Infernal problem- soldering.

[Dave H]

I've always used - Multicore

[Pedro Vecino]

Problem is that the EU banned leaded solder, so its rather hard to find over here.

I do not remember well when this regulation was incorporated but about twenty years ago I bought 2,500 grams of what I was using then for fear of its disappearance. The truth is that since then I have never had a problem getting it. There is likely to be a more or less indefinite moratorium on all of this (lead for solder in electronics).
I buy by tradition in France since in the past what I bought in the north of Spain came from there. It is currently called BMJ and I buy it from Reboul:
https://www.reboul.fr/catalogue/outi...f_1025681.html

[g1]

Sea Chief , you've been using lead-free non-flux solder all along, no wonder you've had so much trouble. This is the solder we all complain about, even those who have been soldering for decades.

[Pixel]

Sea Chief , you've been using lead-free non-flux solder all along, no wonder you've had so much trouble. This is the solder we all complain about, even those who have been soldering for decades.

I had such a bad time trying to get the lead-free to melt on my video card that I used sidecutters to chop the bad cap in half and soldered the replacement onto the stubs. It is still working.

[g1]

If it only says 'solder' on, & where its made.. then a photo of it is of no use/ does nothing to clear anything up whatsoever

It actually says 'lead free solder" on it, doesn't it.

[Sea Chief]

Sea Chief , you've been using lead-free non-flux solder all along, no wonder you've had so much trouble. This is the solder we all complain about, even those who have been soldering for decades.

Hi g1. I had no idea it was non-flux, only lead free (as we have to use in EU). I used it today as I did manage to resurrect an old oxidised iron just for a quick test job (gtr vol pot).. & the last thing I would deem the solder is 'so much trouble', because it melted/ flowed quickly just as it always did [when my tips were usuable].

Anyway to be on the safe side/ cross all facets to aid my new tip, I'll take your advice & get different stuff.. but whether it will be any different to mine, or other EU stuff is another matter. It might be worse! I cant afford £30 reels of it tho. £5 60/40 stuff which says 'flux in' seems sensible in case you are right about my solder.

(So why would you have complained about it I wonder, if it works so well even for me, with a £15 cheapo spare iron? you say you were complaining about Dencon lead free solder- specifically this stuff? ).

--

Anyway the tin tipper.. has proved so far just the ticket. I tinned the new tip only, very wary about using until I'm confident of all bits to hand, brass wool thing etc, & gone through youtube clips on tip care etc. And gone back to school re. my technique.

Appreciate the replies chaps- SC

[nosaj]

Try to remove through hole components on a pc board or even a multilayer pc board that has lead free solder.
nosaj

[Sea Chief]

Try to remove through hole components on a pc board or even a multilayer pc board that has lead free solder.
nosaj

Sorry Im not following what you mean nosaj. Thx SC

[Greg Robinson]

Tip tinner is just an extra agressive flux (to clean the tip) with a low percentage of solder balls (to tin the tip) in it. Use it sparingly, and only on tips that can not otherwise be tinned with solder wire, as each use sacrifices some of the steel plating on the tip, and will ultimately wear the tip out prematurely. Much better to avoid getting the tip so oxidized in the first place.

And yes, make sure to get solder wire that contains flux. Fluxless solder is much less common, and usually considerably more expensive. I could not find a datasheet on Dencon S05 (always a concern when you can't find this info), but most of the places listing it for sale seem to refer to model railways, where use of seperate paste flux as in brazing is the norm, and no references to it as an electronics flux.

Another thing that has been mentioned but I don't think repeated enough, and I haven't seen you acknowledge SC, is you mentioned that you wipe your tip when you place it back in the stand. This is very much a bad thing for the tip, as you remove the protective layer of solder, and the tip itself will oxidize in this unprotected state. You should only wipe the tip just before it is to be used, and immediately tin the tip again with fresh solder before moving on to making joints. You can leave all the solder and dross on the tip after making joints, it might look ugly but that layer of solder keeps it protected. You want to minimize any time the untinned tip is hot and exposed to air.

[Chuck H]

FWIW, and this will sound awful to some here, but, The tip on my iron is reshaped and polished down to the copper as replacement tips are not made for my iron by the original manufacturer. It's recently come to my attention that there may be another manufacturers tip that will fit, but I haven't researched that in depth yet. Anyway...

By using flux core solder, keeping a layer on the tip when not in use, cleaning and then re tinning before starting new work it's been performing fine. No trouble with not melting solder joints or getting up to temp. I'm using the same heat setting I always have since before the tip wore out.

Submitted for everyone's information and consideration. Flame on

[Pixel]

Sorry Im not following what you mean nosaj. Thx SC

I think this is a reference to the same type of situation I had when I was trying to remove a bad capacitor from my video card. The leadfree solder just wouldn't melt because the pcb was acting like a heatsink. Even using two irons at once didn't work so I just cut the body of the cap up with sidecutters until all that was left was two wire stubs that I could solder the new cap to.

[Sea Chief]

FWIW, and this will sound awful to some here, but, The tip on my iron is reshaped and polished down to the copper as replacement tips are not made for my iron by the original manufacturer. It's recently come to my attention that there may be another manufacturers tip that will fit, but I haven't researched that in depth yet. Anyway...

By using flux core solder, keeping a layer on the tip when not in use, cleaning and then re tinning before starting new work it's been performing fine. No trouble with not melting solder joints or getting up to temp. I'm using the same heat setting I always have since before the tip wore out.

Submitted for everyone's information and consideration. Flame on

I dont understand how you can polish down to the copper, & then it immediately not oxidise over preventing you from tinning it with any kind of solder. I effectively tried many times the same by scraping down to the shiny copper (once my tip had greyed).. but no way on gods earth could I get any solder to melt nicely over the tip.

Looking at youtube clips, I'm also not understanding the US pronunciation of solder. Should be simply like bolder.. but I keep hearing something akin to 'saahder', 'saahdering iron' Eh? I keep rewinding & straining to hear. wtf did he just say?! 'saaaad..ering'?? (the strangest UK/US english language difference thing I've known by far.. unless it's different spelling of course).

[Dave H]

FWIW, and this will sound awful to some here, but, The tip on my iron is reshaped and polished down to the copper as replacement tips are not made for my iron by the original manufacturer.

It doesn't sound awful to me Chuck. My first soldering iron was a 25W Henley Solon. It had a copper bit (no plating) When it becomes hollow just file it flat again and Bob's your uncle and he was! It was my uncle Bob who gave it to me.

[Sea Chief]

It doesn't sound awful to me Chuck. My first soldering iron was a 25W Henley Solon. It had a copper bit (no plating) When it becomes hollow just file it flat again and Bob's your uncle and he was! It was my uncle Bob who gave it to me.

Wish I had an uncle bob's iron like that. woulda saved all my faff. Hollow-?

[Dave H]

Wish I had an uncle bob's iron like that. woulda saved all my faff. Hollow-?

Yeah, the diagonal flat surface of the bit became concave with use.

Americans say "sod her" and we say "sold her" Its just the way it is.