Does anyone know a website that has good 63/37 multi core rosen solder

[Astaldoath]

Everything im finding on amazon is chinese, cant read what it is, weather its multicore or not, heck even the diameters are wrong. I looked up .4 and it say 2.5. If anyone has a good and fairly cheap site for solder thats a good quality and a flux pen, please post it here. Im gettin the cheaper stuff before I get my hakko. Gotta wait on fiances tax return for that.

Thank you by the way .4mm should be good for a beginner doing through hole, i shouldnt need like .3 or .25 or anything right

[gnavigator1007]

https://gokimco.com/44-rosin-core-solder-wire-sn63-pb37-031-66.html

[Brumby]

For through hole, you can go bigger than 0.4mm - but getting that size isn't a bad thing ... then you will be right for some more challenging soldering as well.

Just make sure you pay attention to tip selection.

[GreyWoolfe]

Everything im finding on amazon is chinese, cant read what it is, weather its multicore or not, heck even the diameters are wrong. I looked up .4 and it say 2.5. If anyone has a good and fairly cheap site for solder thats a good quality and a flux pen, please post it here. Im gettin the cheaper stuff before I get my hakko. Gotta wait on fiances tax return for that.

Thank you by the way .4mm should be good for a beginner doing through hole, i shouldnt need like .3 or .25 or anything right

Here is Kester 44, 63/37 on Amazon-- https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_4_7?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=kester+63%2F37&sprefix=kester+%2Caps%2C168&crid=1XC6F3LCX0K7J

[Astaldoath]

ok, id rather have a smaller solder than bigger just me so if for some reason god knows why i need a smaller size ill have it. Dave swears by the 63/37 that it makes soldering much easier for a newbie, im not very steady anymore so if 60/40 would work better for my newbie butt ill get that, ill either get .4mm or .5mm, i wish they just sold like 1/4 coils or something also my radioshack iron's tip is destroyed how would I know what size tip would fit it, its one of those 20 dollar straight in the wall irons, It has a tiny tip and id like a wedge tip if possible, cause if I can get em both from the same place I will. If you need me to look at my iron lemme know the whole thing is miscolored but it still gets hot, i made the mistake of trying to cool it with a wet sponge a long time ago so i could set it down lol.

[Astaldoath]

Could I get this https://www.amazon.com/Kester-83-3000-0000-SN60PB40-Kwik-Draw-Diameter/dp/B00068IJI6/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1517706040&sr=8-6&keywords=kester+60%2F40

Just so i dont over spend yet until if I see if my iron still works haha

[Astaldoath]

Could I get this https://www.amazon.com/Kester-83-3000-0000-SN60PB40-Kwik-Draw-Diameter/dp/B00068IJI6/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1517706040&sr=8-6&keywords=kester+60%2F40

Just so i dont over spend yet until if I see if my iron still works haha

That's 1.27mm!

 you mean you dont go by the 0.050?  how can i tell what size my solder is lol sorry said i was a total noob

it says

Wire Diameter: .050"
Alloy: 60% Tin / 40% Lead
Core Size: 66 (3.3% by weight)
Contains: 1.3 oz

[Cliff Matthews]

Leaded solder makes Canadians sick...

[Astaldoath]

I say thats pretty fed up, have someone in the USA buy it and mail it to you


but is that roll of solder 0.050 diameter or 1.27 diameter? i cant see a millimeter rating

ok its saying inches so your right its 1.27mm, so the .031 would be better then at .078 mm?

[Cliff Matthews]

I've got a supply for now, but I bet it's way past a decent shelf life.. Anyway I cheer-up easily, remembering something else I saw:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/plumbum-a-%27other-metal%27-by-any-other-name-would-smell-just-as-sweet/

[Cliff Matthews]

@Astaldoath - Sorry, for venting on your thread    I was just probing around to see if that first reply was a good price and click too quickly on a link from Amazon.ca.  Welcome, and I hope you found and continue to find fine answers here from all the good folks on the forum.

[IanB]

You shouldn't use 63/37. It it eutectic, which means it doesn't have the plastic stage. It's either liquid or solid. This is good for high reliability, but you need a good process control. With casual hand soldering, 60/40 is better. It allows you to make errors and not forming a cracked cold joint.

Your statement contradicts itself. High reliability means reducing the risk of poor joints.

Having an plastic state allows parts to move in the plastic stage, which increases the risk of cracked joints.

My advice is completely the opposite: use 63/37 for hand soldering and avoid 60/40. The eutectic composition goes quickly from liquid to solid and reduces the risk of bad joints caused by movement before the solder has set.

[Monkeh]

You shouldn't use 63/37. It it eutectic, which means it doesn't have the plastic stage. It's either liquid or solid. This is good for high reliability, but you need a good process control. With casual hand soldering, 60/40 is better. It allows you to make errors and not forming a cracked cold joint.

Oh good grief, it doesn't matter that much.

ok its saying inches so your right its 1.27mm, so the .031 would be better then at .078 mm?

That would be 0.78mm. And yes, that's a reasonable size for through-hole work.

[IanB]

Your idea works with a good iron that can heat up a large ground plane. With a cheap Hakko 888 or similar, ground planes are PITA, and that's when you would like to "top thing off" with 60/40.

I have no idea what you are talking about.

[Bud]

Cmlsupply.com

[Cliff Matthews]

Cmlsupply.com

Thanks, since that's over our stupid maximum $20 free import limit, what would that work out to?
(btw, I still like my country, but imports and taxes drive us crazy)  US crazy.. hmm joke 

[Cubdriver]

I'd be inclined to say that if you used solder wire for the 60/40 and SAC305, but paste for the 63/37, then they WEREN'T all soldered under the same conditions.  And for what it's worth, if I'm soldering a joint, and then for some reason such as rework adding more solder, then I apply the iron as needed to melt the solder that's there, not for a predetermined exact time.  Your experiment isn't a bad one, but you need to control the variables better so that you compare apples to apples - by this I mean using the same diameter and core size solders of each of the alloys being tested.  Comparing wire to paste isn't the same.

I started using 60/40 when I first got involved in electronics as a young teenager, and currently am inclined towards 63/37.  I haven't had difficulties with cold solder joints in either.

-Pat

[Bud]

Cmlsupply.com

Thanks, since that's over our stupid maximum $20 free import limit, what would that work out to?

The link was for OP who is in the US.

[KL27x]

Thank you by the way .4mm should be good for a beginner doing through hole, i shouldnt need like .3 or .25 or anything right

I only have solder in 0.79, 1.27, and 1.57mm. I do everything with solderwire and flux, including QFN.  (My paste and oven haven't been used in years). I mostly use 0603 and SSOP pitch parts, and I do both prototyping and some modest amount of production assembly of my own boards.

For the past 4 years, I have favored 1.27mm. But lately, I am using the 1.57mm almost exclusively for the fine pitch stuff (kind of a niche reason/technique, for sure). The ONLY reason I'm even sitting on 2 lbs of 0.79mm is because, at the time, it was the size that was available with the right specs, at the right price... and I had forgotten how much I dislike it. 5 minutes of using the 0.032" wire loosened my wallet, and I ordered 3 lbs of 1.27mm the same day.

So no. You don't NEED 0.3mm solder for anything. But YOU might prefer it for some things. Whenever I have to use this stuff (on site with a client, and usually it goes along with a micro pointy tipped iron) I try to grin and bear it, even though I may do the same fine pitch and tight rework they ever do, only I do it 3x as efficiently.




 

[Cliff Matthews]

Cmlsupply.com

Thanks, since that's over our stupid maximum $20 free import limit, what would that work out to?

The link was for OP who is in the US.

Oops, mistakenly thought a fellow countrymen was extending a hand to borh.

[GreyWoolfe]

Having an plastic state allows parts to move in the plastic stage, which increases the risk of cracked joints.

My advice is completely the opposite: use 63/37 for hand soldering and avoid 60/40. The eutectic composition goes quickly from liquid to solid and reduces the risk of bad joints caused by movement before the solder has set.

Your idea works with a good iron that can heat up a large ground plane. With a cheap Hakko 888 or similar, ground planes are PITA, and that's when you would like to "top thing off" with 60/40.

When I had my Hakko 936 and 60/40, I really hated the plastic stage.  Granted, I have much better soldering equipment now, but I much prefer the 63/37 Kester 44 I have now.  I still have some of that 60/40 but I basically use it to solder PL-259 connectors onto coax because it's a much thicker diameter than the 63/37.