Good lead free solder for hand soldering

[lfldp]

I don't like Stannol at all. They use some crappy fluxes which either produce some dark residues and burned junk on a solder tip, and/or splatter a lot. First of all you should look on what alloy is used. SnCu alloys flow much worse  than SAC305, SAC307 and SN100C and it's clones like K100LD (unless used with active fluxes). SN100 probably produces the nicest solder joints and flows very well. SAC307 is the cheapest of what I mentioned. Regarding the quality of flux, and which is priced reasonably, I like solder produced by Alpha.

hi i agree lead-free solder wires should contain agressive flux to keept valid temperature do you think this one will be ok ? https://www.tme.eu/pl/en/details/hf850sac305-075_05/solder-wires-lead-free/alpha/sac305-telecore-hf-850-122-0-75mm-500g/
thanks

[Monkeh]

I've been using a bit of Weller wire solder in SN99.3/CU0.6/NI0.05 for some work recently and been quite happy with it. It looks like they might have discontinued the alloy, though? CPC still have some stock including little sample packs. Very aggressive flux. It is also nearly £20 for a 100g roll, though.

[lfldp]

I've been using a bit of Weller wire solder in SN99.3/CU0.6/NI0.05 for some work recently and been quite happy with it. It looks like they might have discontinued the alloy, though? CPC still have some stock including little sample packs. Very aggressive flux. It is also nearly £20 for a 100g roll, though.

not available in my country

[lfldp]

funny thing i did some tests last night and i dont see completly any difference in soldering quality for beetwen cheap and expensiff solder wires:
1. stannol SN100C - with nicel and german SnCu0,7NiGe - expensiff price few times higher than cynel brand !
2. cynel professional sn99,3Cu0,7 - cheap one
both of them loose flux very quickly on under the fume hood and im getting thin whiskers also flow of this tin seems is same
so ?

[tooki]

and im getting thin whiskers also flow of this tin seems is same
so ?

No you’re not. Tin whiskers take years to grow, in the rare cases they do. (Normally from pure tin plating, not from solder.)

Anyhow, Stannol isn’t cheap, but honestly I don’t particularly like it. I like Kester for leaded, and Felder “SN100Ni+” (SnCuNiGe).

It’s all about the flux, and IMHO Stannol just isn’t that great in that regard.

[Neomys Sapiens]

I recommend Balver Zinn Brilliant B2012. It is the best lead-free solder that I have encountered. When they demonstrate it, you are even encouraged to try it on stranded wires and connectors. IME this is where most others fail.

[lfldp]

I recommend Balver Zinn Brilliant B2012. It is the best lead-free solder that I have encountered. When they demonstrate it, you are even encouraged to try it on stranded wires and connectors. IME this is where most others fail.

ok thx will try it soon

[tooki]

I recommend Balver Zinn Brilliant B2012. It is the best lead-free solder that I have encountered. When they demonstrate it, you are even encouraged to try it on stranded wires and connectors. IME this is where most others fail.

Which one? B2012 comes in five different lead-free alloys. The alloy I would expect to perform best is the SN100C (SnCuNiGe).

[Neomys Sapiens]

I recommend Balver Zinn Brilliant B2012. It is the best lead-free solder that I have encountered. When they demonstrate it, you are even encouraged to try it on stranded wires and connectors. IME this is where most others fail.

Which one? B2012 comes in five different lead-free alloys. The alloy I would expect to perform best is the SN100C (SnCuNiGe).

Concur - I forgot to mention this. The one I have actually used is the SN100CV. I have a sample of the SN100C also, but have not compared them yet.

[tooki]

I recommend Balver Zinn Brilliant B2012. It is the best lead-free solder that I have encountered. When they demonstrate it, you are even encouraged to try it on stranded wires and connectors. IME this is where most others fail.

Which one? B2012 comes in five different lead-free alloys. The alloy I would expect to perform best is the SN100C (SnCuNiGe).

Concur - I forgot to mention this. The one I have actually used is the SN100CV. I have a sample of the SN100C also, but have not compared them yet.

The SN100CV is a strange alloy (SnBi1.5Cu0.7).

I've used SN100C from Felder, and it's the best lead-free alloy I've tried so far. Despite not having the lowest temperature (that'd be SAC305, if we ignore SnBi low-temp alloys), it wets the best, practically as well as leaded solder.

[lfldp]

and im getting thin whiskers also flow of this tin seems is same
so ?

No you’re not. Tin whiskers take years to grow, in the rare cases they do. (Normally from pure tin plating, not from solder.)

Anyhow, Stannol isn’t cheap, but honestly I don’t particularly like it. I like Kester for leaded, and Felder “SN100Ni+” (SnCuNiGe).

It’s all about the flux, and IMHO Stannol just isn’t that great in that regard.

again i mean mustache by saying tin whiskers
It’s all about the flux - you mean ammount of flux or flux type ?

[tooki]

and im getting thin whiskers also flow of this tin seems is same
so ?

No you’re not. Tin whiskers take years to grow, in the rare cases they do. (Normally from pure tin plating, not from solder.)

again i mean mustache by saying tin whiskers

I have no idea what you are trying to say.

It’s all about the flux, and IMHO Stannol just isn’t that great in that regard.

again i mean mustache by saying tin whiskers
It’s all about the flux - you mean ammount of flux or flux type ?

Flux formulation. (I suppose the amount matters, too, in that the amount needs to be appropriate for the type of flux.) I haven’t been impressed by Stannol’s fluxes, neither in activity nor in other aspects (I find it spits more than other brands I’ve used, and their rosin fluxes burn sooner than I’m used to compared to other brands I use).

[IanB]

again i mean mustache by saying tin whiskers

I have no idea what you are trying to say.

When you draw the iron away from the joint it pulls whiskers of solder (like spikes) away from the joint. This happens when the flux is no longer active and functioning.

IMHO, this situation can be improved by using extra flux on the joint. It is not always sufficient to rely solely on the flux in the solder core.

[tooki]

If he means spikes, then he should say spikes. “Whiskers” in the context of solder has an existing, very specific meaning.

[lfldp]

and im getting thin whiskers also flow of this tin seems is same
so ?

No you’re not. Tin whiskers take years to grow, in the rare cases they do. (Normally from pure tin plating, not from solder.)

again i mean mustache by saying tin whiskers

I have no idea what you are trying to say.

It’s all about the flux, and IMHO Stannol just isn’t that great in that regard.

again i mean mustache by saying tin whiskers
It’s all about the flux - you mean ammount of flux or flux type ?

Flux formulation. (I suppose the amount matters, too, in that the amount needs to be appropriate for the type of flux.) I haven’t been impressed by Stannol’s fluxes, neither in activity nor in other aspects (I find it spits more than other brands I’ve used, and their rosin fluxes burn sooner than I’m used to compared to other brands I use).

i agree with you
1. stannol flux is totally crap
2. from my own past experiments with lead-free bga reballing results about only few models of flux could manage lead-free (keept temperature for so long) for example amtech syntech-lf-tf is my favorite flux this flux is designed only for lead-free soldering , the other fluxes which i tryin like aim nc254 also other amtech's they dont exactly effective for lead-free like syntech-lf series

[lfldp]

again i mean mustache by saying tin whiskers

I have no idea what you are trying to say.

When you draw the iron away from the joint it pulls whiskers of solder (like spikes) away from the joint. This happens when the flux is no longer active and functioning.

IMHO, this situation can be improved by using extra flux on the joint. It is not always sufficient to rely solely on the flux in the solder core.

hehe exactly this was what i mean before , anyways in my case even extra flux manually added by me to solder wire could not help me to fix this problem because i soldering under fume hood and before i can put tip with extra flux to solder joint it evaporating faster ! so for me there should be extra flux added directly to solder wire , do anyone tryin solder wires made by amtech with syntech flux incliuded ? does these soldering wires are worst its price ?

[tooki]

There are several things that promote spikes: oxidation, contamination with dissolved metal (like copper from the component leads, gold plating, etc.), temperature, and time.

Oxidation and contamination change how the solder behaves, causing it to get spiky, so you want to prevent these things.

Too low a temperature can cause spikes because the solder is barely melted and surface tension can’t pull it back.
Too high a temperature increases oxidation and increases contamination.
—> You need a temperature that is as low as possible, but as high as necessary. A larger soldering iron tip (and/or board preheating) let you use a lower tip temperature.

Flux prevents oxidation (and to an extent reverses it). So you need good flux in sufficient amounts. It doesn’t remain active forever, so if you’re taking a while on a joint, your flux may “wear out” and you will need to add some fresh flux.

And finally, experience lets you work faster, reducing the time it takes to make the joint — time when flux is wearing out, and oxidation and contamination are occurring.

If you have spikes forming, and even adding fresh flux doesn’t help, stop. Get rid of oxidized, contaminated solder from the tip (and maybe even the joint, too): Melt lots of fresh solder onto your tip and wipe it off. Do this a few times to rinse off all the oxidized, contaminated solder. Then go back and try to rework the joint with fresh solder and fresh flux.

It takes practice to figure out what temperature is right for each solder, tip, and even the joint itself.

[tooki]

hehe exactly this was what i mean before , anyways in my case even extra flux manually added by me to solder wire could not help me to fix this problem because i soldering under fume hood and before i can put tip with extra flux to solder joint it evaporating faster ! so for me there should be extra flux added directly to solder wire , do anyone tryin solder wires made by amtech with syntech flux incliuded ? does these soldering wires are worst its price ?

The fume hood isn’t likely to make any difference whatsoever, in that the flux isn’t so much evaporating as it is burning off.

[lfldp]

hehe exactly this was what i mean before , anyways in my case even extra flux manually added by me to solder wire could not help me to fix this problem because i soldering under fume hood and before i can put tip with extra flux to solder joint it evaporating faster ! so for me there should be extra flux added directly to solder wire , do anyone tryin solder wires made by amtech with syntech flux incliuded ? does these soldering wires are worst its price ?

The fume hood isn’t likely to make any difference whatsoever, in that the flux isn’t so much evaporating as it is burning off.

ok but in short i have problem like that - i can only correctly solder by lead-free wire if i smear pcb with externall flux so maybe the problem is with valid lead-free solder wire model ? soon ill try this SN100Ni+ maybe it will be ok to fix my problem

[lfldp]

There are several things that promote spikes: oxidation, contamination with dissolved metal (like copper from the component leads, gold plating, etc.), temperature, and time.

Oxidation and contamination change how the solder behaves, causing it to get spiky, so you want to prevent these things.

Too low a temperature can cause spikes because the solder is barely melted and surface tension can’t pull it back.
Too high a temperature increases oxidation and increases contamination.
—> You need a temperature that is as low as possible, but as high as necessary. A larger soldering iron tip (and/or board preheating) let you use a lower tip temperature.

Flux prevents oxidation (and to an extent reverses it). So you need good flux in sufficient amounts. It doesn’t remain active forever, so if you’re taking a while on a joint, your flux may “wear out” and you will need to add some fresh flux.

And finally, experience lets you work faster, reducing the time it takes to make the joint — time when flux is wearing out, and oxidation and contamination are occurring.

If you have spikes forming, and even adding fresh flux doesn’t help, stop. Get rid of oxidized, contaminated solder from the tip (and maybe even the joint, too): Melt lots of fresh solder onto your tip and wipe it off. Do this a few times to rinse off all the oxidized, contaminated solder. Then go back and try to rework the joint with fresh solder and fresh flux.

It takes practice to figure out what temperature is right for each solder, tip, and even the joint itself.

You need a temperature that is as low as possible, but as high as necessary. A larger soldering iron tip (and/or board preheating) let you use a lower tip temperature. > ok will try this solution too

[tooki]

hehe exactly this was what i mean before , anyways in my case even extra flux manually added by me to solder wire could not help me to fix this problem because i soldering under fume hood and before i can put tip with extra flux to solder joint it evaporating faster ! so for me there should be extra flux added directly to solder wire , do anyone tryin solder wires made by amtech with syntech flux incliuded ? does these soldering wires are worst its price ?

The fume hood isn’t likely to make any difference whatsoever, in that the flux isn’t so much evaporating as it is burning off.

ok but in short i have problem like that - i can only correctly solder by lead-free wire if i smear pcb with externall flux so maybe the problem is with valid lead-free solder wire model ? soon ill try this SN100Ni+ maybe it will be ok to fix my problem

What temperature are you using? What kind of tip? What kind of joint? What technique? How old are the components? While external flux can make it easier to make nice joints, it really shouldn’t be necessary for THT soldering (and some SMD soldering).

[IanB]

in my case even extra flux manually added by me to solder wire could not help me to fix this problem

But you don't add extra flux to the solder wire, you add the flux to the joint (to the PCB and component being soldered).

ok but in short i have problem like that - i can only correctly solder by lead-free wire if i smear pcb with externall flux

It is quite normal to add flux to the PCB before soldering, especially if working with SMD parts. If you watch videos, you will see the usual practice is to flood the PCB with liquid flux.

[lfldp]

hehe exactly this was what i mean before , anyways in my case even extra flux manually added by me to solder wire could not help me to fix this problem because i soldering under fume hood and before i can put tip with extra flux to solder joint it evaporating faster ! so for me there should be extra flux added directly to solder wire , do anyone tryin solder wires made by amtech with syntech flux incliuded ? does these soldering wires are worst its price ?

The fume hood isn’t likely to make any difference whatsoever, in that the flux isn’t so much evaporating as it is burning off.

ok but in short i have problem like that - i can only correctly solder by lead-free wire if i smear pcb with externall flux so maybe the problem is with valid lead-free solder wire model ? soon ill try this SN100Ni+ maybe it will be ok to fix my problem

What temperature are you using? What kind of tip? What kind of joint? What technique? How old are the components? While external flux can make it easier to make nice joints, it really shouldn’t be necessary for THT soldering (and some SMD soldering).

i usually use 360c

[lfldp]

in my case even extra flux manually added by me to solder wire could not help me to fix this problem

But you don't add extra flux to the solder wire, you add the flux to the joint (to the PCB and component being soldered).

ok but in short i have problem like that - i can only correctly solder by lead-free wire if i smear pcb with externall flux

It is quite normal to add flux to the PCB before soldering, especially if working with SMD parts. If you watch videos, you will see the usual practice is to flood the PCB with liquid flux.

ok and you know good liquid flux for lead-free ? i remember in past i tryin something like that https://termopasty.pl/produkty/topnik-rf800/ and this flux was no good for lead-free rather for leadded soldering

[tooki]

hehe exactly this was what i mean before , anyways in my case even extra flux manually added by me to solder wire could not help me to fix this problem because i soldering under fume hood and before i can put tip with extra flux to solder joint it evaporating faster ! so for me there should be extra flux added directly to solder wire , do anyone tryin solder wires made by amtech with syntech flux incliuded ? does these soldering wires are worst its price ?

The fume hood isn’t likely to make any difference whatsoever, in that the flux isn’t so much evaporating as it is burning off.

ok but in short i have problem like that - i can only correctly solder by lead-free wire if i smear pcb with externall flux so maybe the problem is with valid lead-free solder wire model ? soon ill try this SN100Ni+ maybe it will be ok to fix my problem

What temperature are you using? What kind of tip? What kind of joint? What technique? How old are the components? While external flux can make it easier to make nice joints, it really shouldn’t be necessary for THT soldering (and some SMD soldering).

i usually use 360c

OK. And what about the 4 further questions I asked?