try to find a reference chart of some kind.