Solder

little eddy · Post by **little eddy** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 12:07 pm

I recently bought some silver solder from Rapid but when assembling Andrew's heater boards, it does not run well at all, at least not as easy to use as my previous Shark silver solder.

Can anyone recommend a different type to get/use?

pre65 · Post by **pre65** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 12:11 pm

Is the temperature of your soldering iron variable ?

Being a Luddite I still use lead/tin solder.

little eddy · Post by **little eddy** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 4:05 pm

No it is fixed temperature Antex 25W one but had no issues with previous solder. I think the Rapid silver one I have bought is lead-free and think this may be where the issue could lie.

Is the silver content critical or would a leaded solder flow better?

Anything recommended from Rapid/Maplins/E-bay?

Mike H · Post by **Mike H** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 6:22 pm

I always thought "silver solder" was indeed higher temp.

Neal · Post by **Neal** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 7:10 pm

2~3% silver 'loaded' solder will melt just fine with an ordinary iron, the silver should help wet the joint better than normal 60/40 and make a stronger joint...the other benefit of a small amount of silver is the solder is closer to being a eutectic solder than 60/40.

pre65 · Post by **pre65** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 7:30 pm

The last new 20W soldering iron I purchased made a poor job with 60/40 solder, but when I put the tip from the old iron on it was OK.

So, do modern tips perform differently ? Perhaps the plating is different ?

davebms · Post by **davebms** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 8:04 pm

Mike H wrote:I always thought "silver solder" was indeed higher temp.

prob depends on what type. engineers/metal workers is not far off the temp of braizing rods

i still use lead/tin i have some lead free/silver solder (maplins) dont get on with it at all

Mike H · Post by **Mike H** » Thu Apr 04, 2013 10:59 am

That's probably what I was thinking of, even a 150W soldering gun wouldn't touch it, needs a gas gun.

Not tried lead-free but I guess I should, if just to see what's involved.

jack · Post by **jack** » Thu Apr 04, 2013 12:02 pm

Silver-loaded, lead-free, solder tends to melt at about 20C higher than traditional 60/40.

Its not about the iron's power - its about tip temperature.

Lead-free solder also has a different "look" to it when flowing - not so shiny - can be difficult sometimes to spot a potentially dry joint...

I use Metcal MX-500 RF TC irons - the temperature of the tip is controlled by the tip itself - I have had to switch all my tips now I'm using lead-free...

Neal · Post by **Neal** » Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:05 pm

Doesn't have to be lead free, tin/lead solder with 2% silver content is available

davebms · Post by **davebms** » Thu Apr 04, 2013 8:40 pm

Neal wrote:Doesn't have to be lead free, tin/lead solder with 2% silver content is available

any recomended type and supplier

Neal · Post by **Neal** » Thu Apr 04, 2013 9:38 pm

RS do reels of the stuff. iE

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/solders/0551665/

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/solders/0551671/

pre65 · Post by **pre65** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 5:06 pm

I had an e-mail from Rapid today re solder.

http://www.rapidonline.com/SearchResult ... mailvision

little eddy · Post by **little eddy** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 8:51 pm

Ended up buying some basic leaded 60/40 multicore solder. Solders fine with nice 'wet' look permitting me to restart on my CS4398 DAC with my 3 of Andrew's dc heater boards while the house is empty for a few days.

So it must have been the Rapid silver solder, or my simple iron just wasn't hot enough.

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