Electronics > Beginners
Which Kester solder to buy?
Curious2know:
Hi,
so I need some new solder and I can get good prices on Kester solder. I'm just wondering what type should I buy? So in order of acitivity there would be 44 - 285 - 245. One interesting thing I saw in the datasheets is that 44 has the lowest wetting capability by the spread test. Also it scored "moderate" on the corrosion test. How does that make sense? Why would anyone buy 44 anymore if 245 does all of that but better?
Regards
helius:
Kester 44 is the industry standard for activated rosin flux, and contains more activators than an RMA flux such as 285. This means that residues can be more corrosive under some circumstances, but it is not a problem if the board is cleaned.
Kester 245 is a low-solids no clean flux, which is typically used by spraying for wave soldering (or selective soldering) machines. This type of flux can be a problem for manual soldering since it has less activators and is more liable to running out of the solder wire before being used (due to the low solid content). I wouldn't recommend it at all for this purpose.
Curious2know:
So it's basically 44 vs 285 depending on if I work on new or older stuff mostly?
FotatoPotato:
I think I'm one the only people on earth who have ever had a bad experience with kester solder; My $60 reel came all tangled and ruined and I had to cut off nearly half of the solder to get to anything usable that could be unspooled properly. After that I tried some Multi-core sutff and it was/ is fantastic! I would highly recommend it. But if you are going to get some kester solder, I would get some 0.025in 63/37 solder. The usable part of my spool seems to work quite well for smd soldering.
David Hess:
--- Quote from: Curious2know on September 28, 2018, 07:45:15 pm ---So it's basically 44 vs 285 depending on if I work on new or older stuff mostly?
--- End quote ---
That basically is it. Use 44 for rework and if the boards and parts are not new. Use 285 with new parts and boards.
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