To Get The Lead Out; Or Not?

Plumbing solder is a mix of Tin and Antimony.  95/5   Requires a different flux, in general a bit more heat.   Repair of old soldered pipes, usually requires the one roll, I have left, of 50/50 that is slowly disappearing.   Electrical repair not associated with potable water, I would think you could use what ever you want.  IMO   There was a recent discussion about  PEX plumbing. 

Lead is just fine for solder used in model railroading. We just don't use enough of it to make a difference. It's a good idea to wash your hands after handling solder, beyond that just don't eat it. 

Plumbing and mass produced electronics are a different matter. Plumbing needs to be lead free, like paint and gasoline. Electronics are just a good place to reduce environmental lead specifically when recycling. 

Rod Stewart posted:

Just wondering what kind of solder most folks are using these days? I know there is a big push away from good old 63/37 tin/lead..............

That's what I use for just about everything unless I'm getting into some very specialized that requires Ag or In solder.

The no-lead solder that I tried is still on my bench. Expert that I am , I couldn't make it flow like the bad stuff.

Well you not supposed to eat it!

You will be fine. The flux paste is probably worse for your health.

And don't inhale the fumes either! 

Lead free doesn’t flow or wet the way lead does and you just get better connections with lead. I don’t eat circuit boards or wire so I don’t care if they contain lead

I've given away several rolls of the lead-free junk, it's not nearly as easy to use as leaded solder.  Another problem, it's has a higher temperature melting point, so you have to run the iron hotter.  That's bad news for lots of tiny surface mount components!

I always use traditional lead solder as it is so much easier to work with and is what my trains already have.

Matt Makens posted:

Lead free doesn’t flow or wet the way lead does and you just get better connections with lead. I don’t eat circuit boards or wire so I don’t care if they contain lead

The company I used to work for switched to lead-free solder about two years ago.  Soldering was bad enough, desoldering was even worse.

Boy, am I glad I retired...

Rusty

60/40 works good for me.  

I have to laugh.  Plumbers would have the lead pots going most of the day.  We'd all be working around one another, sometimes in tight quarters.  The plumbers, themselves, would be in trenches pouring lead into the joints of cast iron soil pipe.  

Back when plumbers used lead pipe for small soil lines that ran from sinks, tubs and other fixtures, they would shape the lead pipe to fit the conditions.  Then they would apply layers of molten lead to any joints in the pipe.  This was done by using a cloth and shaping the joint by hand.  

So I think the little bit of lead we use in our solder, will not hurt us.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

I've given away several rolls of the lead-free junk, it's not nearly as easy to use as leaded solder.  Another problem, it's has a higher temperature melting point, so you have to run the iron hotter.  That's bad news for lots of tiny surface mount components!

And more toxic smoke from the flux.  I’ll never use the lead free stuff, at home or at work.

You guys are all echoing my sentiments exactly. I will stick with the tried and true as suggested; to heck with  the torpedoes! 

Rod

I use Rotanium Super Set Rosin Core solder.  It's a lead/tin/antimony/ 2% silver/ 5% rosin flux.  Low melt (350 F.) less than 1 degree plastic range (melts at 350/ solid at 349).  So you  get in and then get out with less chance of damaging surrounding components, and less chance of cold solder joints.

But it's expensive.  Rotanium Super Set Rosin Core solder- from Lawson Products.  

Lol, I'd like the solder noodles with extra flux sauce please. Oh, and some fresh wick on the side if you have it. I wanted to embed some fun, but YTube share is broke for me this week. "I can hold my breath a loooong time" (80s-"creepshow") "Lead aint dead Fred... Lead ain't dead" (Pulp Fiction's Butch,twisted)

Ditto Gunner John's comments. Give me the lead!

Mike Wyatt posted:

I use Rotanium Super Set Rosin Core solder.  It's a lead/tin/antimony/ 2% silver/ 5% rosin flux.  Low melt (350 F.) less than 1 degree plastic range (melts at 350/ solid at 349).  So you  get in and then get out with less chance of damaging surrounding components, and less chance of cold solder joints.

But it's expensive.  Rotanium Super Set Rosin Core solder- from Lawson Products.  

IMO it's massive overkill for most people, given the price.  63/37 Rosin Core has a melting point of 183 °C or 361 °F.  The 11F temperature difference isn't a significant difference, and it's also an eutectic alloy so the transition from liquid to solid is the same small temperature range.  With the amount of solder I use, and the price difference, I'd have to raise all my prices to use this stuff.  I've soldered countless small SMT packages with 63/37, no issues at all with damaging components.  Virtually any SMT component has a 10 second 260C soldering temperature specification.  For PCB work, I set my soldering station at 500F (260C), if it takes me more than 10 seconds to solder a part, I'm having a really bad day!

I've been in electronics for over 25 years in the pharma equipment industry, and have soldered a LOT of stuff. When RoHS was forced on us and we changed all soldered stuff at work to lead free, it created a huge quality mess. At home, my 5lb spool of Kester 44 is my goto solder. Soldering with that no clean, lead free stuff is bad news! Doesn't flow right, toxic fumes, etc. Wash your hands after use.

It's good news for me as I refuse to use the junk!

John

You state above that you set your solder station to 500 for PCB work, is that correct?   I just tried it and it seemed very slow to melt.  I saw an older post of yours on a search that you used 650 for PCB work?

Bill

I used to run it hotter, but I found that some parts, especially the flickering LED's, didn't like the extra heat.  I then did some research and found that surface mount parts are rated for 260C, so that's what I use.  FWIW, when I'm soldering something large like a heatsink or large part to a PCB, I crank up the heat some, usually to 600F as it's easy.

  I was curious about max surface mount temps. I wasn't sure if they were more, less or equal in their resistance to heat.

  I will temporary heat sink l.e.d. legs with a stainless blade when I can get under them.. they gave me more heat creep fails than anything.  I've never used a blinker before though. Not one.

  Welding and watching the heat creep there, changed my soldering approach. I like to go in hot and fast. Where I used to use pliers, I sometimes use my fingers.  ....and let go asap

   I had a stash of a box of solder rolls I bought decades ago. The renter that nearly gave me a nervous breakdown left me 3 or 4 of them. The rest likely did one job each, the left over just thrown out vs a 20 step walk back to the storage box.    

I use a pair of forceps on LED's, FET's, transistors, diodes, and the like when working with thru-hole parts.  For SMT, you just have to use the minimum heat and time.  FWIW, I've lost a few LED's when soldering flush to boards, but I don't recall ever killing an SMT part.

I was soldering a PCBs at 650 when the temperature discussion started.  I dialed down to 500 to try it.  It seemed to take twice as long for solder melt (using 63/37).  I dialed up to 600 and speed really improved.  How much does this matter though?  We have to get to the solder melt temperature.  The difference is how long it takes to get there, or is there another consideration?

Bill

I use .020" solder for PCB work, and as long as the components aren't really large, the solder melts very quickly.  I have also calibrated the soldering station, so 500F is really 500F, not 450.  If the temperature calibration isn't accurate, you don't really know what heat you're using.

FWIW, when I was using 650F, it was before I bought my Hakko calibrator, turns out I was using around 580F when I actually measured tip temperature.  So, then I did some research and settled on 500F and it's worked well for me for most soldering.  As I said, if I need more heat, I just tweak the set temperature for the specific job.

Good points John. FWIW I usually have my Hakko set around 600 deg F most of the time, which seems to be hot enough to get the job done in a timely fashion, yet cool enough that nothing seems to get toasted. But in truth I have never calibrated it so I guess it could be out 50 Deg one way or the other, who knows.

Rod