Where do you buy solder?

[Bishop Vogue]

Hey guys,

Recently purchased some solder from ebay (because it was cheap, of course) and it arrived a week ago.  Every time I use it - every time... even just for tinning wires - it turns into a dull cold joint.  The stuff I had been using before was fine, but pricey.  Anyone have any good recommendations?  My usual solder costs $10 for 100g.  Is that a good deal?  Thanks in advance.

[EBK]

You didn't happen to buy lead-free, did you?
From my experience, that stuff is always dull looking, even on good joints, just as you've described.

The stuff I use now, by the way, is Kester, Core Size 66, 63/37 Alloy, 0.031" Diameter.  $25 USD for 1 lb. (454g).

[amptramp]

+1 on Kester although I have a larger diameter solder roll as well.  The only other specialized solder I have is for soldering stainless steel and I used that once to solder my glasses back together.  I never intend to use lead-free solder.  I would like to see what amount of lead leaches out of solder when a piece of electronics is tossed into a landfill.  Not much I bet.

[Plexi]

I use this one:
https://http2.mlstatic.com/estano-250gr-eximetal-6040-07mm-08mm-1mm-2mm-14kg-D_NQ_NP_709501-MLA20366199910_082015-F.jpg

7mm, and about u$s20 the 250gr.

[thermionix]

I would like to see what amount of lead leaches out of solder when a piece of electronics is tossed into a landfill.

You mean leaches back into the ground whence it came?  The horrors!

I used to get solder from Radio Shack.  That's one thing they were fairly competitive on, and it always worked fine for me.  Now all of our local RSs are gone.  Lowes and Walmart are nearby, but they only stock Pb-free.  I guess Lowes will order the good stuff for instore pickup.  I generally don't like ordering it by mail because of the weight.

[armillary]

I still have a local Radio Shack. Recently I bought a 2.5 oz roll of .032" diameter 60/40 rosin core, much thinner than the .050" I usually use. It works great on the small pads that some of these newer PCBs use. But I still use the .050" on stripboard and point to point stuff. 

[amptramp]

I would like to see what amount of lead leaches out of solder when a piece of electronics is tossed into a landfill.

You mean leaches back into the ground whence it came?  The horrors!

I used to get solder from Radio Shack.  That's one thing they were fairly competitive on, and it always worked fine for me.  Now all of our local RSs are gone.  Lowes and Walmart are nearby, but they only stock Pb-free.  I guess Lowes will order the good stuff for instore pickup.  I generally don't like ordering it by mail because of the weight.

Be careful of what you are getting there.  Building supply stores carry acid-core solder with a zinc chloride flux which should never be used for electronics since the acid eventually eats through the copper.

[blackieNYC]

That sounds like a mojo-maker right there. "When the acid has eaten through 66-75% of the copper, the fuzz comes comes to life, like a veil has been lifted. "

[davent]

I've a 1 lb roll of fine Kester 245 but also been buying small quantities of MG Chemicals 63/37 in a larger diameter. I like the the performance of the MG Chemicals better then the Kester. Best deal i've seen for the MG Chemicals in a 1lb roll in Canada, and MG is local to me, was Amazon.ca.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B005T8ND66/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_10?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB

dave

[thermionix]

I would like to see what amount of lead leaches out of solder when a piece of electronics is tossed into a landfill.

You mean leaches back into the ground whence it came?  The horrors!

I used to get solder from Radio Shack.  That's one thing they were fairly competitive on, and it always worked fine for me.  Now all of our local RSs are gone.  Lowes and Walmart are nearby, but they only stock Pb-free.  I guess Lowes will order the good stuff for instore pickup.  I generally don't like ordering it by mail because of the weight.

Be careful of what you are getting there.  Building supply stores carry acid-core solder with a zinc chloride flux which should never be used for electronics since the acid eventually eats through the copper.

Yeah I know.  You can go to the Lowes website and pick out 60/40 electronics solder and have it shipped to your local store.  I think anyway, it's been a while since I looked into it.  When my current supply dwindles I might have to go that route.

[Plexi]

I really would like to know what solder Fender use in their pots / wiring.
Man ... you need about 300 degrees to melt it, and it gets hard in just a second!

[smallbearelec]

I carried Kester until it got too expensive at wholesale. For a long time, I have been offering .040" diameter 60/40 or 63/37 by www.aimsolder.com at well-under $25 for a one-pound spool

http://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/solder-60-40-tin-lead-spool/

It doesn't have the name of Kester, but I have had no complaints.

[bloxstompboxes]

I carried Kester until it got too expensive at wholesale. For a long time, I have been offering .040" diameter 60/40 or 63/37 by www.aimsolder.com at well-under $25 for a one-pound spool

http://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/solder-60-40-tin-lead-spool/

It doesn't have the name of Kester, but I have had no complaints.

AIM is a reputable name brand and one that we used at Harman for all our rework. I think ours was the one with Glow Core, which is more expensive and unnecessary for our purposes here. I used just the lead free and it worked great. I have all kinds of different brands at home now. These were all free or bought at discount. That includes a roll of AIM 60/40 leaded solder. It works well too.

[thermionix]

I really would like to know what solder Fender use in their pots / wiring.
Man ... you need about 300 degrees to melt it, and it gets hard in just a second!

I'd assume newer Fenders use lead-free for RoHS/CE compliance.  It has a higher melting temp than leaded solder.

[davepedals]

I build wire harnesses mainly for strat and teles, bought 1/2lb silver solder for them and no like!  Have to swipe almost every surface with rosin, especially the backs of my pots.  Got some J&F Rosin Core 63/37recently for $5.99/100GM shipped free, works great and not pricey!

[antonis]

I use this one:
https://http2.mlstatic.com/estano-250gr-eximetal-6040-07mm-08mm-1mm-2mm-14kg-D_NQ_NP_709501-MLA20366199910_082015-F.jpg
7mm, and about u$s20 the 250gr.

Probably with a solder tip of 1cm width..

Some years ago I incidentally used some "unnamed" solder from my junk box (with snapped out label) with excellent result so I persistently searched for its label till I discovered a label of 60/40 0.70mm Cynel-Unipress (in Polish language).

Ever since, it's my sole preference for a cost of about 5€ for 100gr.. 

[Bishop Vogue]

Thanks for all the answers.  At least I know my local store isn't ripping me off at 10 bucks (Canadian) for 100g.  That sounds like about the going rate.

Cheers all.

[MrStab]

bit of a UK-specific answer, i suppose:

if you have to use lead-free to sell the buggers, i find some are definitely easier to use than others. this one from Rapid does me well on a 30W iron, with some joints being fairly shiny: https://www.rapidonline.com/rapid-lead-free-solder-wire-22swg-0-7mm-100g-reel-85-1166

Maplin solder is annoying to use at 30W, doesn't seem to flow as well generally and it definitely smells different, but the labelled composition is supposedly the same so maybe it's the flux.