Bad DC sockets!?

[davent]

After going out tracking down and buying the stuff to make the super corrosive flux, wouldn't it be better, cheaper to just spend money on a quality jack. Biased... zero use for Tayda in this corner.
dave

An entirely fair point, but the suggestion was more for a 'today' remedy.  A small bottle of Baker's fluid or similar (more than anyone will ever need for a lifetime in this hobby) is a few $, and available off-the-shelf at any hardware, plumbing, electrical, metal, or even farm supplies shop.

Picture: in the early 1980s I spent hours sitting in front of a solder pot in a fume cupboard at an electronics factory tinning about  1000 poorly plated and badly tarnished solder lugs, fluxing them with bakers fluid because the supplier was out of stock and we had to get the job finished..

david

I'd never heard of 'Baker's fluid' before your post so searched and "Baker's Soldering Fluid Canada" does not google, back to square one.
dave

[PRR]

In the US, Baker's Fluid finds a couple UK sites and soon slides into Baker's Knee, an unpleasant fluid-filled cyst.

It is just the tradename of a UK brand of zinc chloride. Tough on tarnished pipes and death on fine wire strands.

[davent]

In the US, Baker's Fluid finds a couple UK sites and soon slides into Baker's Knee, an unpleasant fluid-filled cyst.

It is just the tradename of a UK brand of zinc chloride. Tough on tarnished pipes and death on fine wire strands.

I'd found UK, Australian and New Zealand links but this Commonwealth country's major major trade ties are with our neighbour to the south so zip for Baker's Fluid.
dave

[vigilante397]

I've given up on cheap DC jacks. I used to get them in bulk from Tayda, but I had too many of them fall apart and too many customers complain about them. I buy Lumbergs now for a much higher price but have zero problems with them.

[davent]

I've given up on cheap DC jacks. I used to get them in bulk from Tayda, but I had too many of them fall apart and too many customers complain about them. I buy Lumbergs now for a much higher price but have zero problems with them.

Peace of mind, priceless.

[duck_arse]

In the US, Baker's Fluid finds a couple UK sites and soon slides into Baker's Knee, an unpleasant fluid-filled cyst.

It is just the tradename of a UK brand of zinc chloride. Tough on tarnished pipes and death on fine wire strands.

I'd found UK, Australian and New Zealand links but this Commonwealth country's major major trade ties are with our neighbour to the south so zip for Baker's Fluid.
dave

https://www.amazon.ca/Novacan-Old-Masters-Flux-Oz/dp/B000N6KR90
https://canada.newark.com/gc-electronics/10-1207-0000/soldering-paste-flux-bottle-2floz/dp/89C0736
https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/aim-nitroflux-kit-0586007p.html#Questions
https://www.grainger.ca/en/product/SOLDERING-PASTE-FLUX-2-OZ/p/MRK22101

difficult to find, from these websites, just what is in these, but at least some of them are killed spirits type.

[davent]

In the US, Baker's Fluid finds a couple UK sites and soon slides into Baker's Knee, an unpleasant fluid-filled cyst.

It is just the tradename of a UK brand of zinc chloride. Tough on tarnished pipes and death on fine wire strands.

I'd found UK, Australian and New Zealand links but this Commonwealth country's major major trade ties are with our neighbour to the south so zip for Baker's Fluid.
dave

https://www.amazon.ca/Novacan-Old-Masters-Flux-Oz/dp/B000N6KR90
https://canada.newark.com/gc-electronics/10-1207-0000/soldering-paste-flux-bottle-2floz/dp/89C0736
https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/aim-nitroflux-kit-0586007p.html#Questions
https://www.grainger.ca/en/product/SOLDERING-PASTE-FLUX-2-OZ/p/MRK22101

difficult to find, from these websites, just what is in these, but at least some of them are killed spirits type.

I do have this, bought in a electronics store, used occasionally for tough solder jobs usually involving mass, some recent further research found not recommended for electronics.

[PRR]

https://www.amazon.ca/Novacan-Old-Masters-Flux-Oz/dp/B000N6KR90
https://canada.newark.com/gc-electronics/10-1207-0000/soldering-paste-flux-bottle-2floz/dp/89C0736
https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/aim-nitroflux-kit-0586007p.html#Questions
https://www.grainger.ca/en/product/SOLDERING-PASTE-FLUX-2-OZ/p/MRK22101
difficult to find, from these websites, just what is in these, but at least some of them are killed spirits type.

If you really care, if it is on the US market, look for MDS/SDS Safety Sheets.

Your first example, Novacan, is a Canadian company but has a website -just- for its safety sheets (users and shippers).

https://www.novacan.net/
https://www.novacan.net/sds/rev10/Novacan%20Old%20Master's%20Flux%20-%20SDS%20Rev10.pdf

That flux is said to be "Zinc Chloride Anhydrous 12-18%, Water". So presumably equivalent to hydrochloric acid killed with zinc. The classic "Not for Electronics!!" flux.

Your Grainger flux has the SDS right on the page. This one I dunno what it is:
---  Ethanolamine hydrochloride, Ammonium chloride, 2,6-Di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol
But two chlorides does not sound good for fine copper. {EDIT: Ammonium chloride is the $10 name for sal ammoniac.}

The Canadian Tire flux is soft on information, but there is a Q&A posted which discourages use on "boat traler wires", and the package picture looks like common copper plumbing pipes.

[anotherjim]

Ok, if all you're going to do with these parts is tin the tags with solder prior to assembling; I'd use whatever flux works to do that and then clean it. Distilled water scrubbed with an old toothbrush and then blowdried. With the tags tinned & clean, you can attach wires how you usually do.

A plumbers flux probably will be water washable. A wipe with a damp cloth is all the plumber needs to do. It can be good enough for steel.

If it takes too long for the iron to heat the joint, the flux dries and things start oxidising. The solder won't flow properly. I find increasing the iron temperature to 400c is all it takes to get the solder flowing nicely.

Note that the fumes from acidic flux will make any steel items in the vicinity go rusty.
If you can, use a different bit in the iron for the acid work and give that one a good scrub when you've finished.

[greaser_au]

I'd never heard of 'Baker's fluid' before your post so searched and "Baker's Soldering Fluid Canada" does not google, back to square one.
dave

Now you're just having a lend* of me, Dave      Did you try 'killed spirits' or 'zinc chloride' or 'plumbers flux' as per my first post on this topic?   It always amazes me that our North American brethren can buy things like dowel pins or drive belts at their local Ace/Lowes/Menards. It would be shocking  to think you can't get something like this.

*pulling my leg.

EDIT: Ok, I will reluctantly stand corrected on a very, very, very  finely drawn point.  That Oatey No5 stuff is what comes up for 'plumbers flux' in my US searches, thus is kinda what I was alluding to - should be the 'ducks nuts' as a substitute, if you can't get something like this at the store aisle with the taps (faucets) and shower heads you guys are in serious doo-doo.  This appears to be a mixture of tin and ammonium chloride in paste form  (the stuff they put in those little "tip tinner" pots at 500-1000% the $  compared to the tub) instead of zinc chloride liquid.  As your last comment infers,  you would still want to clean things pretty thoroughly afterwards...  looks like lowes carry a tobacco tin size pot of the stuff (more than I would ever need in a lifetime at home) for about USD$3.50    I note the various warnings posted echo my comments about toxic fumes and post-use cleaning also     

david

[iainpunk]

i got a little tiny tub of rosin with my butane soldering iron, and it does wonders on some of the more cruddy lugs. i'd normaly use a nail file to make the metal bare, but i had a tubular surface (BNC connector) and wanted to solder the inside, and the nail file just doesn't reach. this mystery tub does good, doubt its considered ''safe'' in the EU tho, guess that's the upside of Chinese mail order stuff.

cheers

[duck_arse]

if we here bought something labeled lead free solder paste, we'd be expecting it to be solder, not flux. faucet or spigot?

having a lend or coming the raw prawn? ducks nuts indeed.

[davent]

I'd never heard of 'Baker's fluid' before your post so searched and "Baker's Soldering Fluid Canada" does not google, back to square one.
dave

Now you're just having a lend* of me, Dave      Did you try 'killed spirits' or 'zinc chloride' or 'plumbers flux' as per my first post on this topic?   It always amazes me that our North American brethren can buy things like dowel pins or drive belts at their local Ace/Lowes/Menards. It would be shocking  to think you can't get something like this.

*pulling my leg.

 

david

I was fixated on 'Baker's fluid' thinking it was some diy concoction made with killed spirits & zinc chloride again not being familiar with with either of those designators ... it's a wide wild world...

...google return Canadian killed spirits... https://killedspirits.bandcamp.com/
New to me as well.
dave

[greaser_au]

I was fixated on 'Baker's fluid' thinking it was some diy concoction made with killed spirits & zinc chloride again not being familiar with with either of those designators ... it's a wide wild world...

Killed spirits is a very old recipe and a bit of a language hangover..  Plumbers used to make their own "killed spirits" by "killing" some "spirits of salts" (what they called hydrochloric acid 100 years ago) by  putting metallic zinc into it..   Not something one would want to make at home these days, never mind getting the balance right. The premade stuff is a lot less hazardous from a handling and usage  perspective.

(To make my drifting off-topic offence complete) Take the lid off the HCl and mist comes out of the bottle as it's fumes react with the moisture in the air-  really, really, nasty.  HCl is sold at our  hardware shops - albeit kept under lock and key- for cleaning up cement splashes in bricklaying and concreting.  Sulphuric acid used to be the cleaner of choice, but access is now much more restricted (down under, anyway) as it is a precursor for "less peaceful" materials - I was looking into the availability of the material for doing some anodising a while ago, so I'm probably on some ausgovt watch list now. 

david

[Ice-9]

 

Small Bear at one time, maybe still do, had a tutorial on using Bondo in an over sized hole in the enclosure to isolate metal power jacks. Fill the hole with bondo let it set, level sand and drill through the bondo with a proper size bit for the jack.

Or just buy an isolated jack and save 4 hours of work.