chip quick solder alloy alternatives?

[henter2017]

Hi All, does anyone know of any really low melting point allow that can be used instead of the chip quick expensive as gold one?
I could find some white metal ones as low as 70/100 on ebay but they arent too cheap either...
Thanks,
Jero

[J M Fahey]

The magic ingredient is Bismuth.
If you cpold get bismuth wire orcit a strip from a sheet *nd* yu add it to molten solder, the alloy will have way lower melting point.
For best results you should also have cadmium in the mix.

I bet chipquik is bismuth/cadmium wire which when molten makes the whole solder joint the proper one; melting temperatre can be as low as 47C to 70C , way below water boiling point.

[Enzo]

I have found even a small roll of the Chip Quik lasts a LONG time.

[g1]

I thought this question sounded like something discussed recently, but it was a little hard to find.
There was an alternate, but it turned out to be a similar price:
http://music-electronics-forum.com/t42515-2/#post430511

[henter2017]

Found this on ebay... not the cheapest metal ever but....

Bismuth metal 3g domes 99.99% purity various weights sent FREE 1st class from UK | eBay

[Mick Bailey]

There are quite a few low melting point alloys, but whether they're as good as Chip Quick is another matter. I'm thinking about re-melting once the metal has alloyed with the solder in the joint. Chip Quick can be reflowed easily after the joint has 'frozen' - if you're not quick enough or drop something. Perhaps other low melting point alloys behave differently once mixed up with the parent metal in the joint.

Despite the price, I'm happy with Chip Quick. I balance the cost with the income from a repair and the comparative ease and reliability of the product. If I'm fixing a £2000 piece of gear I won't begrudge 1/2 inch of Chip Quick if it means getting off an IC without damaging the pads.