60/40 is plumbers' solder.
It goes pastey as it melts to allow thplumber to rub the joint.
Good electrical solder melts at one temperature and has no paste range. This is called a eutectic solder.
There are many eutectics and all of them have different characteristics that make some more suitable for a few jobs.
A cheap and easy to use eutectic is 63/37 solder. It flows well, it melts at a suitably low temperature, it is available with a variety of flux in the cores.
Buy 63/37 before the authorities ban it for no good reason.
Go back and read this thread.
It goes pastey as it melts to allow thplumber to rub the joint.
Good electrical solder melts at one temperature and has no paste range. This is called a eutectic solder.
There are many eutectics and all of them have different characteristics that make some more suitable for a few jobs.
A cheap and easy to use eutectic is 63/37 solder. It flows well, it melts at a suitably low temperature, it is available with a variety of flux in the cores.
Buy 63/37 before the authorities ban it for no good reason.
Go back and read this thread.
38 tin / 62 lead or 40 tin / 60 lead are typically plumber's solder and usually have a rather nasty active acid flux. The acid flux plus the gummy / paste nature of the liquid solder make it unsuitable for electrical work. Electrical solder is typically 60 tin / 40 lead with a much milder flux but better is 63 tin / 37 lead which as already stated above is a eutectic mixture so it will transition nicely from solid to liquid and then back to solid without the gummy intermediate stages making it easier to form good joints. Eutectic solder was the standard used in solder bars, tinning, paste and reflow processes until all this recent ROHS lead-free mess showed up.
Luke said:
Luke
I've used that solder for years and is my preferred choice for speaker crossovers, amps etc. Works easily and provides a great joint. There is a lot of flux residue after soldering but it chips off easily. If I remember correctly, it's the solder provided with the AKSA kits.
Reminded me to get some more before it disappears.
Hi Luke,
I'd like to add that Multicore has always been a great solder. They even had some containing copper to save your tips (Savebit). I'm using NOS Kester '44 on a 5 lb roll. I'm not looking forward to the lead free stuff at all. The best I've heard is "this one isn't that bad". Does not instill confidence, does it?
-Chris
I'd like to add that Multicore has always been a great solder. They even had some containing copper to save your tips (Savebit). I'm using NOS Kester '44 on a 5 lb roll. I'm not looking forward to the lead free stuff at all. The best I've heard is "this one isn't that bad". Does not instill confidence, does it?
-Chris
soldering tips (sic)
Speaking of tips... (pun intended).. I nickel plate all of my soldering gun/iron/torch tips with a thick layer, then tin them well... they then last MUCH longer as the nickel doesn't erode like copper into the solder.
Works like a champ... and saves orders/trips to ratshack and such.
John L.
anatech said:
Speaking of tips... (pun intended).. I nickel plate all of my soldering gun/iron/torch tips with a thick layer, then tin them well... they then last MUCH longer as the nickel doesn't erode like copper into the solder.
Works like a champ... and saves orders/trips to ratshack and such.
John L.
I use solder nearly everyday in my job as a tester (and repairer) of industrial electronics. The company I work for has used a variety of solders over time.
Resin core solder was outlawed because of the mess it left on pcbs. Believe it or not, but some customers don't allow any flux residue whatsoever on their products. That means cleaning flux off a pcb and resin flux doesn't wipe away with a flux remover. It gets hard, scraping away is no option as you need to avoid scratching.
Some solders came and went. I don't remember specific types, but they were all 60/40 or 63/37.
Cobar I remember most vividly because of its horrible smell (like burnt candy). Worked fine for me, most people didn't like it, though.
AIM. We only use this for pcbs that need to be washed (either because of unwanted electrical properties of machine and rework fluxes or because of conformal coating).
AIM has a greasy flux that won't wipe away easily, but the washer has no problems with it. Solders fine.
Kester. I believe it to be a "no clean" type of solder. It doesn't leave much residue, that doesn't need to be cleaned off (unless specified by customers). It also works fine, but the fumes are rather more agressive on the throat than the others.
Lead-free solder. As we need to comply with RoHS, PB-free solder has now largely replaced Pb solder (with some exceptions for the time being). Pb-free solder needs some getting used to because of the higher melting point and the tendency to flow less well. Pb-free solder has come a long way and doesn't look as grainy anymore as it did in the beginning. There is less margin for error in the soldering process, failure rate of components is somewhat higher. Pb-free isn't that hard to solder by hand, but desoldering, esp. of conventional devices, is harder. At the moment we use Multicore Pb-free solder.
I don't recommend Pb-free solder for DIY purposes, esp. if frequent de- and resoldering is required.
At home my favourite is good old Multicore (resin) solder.
Resin core solder was outlawed because of the mess it left on pcbs. Believe it or not, but some customers don't allow any flux residue whatsoever on their products. That means cleaning flux off a pcb and resin flux doesn't wipe away with a flux remover. It gets hard, scraping away is no option as you need to avoid scratching.
Some solders came and went. I don't remember specific types, but they were all 60/40 or 63/37.
Cobar I remember most vividly because of its horrible smell (like burnt candy). Worked fine for me, most people didn't like it, though.
AIM. We only use this for pcbs that need to be washed (either because of unwanted electrical properties of machine and rework fluxes or because of conformal coating).
AIM has a greasy flux that won't wipe away easily, but the washer has no problems with it. Solders fine.
Kester. I believe it to be a "no clean" type of solder. It doesn't leave much residue, that doesn't need to be cleaned off (unless specified by customers). It also works fine, but the fumes are rather more agressive on the throat than the others.
Lead-free solder. As we need to comply with RoHS, PB-free solder has now largely replaced Pb solder (with some exceptions for the time being). Pb-free solder needs some getting used to because of the higher melting point and the tendency to flow less well. Pb-free solder has come a long way and doesn't look as grainy anymore as it did in the beginning. There is less margin for error in the soldering process, failure rate of components is somewhat higher. Pb-free isn't that hard to solder by hand, but desoldering, esp. of conventional devices, is harder. At the moment we use Multicore Pb-free solder.
I don't recommend Pb-free solder for DIY purposes, esp. if frequent de- and resoldering is required.
At home my favourite is good old Multicore (resin) solder.
Hi jitter,
Have you tried adding normal Pb solder to the Pb free stuff, then desoldering? That might make things easier.
I was supposed to get a couple samples of lead free solder. They never did show up. So much for trade shows ...
Hi John,
How do you nickel plate a tip? I imagine this would work for any metallic plating, and so might be useful to know.
-Chris
Have you tried adding normal Pb solder to the Pb free stuff, then desoldering? That might make things easier.
I was supposed to get a couple samples of lead free solder. They never did show up. So much for trade shows ...
Hi John,
How do you nickel plate a tip? I imagine this would work for any metallic plating, and so might be useful to know.
-Chris
Re: Re: soldering tips (sic)
Depends on whether or not size matters Naw.. not too expensive, else you'd just go buy another tip, right?
Not too hard... just connect a wire, hang it in a watt's nickel bath, supply cathodic current @ 40 ma/cm^2 for maybe 20 minutes, and
Presto! Voila! (or is that walla I saw on some chick site
) .001" nickel coating. I s'ppose I could also then solder plate as well, but then I wouldn't get the fragrant aromas of "fluxing"... 
John L.
jneutron said:
Yabbut, yabbut...now we gotsta send our tips to you for nickelizing?? Bet that's expensive, eh?? Charge us an arm and a leg??
Cheers, John
Depends on whether or not size matters
Naw.. not too expensive, else you'd just go buy another tip, right?anatech said:
Not too hard... just connect a wire, hang it in a watt's nickel bath, supply cathodic current @ 40 ma/cm^2 for maybe 20 minutes, and
Presto! Voila! (or is that walla I saw on some chick site
) .001" nickel coating. I s'ppose I could also then solder plate as well, but then I wouldn't get the fragrant aromas of "fluxing"... John L.
Hi Geek,
As for chassis', I normally scuff through the oxides, apply electronic solder flux and hit the joint with a ton of heat. Another hand can be very helpful at that point in time.
Hi John,
I would like to try doing this to other metallic items, do you have a link or PDF to read and learn more.
I find that it's usually the small details that can trip a person up. The overall idea is very simple.
-Chris
I've never heard of that stuff.
As for chassis', I normally scuff through the oxides, apply electronic solder flux and hit the joint with a ton of heat. Another hand can be very helpful at that point in time.
Hi John,
Thank you for that. Is that a product or a process?
I would like to try doing this to other metallic items, do you have a link or PDF to read and learn more.
I find that it's usually the small details that can trip a person up. The overall idea is very simple.
-Chris
Hi Anatech,
That's what I used to do too, 'cept with the 88 you have to scrape nothing and a 30W Weller with big tip will do just fine.... even trough the oxide of a 50's vintage Fender chassis
It's a rosin, not acid flux either and can be used on PCB's.
The only negative I found is the flux seems somewhat conductive and when building with sensitive inputs, like CMOS logic, it'll see the flux as a short circuit. A quick brush with acetone fixes that
Cheers!
anatech said:
That's what I used to do too, 'cept with the 88 you have to scrape nothing and a 30W Weller with big tip will do just fine.... even trough the oxide of a 50's vintage Fender chassis
It's a rosin, not acid flux either and can be used on PCB's.
The only negative I found is the flux seems somewhat conductive and when building with sensitive inputs, like CMOS logic, it'll see the flux as a short circuit. A quick brush with acetone fixes that
Cheers!
I got back into electronics about 18 months ago. Lead free solder came as a surprise to me. I hate the stuff! Probably it's down to technique but even with a tip prepping 'paste' I had a hellish time getting a good joint. So I stocked up with a kilo of Autosol
Solder content: 50% tin, 1.4% copper, 48.6% lead
Melting range: 183°C to 215°C
22Swg
I get on famously with it. Joints made in less than 2 seconds and 100% perfect every time.
I think I will order another 500g. Hopefully that will see me out
regards
Fooboo
Solder content: 50% tin, 1.4% copper, 48.6% lead
Melting range: 183°C to 215°C
22Swg
I get on famously with it. Joints made in less than 2 seconds and 100% perfect every time.
I think I will order another 500g. Hopefully that will see me out
regards
Fooboo
Hi there
I've had a look round and found a tin, silver and copper mix with an eco/health friendly flux core as well. It says it has a lower melting point than 'Standard' solder which can only be a good thing and its costs about 3X as much (not complaining at that the world is a precious place). So my off the shelf lead free from maplin was bloody awful, I had to 'tin' the iron with this paste first and then solder up and as I said it was hell on earth getting a good joint. Was this down to the solder being 'cheap and nasty', technique or a bit of both? Or should there be little difference to tell traditional solder application from lead free? My iron is a 20W with pentip.
regards
Fooboo
I've had a look round and found a tin, silver and copper mix with an eco/health friendly flux core as well. It says it has a lower melting point than 'Standard' solder which can only be a good thing and its costs about 3X as much (not complaining at that the world is a precious place). So my off the shelf lead free from maplin was bloody awful, I had to 'tin' the iron with this paste first and then solder up and as I said it was hell on earth getting a good joint. Was this down to the solder being 'cheap and nasty', technique or a bit of both? Or should there be little difference to tell traditional solder application from lead free? My iron is a 20W with pentip.
regards
Fooboo
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