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FrozenGate by Avery

What temp do you solder at?

RedCowboy said:
63/37 solder has virtually no plastic state, it will solidify as soon as heat is removed unless your iron is over temp severely.
350 plus a hair is a good setting, but if you are using higher melt temp solder see the graph.
Here's a graph.

chart.gif
Click to expand...

Been meaning to try 63/37, someone recommended it to me a while ago - think it was someone on here. I use 60/40 - I REFUSE to use lead free - it's just dreadful to work with.

As for temperature ... who knows, whatever my iron runs at! Need to invest in a decent station/iron with temperature control at some point. Something with regular tips that I can find easily. No where in town sells tips for the iron I have just now - even the store that sells the irons...
 
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" I REFUSE to use lead free - it's just dreadful to work with."

" Need to invest in a decent station/iron with temperature control at some point."

You've answered your own question here. One of the most common lead free alloys used in electronics is SAC305. It's 3% silver, 0.5% copper with the balance being tin. It flows very well but oxidises a little more quickly than Pb/Sn so it requires a different flux and good temp' control.
 
WizardG said:
" I REFUSE to use lead free - it's just dreadful to work with."

" Need to invest in a decent station/iron with temperature control at some point."

You've answered your own question here. One of the most common lead free alloys used in electronics is SAC305. It's 3% silver, 0.5% copper with the balance being tin. It flows very well but oxidises a little more quickly than Pb/Sn so it requires a different flux and good temp' control.
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The silver may be where the difference is at and that's one combination I had thought of trying too. Last time I used lead free it was the 99.3% Sn / 0.7% Cu stuff. I don't think I've talked to anyone - hobbyist or professional - that likes working with it, regardless of equipment used. I guess I generalized a bit when I said I refuse to use lead free, I'm sure there are other lead free alternatives that are just fine. But the "commonly sold in stores", cheap lead free, almost pure Tin solder IS dreadful. :p

Would rather just stick with leaded myself. This city is sitting on top of a quarter million tonnes of Arsenic Trioxide - a little lead is the least of my worries. Hopefully that doesn't leak out any time soon ... not a matter of if, but a matter of when.
 
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Be careful with those 60/40 solders as they are sometimes 60% lead and other times they are 60% tin. You have to look closely or they will give you something you haven't bargained for.
 
paul1598419 said:
Be careful with those 60/40 solders as they are sometimes 60% lead and other times they are 60% tin. You have to look closely or they will give you something you haven't bargained for.
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Yep - that's right, good point - always got to check. Would avoid buying the cheap Chinese feeBay stuff too - good chance it won't be quite up to scratch. Wouldn't be surprised to find the stuff I have from China is 60/40 Sn/Pb labeled as 60/40 Pb/Sn or some other alloy that isn't the one on the label! Promptly replaced that with a roll from the states (IIRC) - noticeable improvement in quality with that one.
 
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For really delicate work I use indium based solder. The joints look like crap due to the way it crystallizes as it solidifies but it has a very low melting point and will wet just about anything.

If you really wanna learn how to solder find an IPC 7711/7721 certification class in your area. Not cheap but at the end of the week you will be able to solder at a very high professional level of quality.
 
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WizardG said:
For really delicate work I use indium based solder. The joints look like crap due to the way it crystallizes as it solidifies but it has a very low melting point and will wet just about anything.

If you really wanna learn how to solder find an IPC 7711/7721 certification class in your area. Not cheap but at the end of the week you will be able to solder at a very high professional level of quality and quality.
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Looked up the IPC certification stuff - nearest training centre is in Ontario ... yeah, my skills are good enough for what I do... I'm not going all the way to Ontario for that - although thanks for the suggestion :). I know several avionics/radio techs and electronics engineers. I'm sure they'd teach me some tricks if I asked nicely. :D

Seriously impressive watching a true professional radio/avionics/electronics engineer/tech do their thing. Even just something as simple as sticking a UHF connector on the end of some LMR400 was impressive to watch, takes me about 15 minutes and three tries to get it "good enough" :p (usually because I left the threaded shell off of the cable before attaching the connector...) ... never mind the other things a few of them have built. Troubleshooting skills that I couldn't believe.
 
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paul1598419 said:
Be careful with those 60/40 solders as they are sometimes 60% lead and other times they are 60% tin. You have to look closely or they will give you something you haven't bargained for.
Click to expand...

Wow. I didnt even think about that.
I just checked the specs on the sah-dur i ordered with my iron and found out its 60 tin / 40 lead. :(

Should i jist go ahead and order some new stuff or would i be ok with this chinese knockoff?

Im really only going to be soldering the ring on the contact board and then the leads from the driver to the diode wires as far as im aware.
 
Pi R Squared said:
Found it: Lead-Free Rosin Core Solder it says melting point is 422.6F, you would find the 60/40 or 63/37 easier to work with.
Alan
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Really don't bother with the lead-free stuff for hand soldering. Lead has been banned for large scale production, but not for repairs or one off jobs.

Lead-free solder is pretty difficult for hand soldering as is not eutectic and has a large temperature range where it's a mix of solid and liquid. If you move the joint by the slightest bit during the cooling down phase the joint will be bad.

I personally only use the 60/40 rosin core solder, of a diameter that fits the task (0.7 or 1 mm usually).

Temperature wise 350 is a good choice for most work, a bit higher is good if working larger pieces with a small iron.

As far as the Aoyue soldering stations go: They seem to be quite inaccurate out of the factory when temperature is concerned. This can be fixed by pressing some buttons with the iron at a known temperature, you basically have to set an offset for your specific station/iron combination. I've seen this off by as much as 40 degrees.
 
Benm said:
As far as the Aoyue soldering stations go: They seem to be quite inaccurate out of the factory when temperature is concerned. This can be fixed by pressing some buttons with the iron at a known temperature, you basically have to set an offset for your specific station/iron combination. I've seen this off by as much as 40 degrees.
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So, what would be the easiest way to figure out the known temp of the iron? Would one of those infrared laser temperature guns work? Could i use a cheap harbor freight one or are those pretty inaccurate as well?
 
CudaVert said:
Wow. I didnt even think about that.
I just checked the specs on the sah-dur i ordered with my iron and found out its 60 tin / 40 lead. :(

Should i jist go ahead and order some new stuff or would i be ok with this chinese knockoff?

Im really only going to be soldering the ring on the contact board and then the leads from the driver to the diode wires as far as im aware.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry. I should have been more specific. You want the tin to be 60%. It is when the lead is 60% that you've been screwed. I even started years ago when I'm soldering to blow away the fumes from the solder, even though most of it is the flux burning off. Lead accumulates in your body over years and can build to toxic levels. Though there really isn't a safe amount of lead in your system.
 
paul1598419 said:
I'm sorry. I should have been more specific. You want the tin to be 60%. It is when the lead is 60% that you've been screwed. I even started years ago when I'm soldering to blow away the fumes from the solder, even though most of it is the flux burning off. Lead accumulates in your body over years and can build to toxic levels. Though there really isn't a safe amount of lead in your system.
Click to expand...

No that's my fault. I even read that graph Daichi posted and it still got past me. Aparently i don't read good. Lol. Its been a long day and the only thing on my mind is the stainless host coming in the mail today.
 
I got the same iron as og post. My sweet spot for me is 320. I think I got 60 40 leaded solder
 
I'm not familiar at all with Aoyue solder stations, so I can't really talk intelligently about them. If they are a cheap Chinese knockoff of good thermostatically controlled stations, they are probably an example of "you get what you pay for".
 
paul1598419 said:
I'm not familiar at all with Aoyue solder stations, so I can't really talk intelligently about them. If they are a cheap Chinese knockoff of good thermostatically controlled stations, they are probably an example of "you get what you pay for".
Click to expand...

I am planning to get one and try it out from amazon although not sure how well they will work reviews are rated high.

I have a thermocouple setup off of a thermoformer raTed at 500F.. so I usually test my soldering tips with it to test accuracy or check calibration.

I've used expensive weller stations at work and at home I've always had the cheap weller station and it works fine for the volume of soldering I actually do... but curious about the aoyue systems because of the actual temp selection.
 
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