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Help with choosing good solder

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Kakashi:
I know about Kester/Multicore and such... But these are the solder brands that I can order locally. I can order from eBay or Amazon but due to the high shipping costs, I want to see if some solder is usable from my local shops  ;) :).

The solder will be used mainly for soldering SMD components but also for through-hole, more rarely though.
Also, I've seen solders with added copper or silver, but never used them before. Should I consider them?(they are not listed here due to their a bit higher price. If they are worth it, I can buy one)

HQ 250gr - SN60PB40-0,70-250G
Felder 500gr -  SN60PB40-0,70-500G
Fixpoint 250gr - Sn60/Pb38/Cu2 0.56mm
STANNOL 500gr - Sn60/Pb40 1mm
Alpha 500gr -  Sn60/Pb40 1mm
Cynel 1kg - SN60PB40-0,70-1KG

Please help me choose which one is the best from the list, without regard to the price or weight.




jonpaul:
Hello impossible to assist until you say your country or location and intended use of the  solder.

SMD rework?  Building TH DIY?  Repair of an appliance?

All solder you mentioned are non ROHS, low quality, 60/40 is a poor choice, with cold joint possible due to the wide plastic temperature range.

The best non  ROHS  is 63/37 eutetic.  The copper or other metals increase the melting point.
The diameter...too small or too large is wasteful and also leads to poor soldering.

Suggest to Read the information on the large solder manufacturers web, AIM, Kester and alpha.

Good luck

Jean-Paul

MarkF:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/the-best-solder-for-electronics/msg2527947/#msg2527947


I use Kester 63/37 solder 0.031" diameter for general purposes. 
The 63/37 ratio is much easier to work with than the 60/40.

Conrad Hoffman:
If you can't get anything else, the world has survived quite well with plain old 60/40 and good technique. Get an RMA flux core. Get some extra liquid rosin flux, which will solve many problems.

tooki:

--- Quote from: Kakashi on March 01, 2020, 10:06:20 am ---I know about Kester/Multicore and such... But these are the solder brands that I can order locally. I can order from eBay or Amazon but due to the high shipping costs, I want to see if some solder is usable from my local shops  ;) :).

The solder will be used mainly for soldering SMD components but also for through-hole, more rarely though.
Also, I've seen solders with added copper or silver, but never used them before. Should I consider them?(they are not listed here due to their a bit higher price. If they are worth it, I can buy one)

HQ 250gr - SN60PB40-0,70-250G
Felder 500gr -  SN60PB40-0,70-500G
Fixpoint 250gr - Sn60/Pb38/Cu2 0.56mm
STANNOL 500gr - Sn60/Pb40 1mm
Alpha 500gr -  Sn60/Pb40 1mm
Cynel 1kg - SN60PB40-0,70-1KG

Please help me choose which one is the best from the list, without regard to the price or weight.

--- End quote ---

Bearing in mind that this question gets asked every few weeks, and the answers don't change, I'd go for Stannol, Alpha, or Felder from that list. But if you're doing SMD, then 1mm is WAY too thick, and 0.7-0.8 is right at the upper limits in my experience. 0.4-0.6mm is better for most SMD soldering IMHO. For SMD, silver-bearing solder is actually a good idea (even if not strictly a must), since many SMD components like ceramic caps have silver-plated terminals, and solder with silver in it is gentler on those terminals. With that said, I don't normally bother with that myself. Some people say it's harder to work with than pure tin-lead, which remains the gold standard (especially 63/37, which is the absolutely ideal solder).

Have you considered just ordering some leaded 63/37 Kester or Loctite/Multicore/Henkel from Digi-Key? They'll ship it around the world, and in most countries the shipping is free above $50, which is easy to accomplish with a $35 roll of solder and a few random components. (You can never have enough banana plugs and stuff! :P )

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