Mesa MkV unusual problem

[Mick Bailey]

The question is, how would you go about inhaling cadmium fumes (even if Chipquik did contain cadmium) when the MP of the alloy is lower than the MP of cadmium itself? Fuming of cadmium occurs at temperatures above the metals melting point of 321 deg.C. I would say that the handling of cadmium oxide formed on the surface of old chassis and plated components was more risky. Even then, inhilation of cadmium oxide in quantities likely to be experienced through amp repair does not present 'deadly' symptoms. Smoking will give you a higher dose of cadmium than most other activities.

Industrial processes that result in finely divided metallic particles, oxide dust, or the production of organo-cadmium compounds would necessarily be considered hazardous these days (though in the recent past would have been normal in plating and automotive industries). Mild, infrequent exposure (mainly through breathing dust), whilst serious, does not produce life threatening symptoms.

[soundguruman]

The question is, how would you go about inhaling cadmium fumes (even if Chipquik did contain cadmium) when the MP of the alloy is lower than the MP of cadmium itself? Fuming of cadmium occurs at temperatures above the metals melting point of 321 deg.C. I would say that the handling of cadmium oxide formed on the surface of old chassis and plated components was more risky. Even then, inhilation of cadmium oxide in quantities likely to be experienced through amp repair does not present 'deadly' symptoms. Smoking will give you a higher dose of cadmium than most other activities.

Industrial processes that result in finely divided metallic particles, oxide dust, or the production of organo-cadmium compounds would necessarily be considered hazardous these days (though in the recent past would have been normal in plating and automotive industries). Mild, infrequent exposure (mainly through breathing dust), whilst serious, does not produce life threatening symptoms.

OK Mr. Genius,
FYI there is NO WAY you will unsolder that relay at a temp of 321C. The pads on the board dissipate too much heat.
364-384C is the MINIMUM.
Don't you "wish" you could do it at 321C? Dream on... until your dream comes true. (suggest you buy a thermometer, and a gas mask)

Now let's see a picture of YOUR soldering station.
And, how many Boogies have you removed the relays from? .......lemme guess.......ZERO? Gee, how "did" I know that?
hahahqhahahhahahahhhjhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

[Mick Bailey]

You don't understand the Chipquik process; the material alloys with the solder present in the joint and reduces the MP of the 'new' alloy formed. I've found that a temeperature controlled iron even at 200c is more than enough to remove Mesa relays. Chipquik melts at 58c and my technique (as I previously said) is to conventionally remove the surplus solder from the joint with a desolder station and then chipquik the relay off. Using this method ensures that the chipquick alloy is the majority material present, so the pads and associated tracks aren't degraded in any way through excess heat.

[soundguruman]

You don't understand the Chipquik process; the material alloys with the solder present in the joint and reduces the MP of the 'new' alloy formed. I've found that a temeperature controlled iron even at 200c is more than enough to remove Mesa relays. Chipquik melts at 58c and my technique (as I previously said) is to conventionally remove the surplus solder from the joint with a desolder station and then chipquik the relay off. Using this method ensures that the chipquick alloy is the majority material present, so the pads and associated tracks aren't degraded in any way through excess heat.

Yeah, right. I wanna see you do it.
A. I never said that Chipquik contains Cadmium. Somebody made that up. BS
B. You don't need Chipquik at all. You need a real soldering Station, and a roll of Solder Wick.
C. After repairing hundreds and hundreds of guitar amps for the last 38 years, I don't know "how" I ever lived without it. My life is deprived.

[Steve A.]

You don't need Chipquik at all. You need a real soldering Station, and a roll of Solder Wick. After repairing hundreds and hundreds of guitar amps for the last 38 years, I don't know "how" I ever lived without it. My life is deprived.

So how many digital amps or processors have you worked on? ChipQuik sounds like a good thing to have when replacing those SMD chips with hundreds and hundreds of pins but I do agree with you that it certainly isn't necessary to replace the relays on Mesa Boogie amps. But I do see how it could be handy for some pcb amp repairs- assuming that it fits into your budget. I am always interested in new technology and I like to keep up with it as much as I can- not that I'm going to run out and buy everything I read about.

BTW the patent application was dated 1993 and cadmium was undoubtedly removed for the exact reasons you have cited. The wording in the patent application suggests that the listed formula is only one of several. "Employed in the separation process is a removal alloy wire formed from a plurality of constituent metals including 18% tin, 28% lead, 11% cadmium and 43% bismuth."

I guess I should stop burning my old NiCad batteries and inhaling the fumes...

Steve Ahola

[Mick Bailey]

It isn't necessary for relay removal - but it does a pretty good job if you already have it to hand for SMD repairs. Until recently I had the correct tool for removing DIP packages in one go, but I've mislaid the box of assorted heads and only have the iron. It looks like a chip inserter made of brass and heats both rows of pins simultaneously and the relay or IC comes right out undamaged. So I used Chipquik as it was by me for a repair on a synth and really liked it for DIP removal, efficient but not cheap.

[Steve A.]

It isn't necessary for relay removal - but it does a pretty good job if you already have it to hand for SMD repairs.

I have damaged many parts and pcb traces trying to desolder parts- nothing really fancy but something that was more stubborn than I thought. Not really a problem- I just replace the trashed traces with component leads or tinned bus wire. And I may want to do mods on some of the new pedals and other boards with SMD resistors and capacitors. I have put Chipquik on my wish list- it sounds like something that could prove to be useful.

To jump in with both feet it looks like the SMD16/291kit would be the way to go for $108 since you get free shipping on orders over $100 (otherwise it is $9.50)

Chip Quik SMD16/291 Rework Combination Kit Product Sheet

Or to try it out you can get the SMD1 kit from Amazon for $12.99 with free shipping for orders over $25. (I might give that a shot the next time I need to get my shopping cart up to $25.)

ChipQuik SMD1 Low Temperature Removal Kit - Amazon.com

Thanks for the information!

Steve Ahola

[Jazz P Bass]

Now, if only someone would come up with a tool to tell you how much glue is underneath the SMD IC.
Too much & that IC is not going to lift clean.