Brucey wrote:do you think it is a question of power? I have (with the right flux and solder for galvanised cables) had good luck with a >50W iron, or one of these;
The great thing about these is that they heat up almost instantly and have a fair amount of grunt (about 100W IIRC). They are no good for delicate electronic components though; there is no thermostat or any real temperature control per se.
If this flux works really well, maybe I can realise my ambition i.e. to be able to soft-solder stainless cables as easily as galvanised ones.
cheers
possibly - I've been using a gas iron, a portasol pro rated at up to 75 watts, but I think it would benefit from a broader tip for this job.
the strange thing is that it seems far easier to solder 2 stainless spokes together (just as an experiment) than to simply tin a cable end. maybe the cables are contaminated with oil during manufacture or packaging?