[Al Skierkiewicz]

The most common mistake is to hold a soldering iron against a terminal when the tip is not transferring heat effectively. The correct procedure is to first tin the wire, then wrap the wire around the terminal on the pot. Clean the tip of the iron by wiping it on a wet sponge. Add a small amount of solder to the tip of the iron to "wet" it. Touch the iron tip to both the terminal and wire such that the molten solder on the tip of the iron contacts both. Add a little solder to the joint and remove both the iron and solder. This operation should take no more than a second or two. Without this method, the dry iron tip will transfer heat during the time it is in contact with the terminal, but it will not achieve solder melt point. (for 60/40, .031 solders this is about 450 degrees) By "wetting" the tip, you can get the terminal and wire up to the iron temperature (about 750 deg) before the heat can transfer down the terminal to the pot innards. Anytime you cannot get solder to flow within a few seconds remove the iron and let the terminals cool.