What do you use for solder wire?

[electronics man]

I use edsyn Sn62Pb36Ag2 0.34mm with flux core it is very good and wets very well it costs £24 for 100g it is not very good for big solder joints so I use a larger gauge solder for that. It is a very good solder and I would recommend it.

[MaximRecoil]

I use edsyn Sn62Pb36Ag2 0.34mm with flux core it is very good and wets very well it costs £24 for 100g it is not very good for big solder joints so I use a larger gauge solder for that. It is a very good solder and I would recommend it.

0.34mm is even smaller than the .015" stuff I have, and .015" is already .01" smaller than I prefer for general purpose PCB soldering. For most of the soldering I do I have to tightly twist strands of it together, sometimes 2 strands, sometimes 3 strands, and 4 strands is the most I've ever needed (for e.g., replacing through-hole flyback transformers).

1 strand = .015"
2 strands = .021"
3 strands = .026"
4 strands = .03"

It works but it is an annoying thing to have to do, which is why I want some .025".

[Robgo]

Kester solder rosin activated

[Chopsticks]

I'm a big fan of multicore myself, it melts well and bonds nicely.
they have a good range, worth exploring

[G7PSK]

I use Ersin multicore 60/40 that I got in the early 1980's. I do have new solder as well but it is not as good as this old stuff, when it finally runs out it will be a sad day.I was given a 15Kg reel of the solder and have about 3 Kg left now.
As an aside why wont the smiley's work with chrome in linux mint.

[SteveyG]

I normally use Multicore 505, which I find ideal for almost every purpose.

[Dave]

I use a random 1mm Sn63/Pb37 rosin core solder. I solder everything with it, from big bulky connectors to 0,5mm pitch chips with it.
I have a couple of smaller diameter solder wires, but I rarely use them.

[M4trix]

I'm using Fluitin, 0,5mm and 1mm diameter solder wire. Around $50-60 bucks 1 kilogram. Great results.

[zapta]

I am using this Multicore based on Dave's recommendation in one of the videos. Works well for me.

http://www.newark.com/multicore-solder/3096525-m/solder-wire-180-c/dp/15J5459?CMP=TREML008-003

[MaximRecoil]

Finally! I just won this auction. I offered $30 and he accepted. Not bad for 4 lbs. of solder (which will last me until I'm about 1,000 years old). Of the 4 spools, one of them is exactly what I'm looking for. Here's a picture comparing the solder I got from work in the late 1990s (on the left) to one of the spools in that auction:



Granted, it is .020" instead of the .025" that I used for most things at work, but .020" is actually a better size than .025 for what I typically do at home, which is soldering through-hole DIP chips (such as 74LS-series TTL chips). At work, I mostly soldered through-hole terminal blocks (like these), which have significantly larger legs and use larger through-holes than TTL chips.

As for the other 3 spools, they are labeled as "Cleanline 7000". I don't know if those are the same thing with a newer name or not. It doesn't really matter though. Unless I start a production line at home, the one pound of the stuff that I know is what I want will last me a lifetime. 

[nanofrog]

As for the other 3 spools, they are labeled as "Cleanline 7000".

Cleanline 7000 is from Alpha Metals, and it's really good stuff (flux type = modified rosin based no-clean). 

In fact, there's a good chance it's better than the stuff you've pictured (brand?  ).   

[MaximRecoil]

As for the other 3 spools, they are labeled as "Cleanline 7000".

Cleanline 7000 is from Alpha Metals, and it's really good stuff (flux type = modified rosin based no-clean). 

In fact, there's a good chance it's better than the stuff you've pictured (brand?  ).   

All 4 spools in the auction I won are from Alpha Metals, as is the spool of solder I've had for the past 17 years. See the picture in my original post from a few years ago; it shows both labels on the spool that I got from work in 1999. It is called "Cleanline" (no "7000" printed anywhere) and "SMT Core Plus". It is the only type of electronics solder I've ever used. Before I went to work at that PCB factory in 1997, I'd never soldered before, and since then I've used the spool of SMT Core Plus that I got at work for everything.

In the auction I won, one of the spools is labeled exactly like my old spool that I got from work, while the other three are labeled "Cleanline 7000", but are otherwise the same (same brand, diameter, alloy, and flux percentage). I don't know if "Cleanline 7000" is just a newer name for "Cleanline" or not.

[boffin]

MG Chemicals 4884
63/37 Sn/Pb
0.025" (0.6mm)
RA 2.2%


I had a cheap Chinese brand (mechanic?) prior to this spool, and it just wasn't worth it to save the $5. This stuff works well.  Also keep an MG Chemicals flux pen at hand, very handy for fluxing your solderwick.

[jonovid]

rosin core solder 3.2mm , 1mm ,0.7mm and 0.6mm

my recycled  solder is not shown here. 
it goes in to the solder pot or solder pool, a 150w vertically mounted soldering iron, with a steel pipe cap, threaded a-top the end of a steel rod,
set down the throat of the 150w iron -on a stand.

[gamalot]

Kester 275 flux core wire

Sn96.5Ag03Cu.5 0.5mm 2.2% (picture from ebay, mine was made in USA, November 2014)

[stj]

Kester 275 flux core wire

Sn96.5Ag03Cu.5 0.5mm 2.2% (picture from ebay, mine was made in USA, November 2014)

finally, somebody other than me who uses lead-free solder! 
.7mm stannol ecoloy-TC with krystall505 flux
and
0.5mm stannol ecoloy-TSC with HS10 flux. 

[MaximRecoil]

I've never heard of anyone using lead-free solder for electronics unless they were required to. I only use it for household plumbing.

[stj]

the modern stuff works better than leaded with the correct choice of flux-core & iron temperature.

[MaximRecoil]

the modern stuff works better than leaded with the correct choice of flux-core & iron temperature.

I don't think you'll find many credible sources which agree with that claim. "Mission critical" electronics tend to be exempt from RoHS and similar regulations, such as military, aerospace, and medical equipment, because it is inferior in nearly all respects to the ages-old industry-standard eutectic tin/lead alloy (63/37). The PCB factory I used to work at started using lead-free solder for some things about 10 years ago (which was after I left, but according to a friend who still works there, the employees hate the stuff), presumably for tax incentive purposes. But the line I used to work on makes PCBs for elaborate, commercial-grade fire alarm systems, and they still use normal 63/37 solder, because fire alarms are considered "life-saving equipment".

On top of the joints being inferior in most respects (and subject to developing "tin whiskers"), the increased heat that SAC solder calls for is harder on components and pads as well.

Lead-free electronics solder is only "modern" due to modern politics/bureaucracy. It isn't a technical advancement, it is a step backwards. Tin/lead solder is what replaced pure tin or nearly pure tin solder ages ago, mainly in order to solve the "tin whiskers" problem.

[helius]

Sn63 also has the advantage of being cheaper to make, having a lower melting point, and using less of the conflict mineral tin.

I have here an old roll of Kester 232-cored solder. Does anyone know what type of flux is 232? Kester's web site is not forthcoming with any info.

[stj]

for legal reasons, kester should have a datasheet for any flux or product containing flux giving full content & safety data.
usually called the MSDS.

this exists incase you have a truck full of it cach fire or turn over into a river etc.

[stj]

here it is - rosin based flux.

[David Hess]

Kester 44 (63/37, 66 core) is my preferred choice for rosin, and Kester 245 (63/37, 58 core) for no-clean.

It is the same for me except some of mine is 63/37 and some is 60/40 which does not seem to make any difference but I prefer the eutectic 63/37.  I only use the Kester 245 no clean solder on new boards and parts.  The Kester 44 is for rework and general use.  I have a test spool of Kester organic water clean flux and hate it.

I would not be so picky about brand.  For general purpose work I would look for 3.3% RA (rosin activated) flux and for new assembly work I would look for the less aggressive 1.1% to 2.2% rosin no-clean flux.

[grifftech]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R1PTRE2/ref=twister_B00R1PTNZ0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

[bitshape]

As for someone living in the EU (Netherlands) i'm not using Stannol anymore, because I bought a few years ago from stores through Ebay some factoryfresh spools of Kester 44 RA 63/37 3,3% core66 in the sizes of 0,80mm (ThruHole) and 0,50mm/0,40mm (SMD). Much, much better solder than Stannol HS10/HF32 I used before. 

If I must buy again, I will get the same Kester 44 or Kester 285 (RMA) even if it's more expensive than the local Stannol stuff. It's such a joy to work with....