@ChrisF I got mine from AliExpress have a look under RC Car Parts Metal mini Red Soldering Tool Holder Model Cars Drone Marine Welding Tool T plug Connector XT60 XT90
Fred

That's a nifty device Ed, where did you get that?

Chris

This is what I use to hold Xnn type connectors when I solder them.
A warning about flux paste, some are highly corrosive and if not properly cleaned will cause oxidation over time. I use rosin pens or rosin cored solder

Hi Roy

I use XT60 in all my builds and have changed some of those in my bought models, unless they have Deans, where I use a XT60/Deans connector (bought from e.g. Component Shop) where I have XT60 on the battery.

I use Alloy 63/37 solder, which I don't know the melting point of off-hand but I have the soldering station set at 390 degrees. I use the same method as ALR58 and haven't had any problems with damaging the connectors etc. Tinning the pockets, maintaining the heat and inserting the cables in one operation means that the amount of time the heat is applied is no more than necessary.

Chris

Hi Roy! I am in the same boat as you with the Tamiya connectors. (Yesterday I was going through my spares to make new cables for my Wiesel.) I have many boats, tanks, vehicles, batteries, and chargers with Tamiya connectors, probably 90%. The XT60 connectors are very hard to pull apart for me with my arthritic fingers. The Tamiya connectors work well when building your own cable connections. Easy to assembly, no heat shrink tubing needed. Most of them work fairly well. Every once in a while the pins seem to loosen up due to excessive pull on the wires which bends the pin's retaining tab.

I made a pin extraction tool out of some copper tubing. It slides down over the pin compressing the retaining tabs inward thus releasing the pin.

Don't remember what batteries the black Tamiya connector came from. The Batteries went bad but like everything else I kept the connectors in my RC connections drawer. The housing and assembly is completely different by it mates with the Tamiya connector. Lift the little tabs on both sides and the connector comes apart. It looks like the wires are pushed through the back and soldered to a metal contact. When the housing is pushed back together the wired tab contacts a tab on the back side of the pin for a solderless connection. Nice design but I can't find these anywhere.

So for now I'm going to stick with the Tamiya connectors and make repairs if and when needed. Hopefully, not to often.

Hi all, I have mainly Tamiya connectors on many batteries and associated ones in models. I have been considering a mass change out but maybe with making my own XT to Tamiya connector . But I am a bit concerned with soldering the wire into the XT connector, thinking of heat and damaging the plastic part of the connector.
Any thoughts? I use Pb solder so temp at 347C.
Roy

@Fred same her.. Good value. I also got a few xt90s

Hi
I got mine off AliExpress. along with a tool to hold them in when I soldering them up.

Component Shop or Overlander Batteries.

Hi all
Were can be get xt60 plugs and sockets
Jst plug and socket
2.5mm plug for battery case mounted
socket
I am in the uk Sheffield area
Many thanks

Although this thread is a bit old, well, I may have a small contribution to it.
Long time ago, I came to the same conclusion tan most mates, and I settled on XT-60. I use them whenever supply voltage is between 6 and 24 V, including my radio gear (I’m also a ham radio operator and tinkerer)
However, soldering them was not easy at first. After spoiling some of them, I came to the same procedure recommended by jonhnf and others:
1.- Always solder connectors mated. I've found pretty convenient to hold them in a mini vise.
2.- I always use 60Pb/40Sn solder, with 3-3.5% core rosin flux. I do a lot of electronics tinkering, including SMD hand soldering, and I never use Pb-free solder.
3.- I first tin the wire, and check that the tinned end fits in the pocket.
4.-Then I tin the pocket. When solder is melted, I quickly insert the tinned end of the wire while keeping the soldering iron in in good contact with wire and pocket. If you feel that there is not enough solder, add more.
5.- Apply some traction to the wire when the joint is cool. Sometimes you get a “dry joint” if not enough heat was applied.
6.- Repeat the same procedure with the other wire.
A closing note: Currently, I settled on subtype XT60-H. No need to deal with heath-shrink tube, resulting in a neater job!
Good luck!

the XT60 bullet connectors are rated 60AMP however I no longer run fast electrics so am content with DEANS which are rated 25AMPS (50A burst). There is also a mini-Deans suitable for water pump, audio & lighting wiring inside.
I hav been a devotee of WELLER soldering irons since age 18(now 75yo). I recently bought a WELLER iron on Amazon which has an adjustable power knob & with the correct solder it handles large joints just fine. The identical iron aimed at the Canadian market the model # ends in CUL which is certified for use in Canada & its 3x the price of the USA/MEX unit

Thanks for all the answer/suggestions. I have a decent soldering station, therefore first step is to purchase some decent 60/40 solder lower temp like 183°c and try again........😂😂😂😐😐

The XT60 connectors are a giant step forward in improvement over the Tamiya connectors. I came across them when my new RC 1/16 scale tank had an XT60 connector on the tank, battery, and charger. Unfortunately, I have a lot of RC tanks/armor, boats, and chargers with the Tamiya connectors installed. Too many to change now, o I made some Tamiya to XT60 adapters.

About the soldering irons, the more expensive ones seems to have a higher quality metal tip on the iron. I see no deterioration at all. The "cheap-O's" tips don't last long and seem to build up a coating that does not transfer heat well unless scraped or cleaned. This possibly could be the problem with melting the insulators on connectors. Food for thought.

Lew
Florida , USA

The attached link is the soldering station I had purchased on Amazon. It is no longer available, but this will give you an idea of what I found to be a great soldering problem solver.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08DXHQXW8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I nearly bought some of these connectors as the usual white ones can be unreliable, but the number of batteries i have made it impractical.

Last year I bought a similar soldering iron with a temp. read out, excellent soldering iron. I wanted one like my son has and I had tried it and liked it. There were many for sale and so I found one on ebay that also included 'make me an offer'. So I took 10% off and that is what I got it for . I think about £28 used it ever since.

However for large items like soldering battery contacts I have a large 75 watt one which has a large mass soldering head.
I never throw away my duff Nicads, I put them to one side and when there are enough I take them apart and find the still working cells, test for discharge rate and then solder them together as a new battery.

Roy

In addition to the other excellent suggestions, I feel a good quality soldering iron is a partner to good soldering. After many years of using the cheap soldering irons, about two years ago I bought one of the nicer temperature controlled iron for about $50 U. S. Worth the cost.

Lew
Florida, USA 🇺🇸

I am with you Bill and agree with most of the posts regarding these connectors. There is one suggestion though that I would never do and that is solder a connector whilst connected to the battery unless it was the battery terminal that I was soldering.😃

I agree with most of the posting,especially regarding a good flux.
I use what is shown in the attached photo. BAKERS paste.
Very old but great stuff.
Take care all.
Regards
Bill.

Hi Nick
I agree with most of the previous replies. I have made many such connections over the years and always use a good flux paste and NOT lead free solder as that requires too high a temperature. I flux and tin the connector and flux and tin or re-tin any leads that are already tinned to ensure any lead free solder is reduced (you can buy low melt solder to do the job but it costs). I use a temperature controlled iron set to 400+deg and hold the connector and wire with wooden clothes pegs ( or any similar mounting). Heat the wire and put with the iron to the connector until the solder flows ( you may need to add more solder) then remove the iron and leave to cool. As others have said finish off by cleaning (IPA) and push the heat shrink cover over the joint and seal.
The most important part in the process is the flux as this helps the solder flow quickly and as a result reduces the time required to apply the heat
Most batteries are supplied with the connector pre attached. Should it be of a different type to your requirements I would either make up your own conversion lead or buy an adapter. Soldering live wires connected to a battery (especially a LiPo or similar) is high risk and is best left to the experts.
dave976

From what has been said the most important things are:
1. Ensure all surfaces are chemically clean
2. Join the XT male and female connectors together
3. Pre-tin the wire end and the connector
4. Use a 100Amp soldering iron when making the final soldered connection.
Good luck
😉

Ey are great connectors, and I use them very frequently.
The key is to use a high powered soldering gun, minimum 100 watt, not the little 35-40watt pencil soldering units.
I always use a little solder flux in the connector socket and on the wire, then load up your soldering tip with solder, stick your wire into the wire socket then hit the joint with the solder.

I used KESTER solder industrially from 1967 thru 1994 working on a precision instrument repair bench. Recently returning to hobbies in retirement I used each of the Chinese solders that came with various irons via Amazon,very unhappy with the joints produced. Stumbled upon a coil of Sn63/Pb37 from MG CHEMICALS on Amazon...it's THE BEST!! AND YES, adding some liquid Flux on large terminals does help a lot

Don’t use lead free solder as it’s melting point is significantly higher than leaded also make sure surfaces are clean I also give them a coating of flux

Better grease the male/female connection itself or you may have trouble separating after soldering.🤣

You need to connect the male and female connectors together before you begin soldering. Don’t pull them apart til the job has cooled back down. Usually means that you have a live system for a bit if soldering a battery to one of the connectors so do be careful with whatever the job is. I.e remove any props first if there is a danger they may burst into life.

Helpful also is 63/37 solder, has no plastic zone so avoids frosted connections

Hi I also suspect by connecting together the other connector it is acting as a heat sink. When in this situation a wet tissue wrapped around the area will also remove heat from unwanted places.
Roy

Apart from the very good advice on the previous posts, I have learnt the very hard way to connect the XC 60 connector to it's partner. That is before applying any heat at all from your soldering iron.

That way the connector will not distort under heat and so make difficult or even impossible to connect once the job is done.

Additionally, the pre-joined connector will allow excess heat to safely disperse.

Good luck.

Dr John. F. Leeds and Bradford. BBC. 😊😊😊😊

Tin the wire, melt some solder into the connector tube thing. Butt tinned wire up to connector, apply soldering iron to tinned wire, should soften solder in connector, let wire slide into place, leave for a few seconds.

I spent months doing really crap soldering then ran out of the cheap solder I was using, grabbed some I picked up when clearing out my late father-in-laws loft. Used his old solder and it changed they way I solder immediately. Not exactly life changing but the right solder has made a major difference.

I’m using RS multi core Savbit, made a huge difference from the cheap stuff I’ve always used, haven’t melted a connector since I started using it.

First tin the wires with solder. Then do the same with the xt-60's. You shouldn't need to keep heat on it for long. Then bring the tinned wire into the xt-60 and heat it for a moment with your iron. That should melt the solder and your connection is done. Don't forget the heat shrink before joining the two. Also make sure your soldering iron is properly tinned and clean before you start. Hope that helps.