Brands of solder

[gbono]

Not solder but something I started using to deal with the variation in solderability of different brands of solder Flux Pens

I'm surprised that the RoHS doubters didn't bring up Sn dendrities and long term reliablity of lead-free solder joints? Lead is a terrible contaminant and the worst effects are suffered on children - though I have met many adults that act like they are suffering from lead posioning (irritability, unexplained changes in mood or personality, inability to concentrate, memory loss) or maybe it's just the way they came from the factory.

[blckmynnse8]

I've been using Kester solder for the past ten years myself, mainly because I have a good personal connection for acquiring it... I haven't used any other brands this whole time so I have no experience with comparisons but judging by what I've read I've encountered a serendipitous situation.

I have pretty much a front row seat to witness the issues that are coming to the surface with the move towards eliminating lead from the electronics industry. On the one side, who couldn't be all about making sure that the environment does not get poisoned. On the other side, I see first hand all of the havoc caused by the problems that arise from lead free soldering... and it foreshadows possible major infrastructure issues (in my mind at least). My immediate superior at my bread and butter job was attending meetings regarding this industry move, and the folks hosting them are pretty open about the fact that up to this point you basically cannot achieve the same level of good solder connection that you can with leaded solder. Not to mention the higher temperatures involved and the effect on electronic components. At the industry leading company that I work for as my 40-hour non-music job I see so many difficulties encountered with the lead free circuit boards... tons of failures. I hope I'm wrong, but there doesn't seem to be any real solution to the problem of lead free manufacturing in the near future.

[trem]

It's far worse than Love Canal-the only thing that's even close is Times Beach, Missouri. If you have google earth on your computer dial in Picher, Oklahoma and have a look. All those big white spots are mounds of lead mine tailings stretching in a band up into Kansas and across into Missouri, but the nasty stuff's right there. The town is within the Tar Creek superfund site.

It was one of those places I'd been there an hour or so and was thinking "I got to get the eff out of here."

Interestingly enough, Mickey Mantle was from Commerce, Oklahoma and his father was a lead miner and practicing alcoholic. The Mick was known in those parts as the Commerce Comet.

Picher, Oklahoma - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Good Heavens, it is a shame we are not taught these things in school. Perhaps if we did not focus our attentions on other countries........

[Enzo]

Other countries? We don't remotely teach our kids about other countries, geography is a lost art. Survey after survey shows the majority of high school kids can't even find Iraq or AFghanistan on a world map let alone a globe. In fact a large portion of them can;t answer the questions "what country borders the USA to the north? and What country borders the USA to the south?" Walk up to any young person working at McDonalds or the local gas station or anywhere else you chose, yes even the local college, and ask "what is the capital of Nebraska?" They won;t know, good luck finding one who knows the capital of Brazil. Ask them what "Hokkaidō · Honshū · Shikoku · Kyūshū" are, they won't know. (The four main islands of Japan) Wanna bet Japanese kids know what Texas, California, Florida, and New York are? ASk any school kid if they know what Siam, Burma, Upper Volta, or East Pakistan are called now, (let alone know where they are) and see how many know Thailand, Myanmar, Burkina Faso, and Bangladesh. Ask them if they know whay people on the Iberian peninsula are happy right now and see how many know that is where Spain is and they just won the world cup. Ask them what people live on Hispanola. (Haitians, among others.)

OK< I'll stop, this rant belongs down in the bottom forum anyway.

[6v6heaven]

Solder and Lead........behave differently

Wow...what a thread! Solder is an amalgum of tin and lead and as such has some distinctively different properties to lead metal. Amalgums generally do have different properties to the composite metals. Dental filling amalgum is a good example........ how many of us have our mouths filled with this mercury amalgum. Doesn't behave much like mercury for sure. I hope the guys trying to regulate this solder issue have all the necessary skills to see reality from doom and gloom. Regulated disposal of electronics...sure.......... why not sounds sensible............banning lead/tin solder....come on. Unfortunately once the scare gets under way..............lead becomes an emotive word and it will be banned from everything.....whether its a quantifiable risk or not. These over reactions are caused by previous excesses....lead in gas ....probably the cause. Everything is toxic at some exposure level, even water...................I hope this is being properly researched, tested and the real risk factors get sorted....... Makes me feel like firing up the iron and just tinning some wire for the hell of watching that flow, coat and set shiny and new.......... Watch out for the crazies they love banning stuff!!

[Chuck H]

Sorry, I'm not buying the "amalgum" (actually spelled amalgam) theory. Lead/tin solder leaves lead marks on whatever it touches just like lead. To me that means the lead is almost as soluble as in it's raw form, and therefore just as poisonous. As for mercury amalgam in fillings, well, there are consequences there too. That's why they don't use the stuff anymore. Not because someone yelled "MERCURY!". Some people had problems and mercury was discovered as the culprit.

I've been looking into the lead free solders because I think it's the right thing to do and I'll have to deal with it sooner or later. The good news for me is that it should prove to be OK for the eyelet board amps I build since tin whiskers and cold joints are somewhat abated by spacing and the nature of the contact points. The bad news is that it's awful to work with and it still sucks for everyone else. Especially the PCB guys that have single overlay boards and tight spacings. I think that has already been mentioned. I do wonder if the overflow of failed boards and consumer electronics that will grace our landfills resulting from lead free solder is really better than the lead in the solder now?

Chuck

[Enzo]

Well, to be toxic, you must ingest the lead. The vapor pressure of lead is, well, darn low, so you won't be inhaling it. SO unless we gnaw on it, the toxicity is not much of a problem.

[gbono]

Several other issues with the lead free solder process is the higher temperature for reflow (can be as high as 260C) and the nasty problem of rework. I have seen 22 layer boards puff up like a pastry due to rework temperature problems.

Not sure about Sn wiskers - everyone says that the "proper" plating and surface finish slows them down. Not sure I want this type of solder joint on my satellite

As far as lead in the enviornment goes - nasty stuff to find in the colloidal fields below our feet where it is reactive.

[Chuck H]

Prehaps technology is overrated, and we should make our music with sticks and bones.

Chuck