Solder quality

[jbignall]

Hi.

I live in the UK and I've had decent results with Qualitek NC601-60-40 (0.71 mm) with no clean flux. It currently costs about 18 GBP + VAT for a 500g reel from Somerset Solders in the UK. The quality of your soldering equipment does play a part though as has been said before. I am in the process of replacing my Atten 938D soldering station with a Hakko FX888D as the Atten often struggles to heat bigger joints reliably even at higher heat settings.

Hope this helps.

Jon

[22swg]

I have been using Rapid (UK) 60/40 with good results , didn't change deliberately but added 100gm roll to an order , This brand is EAGLE  anyone used .. results care to comment ?
Edit ...
Just used the Eagle 40/60 ( Taiwan ) 'Quality' solder from ESR (UK)  seems OK .

[Nerull]

Cleaning RA flux is generally required per IPC standards but in practice most don't cause problems. One thing to watch out for with no-clean fluxes is that if you do want to clean them off the residue is often much harder to get off than RA flux and tends to leave white residue behind. I've heard the phrase "can't-clean flux" a few times.

As for your soldering, its hard to tell with the focus but a few do appear to exhibit signs of non-wetting to the lead - the sharp edge between the solder and lead. This can be caused by surface oxidation of the lead or the lead not getting hot enough. The prefluxed joints look better, which could point to oxidation. The amount of solder on each joint is a little bit excessive but I've seen a lot worse.

[netdudeuk]

My Leaded Solder Wire Roll 0.81mm Dia. 454g Sn63 / Pb37 4885-454G arrived yesterday and I gave it a spin.

http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/solder/leaded/sn63-pb37-4880/

I have to say, I'm very pleased with it.  In fact, I spent all last night dreaming about the gleaming joints    Yes, really.

I checked out the specs (linked to above), set the Hakko tip temperature to 260 (from my usual 350) and off I went.  Although the new-found delay in the solder melting wasn't ideal, it flowed very well and left very bright shiny joints.  The profiles were very nice and I didn't bother with extra flux.

I would have preferred the 0.64mm but they had none.  I like the solder so much, I ordered the last of the same type again.

Most of the Chinese 63/37 solder joints on the protoboard looked ok until I started using the new stuff.  Now they don't look so good, being dull and not so nicely shaped.

So, I think it's pretty obvious that it is worth spending the extra money to get a better quality solder.

[nanofrog]

I checked out the specs (linked to above), set the Hakko tip temperature to 260 (from my usual 350) and off I went.  Although the new-found delay in the solder melting wasn't ideal, it flowed very well and left very bright shiny joints.

Set the iron to 315C/600F and see if you don't like that better. 

[chhrisedwards]

you can try this out: Alpha Fry AT-31604 60-40 Rosin Core Solder
I used this solder and I find it very easy to use n is of good quality.

[tooki]

you can try this out: Alpha Fry AT-31604 60-40 Rosin Core Solder
I used this solder and I find it very easy to use n is of good quality.

That was already tried in the comparison above. Not the worst, not the best.

As everyone says, the best brands for electronics are (in no particular order; these are all top-notch) Kester, Multicore (Loctite), Stannol, Felder, MG Chemicals. Get whichever is cheapest and easily available where you live.

[tooki]

There's 63/37 solder which is great and there's 60/40 solder, which is more "user friendly". 
The 63/37 is eutectic, which means it turns from liquid to solid almost instantly, once the temperature reaches a very narrow temperature range (maybe a couple of degrees C). It makes for better solder joints.
The 60/40 solder stays liquid for a higher temperature range so it takes more time to turn to solid, so it's easier for amateurs and it makes it easier to work with lousy soldering irons.
Between these, I'd still recommend going with 63/37 even if it's more expensive.

60/40 more user-friendly? The fact that it's not eutectic, that it has a plastic phase, is precisely what makes it less user-friendly than 63/37, because it's much more susceptible to movement during cooling. You want it to go from liquid to solid with no plastic phase during which the joint can be disturbed.

60/40 is made simply because it's close enough to 63/37 for most purposes, but is cheaper because lead is cheaper than tin.

It does baffle me that 63/37 is so hard to find in Europe compared to USA. It seems most of the European solder vendors have almost stopped making leaded solder.

My standard solder is Kester 63/37 in 0.8 and 0.3mm, plus some MG Chemicals lead-free SAC305 in 0.8mm, and I just got some Felder 0.5mm 62/36/2 silver-bearing solder.

[M4trix]

It does baffle me that 63/37 is so hard to find in Europe compared to USA. It seems most of the European solder vendors have almost stopped making leaded solder.

Have no fear ! 

TME Solder wire with lead

[nanofrog]

Never heard of Broquetas S.L. (anyone with experience using it?).

But if the flux ^ isn't up to par, at least Stannol is still making it. 

[KL27x]

I'm curious how cheap is "cheap Chinese solder?"

[M4trix]

Never heard of Broquetas S.L. (anyone with experience using it?).

+1

I might order a sample. Just to try the stuff. 

[Neomys Sapiens]

While we are discussing leaded solder here, and I would also recommend Multicore and maybe Stannol, with Sn/Pb/Ag being the ultimate problem-solver, I also want to include the Information on the best lead-free solder for manual soldering, that I ever came across of:
Balver-Zinn Brilliant B2012, LF2220 NC, LF3135 NC
https://www.balverzinn.com/home.html

I can recommend those definitely over Felder and any other that I had to work with!

[tooki]

I'm curious how cheap is "cheap Chinese solder?"

On Banggood, less than half of Multicore from Digikey. Probably less on ali or ebay.

[nanofrog]

Never heard of Broquetas S.L. (anyone with experience using it?).

+1

I might order a sample. Just to try the stuff. 

That'd definitely be useful information for UK/EU members IMHO. 

Based on equivalent weight (1lb & 0.5kg spools respectively), flux, and diameter to Kester 44 vs. Stannol's offering (sw...24? flux is apparently their term for RA), TME's prices seem comparable to those in the US (i.e. vendors that don't gouge). So no 20EUR (or whatever) fee from Farnell to import Kester across the pond. 

[tooki]

What's Digi-Key's pricing like for EU and UK? Cuz Digi-Key now has free shipping to Switzerland on orders of CHF54/EUR50 and up. That makes Kester and Multicore easy to acquire.

[M4trix]

Btw, another source of soldering wire with lead (Felder) in Europe.

Bürklin Elektronik

[macboy]

I have used Kester 44 60/40 0.031" solder for years and love it. The 44 flux is RA (active rosin) so it cuts through oxidation better. Joints are shiny and smooth. It wets the tip better than anything else I've ever used.

I also have some Kester 285 (RMA, mildly active rosin) in 63/37, and 0.031", 0.020" and 0.015". This is very good too, especially for new boards and components that aren't crusty and oxidized with age.

I have some Multicore with RA flux and it is nearly equal to the Kester 44. Maybe I'm biased to the 44 since that what I used since my earliest years in the hobby (around age 12).

I also have some Kester 245 in 62/36/2 SnPbAg alloy. I love the alloy itself (you never seen joints SO shiny!), but the no-clean flux leaves something to be desired. I prefer rosin based.

I've never tried the cheap Chinese solder, but I've reworked some joints on some cheap Chinese boards (Arduino clones and/or shields, sensors, etc.). Those boards were probably soldered using similar stuff. I don't know what that stuff is made of. It isn't like any of my leaded or lead free alloys. I presume they must make it from the dross sludge skimmed from the solder pots or solder wave machines. It's that bad.

[nanofrog]

What's Digi-Key's pricing like for EU and UK? Cuz Digi-Key now has free shipping to Switzerland on orders of CHF54/EUR50 and up. That makes Kester and Multicore easy to acquire.

From Farnell's UK site.. Delivery Charge: £15.95 once per order.

[mariush]

That's only for stuff they don't stock in EU warehouses.

With Digikey, for Romania I think it's free shipping for any order higher than 200$ but it could be lower amount these days.

[KL27x]

On Banggood, less than half of Multicore from Digikey. Probably less on ali or ebay.

I have not searched banggood or ali for solder, but the cheapest deals I have gotten on last couple orders were from... Mouser. Under $10.00 per 1 lb roll, AIM.

You can pay upwards of $30.00 or even $40.00 a roll for Kester or Multicore or whatnot. But they often have cheaper options. I'm not sure where AIM is made... probably mexico, lol. I can't tell the difference.  Once you get around $10.00 per roll, I can't see any reason to worry about further savings. Your time is worth something.... enough to make the price of solder pretty moot at this point.

*edit: fabrique au Canada!

[mrpackethead]

I've been getting really good results with the Henkel range of solder.. We are mostly a lead free shop now, but both their lead free and lead work really well. 

[tooki]

What's Digi-Key's pricing like for EU and UK? Cuz Digi-Key now has free shipping to Switzerland on orders of CHF54/EUR50 and up. That makes Kester and Multicore easy to acquire.

From Farnell's UK site.. Delivery Charge: £15.95 once per order.

Well that’s fine and dandy, but I was talking about Digi-Key, not Farnell.

digikey.co.uk: “Free delivery to United Kingdom on orders of £33.00 or more. A delivery charge of £12.00 will be billed on all orders less than £33.00.”

For every EU Digi-Key page I checked, it’s the same thing: free shipping on orders €50 and up, €18 shipping for orders below that.

[nanofrog]

What's Digi-Key's pricing like for EU and UK? Cuz Digi-Key now has free shipping to Switzerland on orders of CHF54/EUR50 and up. That makes Kester and Multicore easy to acquire.

From Farnell's UK site.. Delivery Charge: £15.95 once per order.

Well that’s fine and dandy, but I was talking about Digi-Key, not Farnell.

digikey.co.uk: “Free delivery to United Kingdom on orders of £33.00 or more. A delivery charge of £12.00 will be billed on all orders less than £33.00.”

For every EU Digi-Key page I checked, it’s the same thing: free shipping on orders €50 and up, €18 shipping for orders below that.

I used them as an example in regard to items warehoused in the US and shipped to the UK/EU (item not stored in UK/EU warehouses).  FWIW, I've run into the same issue in reverse, and neither situation qualifying for any of the free shipping deals that may exist as it's an imported item/s. 

[tooki]

I used them as an example in regard to items warehoused in the US and shipped to the UK/EU (item not stored in UK/EU warehouses).  FWIW, I've run into the same issue in reverse, and neither situation qualifying for any of the free shipping deals that may exist as it's an imported item/s. 

Well, Digi-Key has only one warehouse, the one in Minnesota, and all orders for the entire world are shipped from there. They must get one hell of a deal with UPS and FedEx, given that they ship 15,000 orders per day! (Apparently Digi-Key does all the pre-sorting themselves, delivering to UPS air containers that are ready to go on the plane.)

I just ordered from them recently, and it really is free 2-day air. (I placed my order on a Wednesday evening, and it arrived Friday midday.) And they do their own customs clearance, so no surprise fees, but UPS collects the VAT on delivery. (Amazon, Reichelt, Conrad, etc. do both customs clearance and collecting VAT, even easier.)

Farnell is really odd: If you order from their Swiss country site (which sadly is German and French only, no option to revert to English!) they've got free shipping for orders CHF50 and up, and items from USA say "no additional shipping charges, 10-14 days delivery, non-cancelable, non-refundable". But if you order from their generic "export" site, shipping is undefined, and they can't quote it before shipping an order. They apparently bill your card for the order, then go pack it, and then bill you again for shipping after the fact. o_O   

But according to a customer service rep, Farnell doesn't do customs clearance, so I won't order from them, since that almost guarantees surprise fees on delivery in Switzerland. (If anyone in CH has experience with them, let me know.)

With Digikey, for Romania I think it's free shipping for any order higher than 200$ but it could be lower amount these days.

FYI, seems to be free shipping on minimum orders of USD100/210lei.