SDG #079 What's the best solder for electronics? Expensive or cheap?

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great video thanks was wondering if it mattered which to buy. I see here it doesn't appear to be an issue what you choose.

What temp would the iron be set at for the pin soldering test?

Thank you very much - this was very helpful for a beginner... I just ordered 100g of Duratool 👍

soilder is a mine field

Nice and we have pro tools and material for cellphone repair also.

just picked up some multicore with Crystal 400 the c400 any experience with that one? he had 10 rolls I got them for 10$ on clearance on the counter each for 500g rolls I figured why not haven't had a chance to use them yet though I figured even as backup solder it should be decent. they are 63\37 can't find much info other then the datasheet. another really decent China solder is the best brand 60\40 and the BLUE kaina but you have to make sure to get the blue version there is an orange one which sucks imo, the best branded one is really nice though

would love to see you do an updated video with only the AliExpress brands or cheaper brands that are current.

it would be nice if somebody could test many Ag solders if they truly have the silver in them.

The only thing good with the jinhu is the reel. I threw away the solder todays and used the reel for the cheapest ebay 60/40. The difference is night and day. The jinhu needed 375C and I was burning my iron. Needless to say everything being soldered is melting. Avoid that junk like the plague.

What about Edsyn brand?

Im using the Kester one, it's really nice to use, and has a no-clean flux while still having great performance. But I never solder corroded stuff.. but for pcb work, I stay with this Kester one😉

I think it's possible that Jinhu Solder may have some zinc in it for it to look that way. Zinc can wreak havoc for Lead Casters as well. That's my best guess.

Sorry to post on such an old video.

I think, while you did do an impressive amount of work for your experiment, it was inevitable that you would bite off more than you could chew, as we say. Just a quick list so I don't take up too much of your time:
* Profiles: This is something that, again, may have been an unreasonable amount of work for the experiment. But especially involving the "lead-free" solders, thermal profiles are vital.
* Purpose: Another variable. Consider a silver solder, even a pure silver solder, which would be a requirement for work on ceramics. Or flux types which are part of a process which has an established washing workflow, allowing a greater variety of them to be used with requirements for certain components which may have a very short time that they can be at flowing temperature.
* Variety of Pb-free: I am extremely grateful that there was no prejudice against them; in the U.S., such sentiment is endemic even if not backed up by research (see also "Profiles".) However, there is such a wealth of Pb-free alloys and fluxes, designed for so many processes, that it would be nigh impossible to fit in this video.
* SAC305: One of the oldest, and perfectly capable in an oven with the manufacturer-prescribed profile. It's okay with a pen, depending on the core, but it's the most common alloy, afaict.
* Sn99: You did have one, I think, that is marketed under this label (the alloy names don't always match the metallurgy these days, unfortunately; the datasheet is the only way to know.) These can have some exotic pairing metals, not just silver but bismuth, antimony, etc. Not always the healthy choice, but RoHS because of recoverability and reuse; which don't apply to home labs, of course.
* Sn100: This is another whose name would mislead you! It is not, of course, 100% Sn. At least two companies make it, with the original license-holder from the manufacturer (trade name: Sn100c) being AIM (see later note.) Now that the patent has expired, Kester sells it as well as their premium Pb-free, under the name "Sn100d", and there are a dizzying array of fluxes with truly differing properties. Sn100c, with the "FastCore" from MG, is my absolute favorite solder. It is also eutectic, btw. It should be mentioned that there are eutectic alloys of Pb-free.
* This may be a geographic difference, though we are well into the internet age, but AIM is second only to Kester in the U.S., where I have this anecdotal experience.

This video was, again, a big undertaking; and there's just too many variables to survey much of the landscape. But cheers for trying! And I don't know if this is a side-effect of geography, but I am glad that the Pb arguments didn't appear in your video, as they're silly. Appeals to authority are silly as well, for the reasons above: multitudes of applications, processes, and technology.

i've used Multicore Ersin for 30+ years, and i't the best.

Really enjoyed this one. I went with the Pro's Kit some time ago after watching this and have been completely happy with it. Finally almost through one tube so I ordered 3 more. Would love to see some more comparisons between gear - especially a larger comparison of flux.

I have some experience with Mechanic soldering wire. It's ver easy to use, It's smooth, clean and shiny when you are soldering with it.

Kester 44 baby all the way!

SUBSCRIBED.

Hey, thank you! This video has some very helpful information

My favorite is the Multicore 362 Solder, it's a dream to solder with, I actually like the generous amount of rosin flux!

66

KESTER Solder is the best by far....

Colour me a noob but why does the shine appearance matter?

I have a compulsive disorder and im fighting not buying every solder I see lol

Thankyou for this

Love these sort of videos, nothing was spared to give us the information we need to choose a solder to work with! Thanks!

In the Netherlands lead solder is banned for usage by professionals!

I got tired just looking at the image of all those.
What a great job you did. Thanks for sharing!

I have subscribed some time ago, but this is a keep, so placed in file. I do everything but mostly automotive and sick of current crop of solder. This helpful as I solder automotive wire and components. I spent almost 4 decades fixing vehicles for others so now retired, building one for me.
If you have kids, you know they have fully grown when they total out their cars instead of yours. I got my C10 this way after son quit lost interest and hit black ice slide into tree then towed to my back yard. I harvested the EFI engine, sold the new trans, kept all wires, connectors, and modules. Instead of outside near engine, mine past thru firewall and sit in vertical slots in console made from PVC board. Facing up for service, the PCM, TAC, BCM is in console for easy service. Magnets hold leather center cover over all including door switches. They use serial data to control engine, power windows, theft, lights, horn & RKE on factory key fob push button. Just having fun as I draw this stuff out and measure everything including power seats as I am 6’ 3” but wife is 120 lbs at 5’7” and has factory switch to change gas & brake pedal for her.
Thanks for the work as camera, lights, PCB, planning, filming, editing and watching how many times before uploading? A bunch! Thank you because is solder, shrink tube, etc.
Tip: Wrapping harness is needed using electrical tape either cords or bundles. Wrap and place dab of weather strip adhesive on tag end and will not unravel.
Thank you again for this work!
DK. Omaha. ASE Master Tech since 78

Pikey's will be after all that lead :D

Interesting testing tho, quite informative, I wish I had these choices 30 years ago lol, that stuff left everything swimming in flux, that stuff was a nightmare to chisel off.

Exactly what I was looking for. I was wondering if the tin amount matters that much in non-lead solder, but every brand seemed to function pretty well!

It doesn't gey much mote meticulous then this, you Sir are the professor of soldering.

What about radio shack brand solder?

The best solder for electronics are plenty of solder flux and actual soldering skills. :-)

A comparison of desoldering braid would be great.

Really enjoyed this video and many of your other videos. Im new to soldering and already learned that mystery solder from china makes learning a lot harder. I am moving on to better solder but am so confused with all the flux differences. I read there is a water based which is really bad and there is also an acid one that is also bad and rosin is hard to clean and the no clean still needs cleaning. Am I over thinking all of this and any good brand wire will work just fine? I am doing PCB work, game console repairs and learning phone repairs. Thanks much if you get a chance to respond.

What is a rosin free solder with lead/tin that is good quality but I can buy a smaller amount of to cut down on price?

I've got a 0.5kg roll of 0.7 rosin core solder, 60/40, RS 4.1/327 (not sure what 327 means) the label says Billiton It's quite old (at least 30 years old I think) but still performs well. As a hobbyist, it will last me a long long time still. It does spit a bit on occasion which can be annoying for smd work with a head band magnifier with my face quite close to the work piece. Should probably invest in a video microscope or something. Thanks for showing what to look for in a good solder joint.

Electroloy wire solder or chipquik company which the best the one I like is the one look shiny chrome not the cheap one that looks fade

The top 2 company I list or the one recommended

Very nice video! Apparently mechanic makes a 60/40 solder as well. Would have been great to include that one as well. They also have much thicker solder in the 60/40.

Warton metals are good

Which one is the best option for soldering on a budget that you can order through aliexpress? It should be easy to clean and leave a shiny surface without sputting. Which solder would you recomment to me?

i can only echo the others great video. would like to know the dia of the wires to use. som put 0.21 /0.71 or o.3 mm what dose it all mean.

"Mr.Lahey, are you an Amtech",
"No Randy, I am the Liquor!"

When it comes to soldering, I consider myself a soldering fanatic. I make no excuses for my choices of soldering wire and flux core. This is part of my soldering training in the Air National Guard. We used only leaded solder that was a pure eutectic alloy with an RMA flux core. This has proven over decades to be the best combination to produce joints of the best appearance, best quality and best reliability. Joints produced using a pure eutectic alloy have only two states of being, liquid or solid. This is the easiest solder to learn with because of this point. RMA flux core is the best because it produces the best appearance and the joints endure G forces, physical and mechanical stresses and thermal inversions. This is the level of quality and reliability necessary for avionics, aerospace, biomedical electronics and even high end audio. When human life and class A assets are involved, failure is not an option nor is mission failure. For those who go with lead free, ask someone else. For leaded soldering, there are get by solder wire and there are pure eutectic alloys with RMA flux cores which deliver the ultimate in soldering excellence. This isn’t opinion, it is proven fact over decades of use. Kester, AIM, Alpha Metals and Multicore are the brands who have proven themselves over time. Each must use what they can afford and tolerate. Having a solder which only has two states, liquid or solid, and a proven flux core of decades of use that endure the worst of conditions make the best solder joints you can deliver. It won’t make you a solder expert, but it will give you the ability to produce this level of quality and reliability with practice, practice, practice! It’s up to you and your budget. If you only want to produce the best results, you need the solder wire that yields this. A pure eutectic leaded solder alloy, Sn63, 63% tin/37% lead or Sn 62, 62% tin, 36% lead and 2% silver are the best choices. The solder’s flux core that makes the best joints is RMA, Rosin Mildly Activated. When decades of proven results tell you that you have made the best choice, no argument exists. Save yourself frustration, use only a pure eutectic alloy with an RMA flux core. You can’t lose. Frustrations melt away when you use the best solder!

That Duratool solder if I'm not mistaken was the same stuff sold by Rapid Electronics a few years ago, I ought to grab myself some.

we use alpha fluitin 1532 as lead-free solder and it usualy performs well, only problem might be ground pads where it can make some clumps, probably due to poor soldering technique. Also i have problems with it when soldering RGB LED due to pads being so close together and it not having satisfactory flow, resulting in lots of shorts.

for lead solder we use stannol s-sn60pb40 but im not quite satisfied with the flow of it (maby age? can be better then alpha but has more randomness in it)

we also got some almit sr-la pb-free solder to test out but beside wierd smell it makes more clumps then alpha, even tho its supposed to have resin flux vs alphas no-clean

anyway, just came here to see if we could replace solders with something better (but we mostly use pb-free becouse laws if u wana sell electronics, lead only for repairs so only 3 tests were a bit meh)

mechanic wait for meee