Some heavy wires, soldering gun & even the big iron was too light & tried propane but the flame is too wide & wants 2 melt the insulation at either end of the joint. Any suggestions? Thank you 4 your time

roll a piece of sheet metal into a cylinder or cone to direct the flame.

For 4-8 ga wire I typically use a crack pipe lighter...

Butane.. Hit up your local Rockstar...

I'm assuming the flame can b turned down low. Alright I'll go get one (but not from my crack head neighbors)

Here is the setup I use, pretty slick.

Yeah that looks worthwhile (refillable/diff tips)

i have thia cool little setup that is a mini torch that that a rechargeable butane lighter in it. bought it years ago and works like a charm

I soldered some 10 ga wire last night onto a couple alligator clips for a 12volt contractor fuel pump in the bed of my pickup truck.
I used a gun type soldering gun and was able to easily have enough heat to get the allligator clips hot enough to flow the solder out. These clips go on 12V batterys, they are not small.

If the wire is corroaded or dirty it won't take solder.

I work on petroluem tanker trucks everyday, those hand held torches are scaring the crap out of me.

you did put a blob of melted solder on the tip of the iron, then put it on the wire(s) to be soldered, right? If the tip is clean, it won't transfer hardly any heat.

Otherwise, strip the insulation back an inch or two, then clamp small vice grips on either side of the joint. They'll absorb most of the heat and prevent it from messing up the insulation. Then slide your shrink tubing (that you put on before solding the joint) over the entire joint.

Yes I did clean the tip then coated it. I think the prob w that there was just enough breeze (dont take much) drawing away heat but it was aggravating. I dont get frustrated very often but this deal got 2 me a bit. Thanks again guys

In addition to tining the iron you must tin the wires also first, then it's a easy deal to stick the 2 togeather with minimal heat.

I bought a cheap refillable pencil type butane torch, works great but you have to refill quite often but no big deal

Make sure you have a good mechanical connection first... tin/lead solder tends to fracture under high vibration (like an automotive application) especially if it's in tension.

If you've got room, perhaps one of these? They come in many sizes...

You know I'm wondering if I DIDN'T tin both wires enough . (& I'm always preaching k.i.s.s./basics) I'll b back on it today. Charles that clamp oughta do it but I'd (prob) still wanna solder it & if it's as big as it looks I'd be dragging out the acetylene

Come on, you're thinking of the fist-sized ones for industrial power lines... a small split-bolt like you need for two #10 wires weighs a whopping half ounce! Won't cost you too many tenths ET

Another almost obvious suggestion when at the limits of heat input, orient the wire vertically, with the insulation on the bottom, and allow heat to rise.

Remember to add some flux.

I was using rosin & yes I have a tin of flux somewhere. I was surprised at the probs I was having as usually that foot long heavy duty iron handles any job though it takes forever to heat up 2 get started

It's possible your tip is contaminated, sand it all the way down and re tin.

I have never used flux when soldering wires, not saying it's wrong.
This one has a hi and low depending on how far you pull the trigger. Radio shack special,150/230 watts, the solder comes in different diameters and say rosin core solder on the roll.

Now I think it's different than the solder I have to solder copper pipes?

I worked for 8 years at a scale company. One of my jobs was to replace 16 pin IC chips in digital display boards. Sometimes there was like 12 chips per board X 16 pins. That's a lot of soldering with one of these and a solder sucker.

flux is more of a plumbing thing but can't hurt. it helps the solder bind with the metal. and yes, you would use a solid core with plumbing.