Solder Brand

J

Joben Magooch

Well-known member
So I had a pound spool of Kester that lasted me for YEARS and ran out recently. Decided to give a cheap Amazon brand a shot (“Maiyum”) and it kinda sucks. Doesn’t really “flow,” just kinda melts and turns blobby if that makes sense. It’s like a quarter of the cost but I can’t stand it.

So I’m wondering what everyone else is using - the $10 Amazon special, the $40 spool of Kester, or something in the middle? If there’s really nothing comparable out there I’ll just grab another spool of Kester and be set for a few more years but figured it’d be prudent to ask at least.
 
Multicore Sn62, .032 diameter. It may not still be Ersin brand; I have a new spool from just a few months ago, I’ll see how it’s branded. I’m still working on a Very old spool of it. 2% silver, eutectic, which basically means it’s an alloy that melts very fast once it’s at the melting point. (Which is also low, in this case.) I also have Kester 44, in a thinner and thicker size.
 
I’ve been using the Maiyum Amazon stuff but I too hate it. It’s terrible when it comes to removing parts. I’ve been looking to switch to Kester. What formula do you guys like? I’ve read the kester “no-clean” stuff is difficult to rework when removing parts.
 
MG Chemicals. I've been using it for ages and it works great. I can find it cheaper than Kester, although I don't know if it's cheap compared to random brands off Amazon.
 
Best solder I've used so far by far was whatever was provided with my X-tronix soldering station. It was really great, although I didn't know it at the time, since I had nothing to compare it to.

Tried the Maiyum. Straight trash. Sent it back, and bought the Kester 60/40, which I am fairly happy with.
 
szukalski said:
Insanely jealous of the range you get outside the EU. Even 60/40 is tricky to come by.
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The only 63/37 I've found is a no name made in China spool. Obviously I didn't buy it. Poland is 60/40 till I die apparently. And no trace of heavy metal soap and wipes. Gotta trust generic Rossman soap brands I guess.
 
Cybercow said:
IMO, always use the best solder. You get what you pay for. I've tried several top notch solder and that the Kester (SN63B37) 24-6337-8800 50 Activated Rosin Core works best for me. I get it from Amazon. (It's linked.) Yes, it's a bit pricey, but it's the good stuff.
View attachment 49671
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An aerospace tech friend of mine gets "expired" spools from work and sometimes sells them on eBay. He gave me a full spool of that in .020" but I've barely touched it yet. I have 63/37 here with type 44, 245, 285, and 331 cores, I should really do a proper shootout one of these days!
 
I had purchased a couple pounds of the cheap brand made in China, I did a test solder with it and noticed it smelled like industrial waste and didn't work for $#!+. I asked seller to return, they balked, I filed a dispute on eBay and the seller sent me a return label.

I use Kester 24-6337-8801 No Clean Sn63Pb37 .031" (0.8mm). Works very well. The No Clean takes a bit more heat but leaves no residue that I can see.
 
MG Chemicals #4685 63/37 No Clean for me, works great. The nicest solder I ever used came from what used to be Radio Shack, it was a Nexxtech branded spool with some sort of pseudo-eutectic mixture with a touch of silver in it - I still have a little bit and guard it closely, and definitely wish I could find it again.
 
Silver Blues said:
MG Chemicals #4685 63/37 No Clean for me, works great. The nicest solder I ever used came from what used to be Radio Shack, it was a Nexxtech branded spool with some sort of pseudo-eutectic mixture with a touch of silver in it - I still have a little bit and guard it closely, and definitely wish I could find it again.
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That RS formulation was really nice, it was my go-to for a while. My friend gave me a spool of Kester .020" Sn62/Pb36/Ag02 with type 285 rosin that's especially great for SMD work, but...sticker shock. Not as expensive as the unleaded though, which he also gave me a spool of. "Gave" might be a stretch, more like barter really. He "gave" me a B&L microscope too, good friend. ;)

​

 
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I have been using the Maiyum stuff from Amazon and it’s been ok. I also got a 0.6mm spool from adafruit a while ago that was pretty good. I may have to try Kester next!
 
Silver Blues said:
MG Chemicals #4685 63/37 No Clean for me, works great. The nicest solder I ever used came from what used to be Radio Shack, it was a Nexxtech branded spool with some sort of pseudo-eutectic mixture with a touch of silver in it - I still have a little bit and guard it closely, and definitely wish I could find it again.
Click to expand...
This is probably who RS sourced it from—actually, it would've been Ersin, back in the day. It looks like Loctiti bought Ersin, and uses "multicore" as the brand name, which also describes the way the flux is integrated into the solder. I just got some several months ago from Newark, but they are out of stock—looking at this site, it's possible it's not around anymore! (Glad I got 250g spool of it; at my rate of going through solder, that should be the last I'll need.)

I haven't done an intensive search, so it might be worth trying to source.

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