Do you prefer lead or lead-free solder?

[PedalBuilder]

PS: Question for the people ordering from JLCPCB — whether THD or SMD: What's JLCPCB use when you order the board pre-popped?

They offer leaded HASL, lead-free HASL, and ENIG. Leaded is the least expensive, and as I don’t eat my PCBs, that’s what I go with for all of my orders.

 

[Stickman393]

Leaded is the least expensive, and as I don’t eat my PCBs, that’s what I go with for all of my orders.

Shit, I been doing it wrong all this time.

 

[Erik S]

Shit, I been doing it wrong all this time.

 

[KreoPensas]

Just to make this even more _____ ***best I can tell*** ALL low temperature solder paste is lead free. Look out avocado toast.

 

[jessenator]

I completely forgot I have a tube of paste somewhere. Probably with the hot air station I used all of four times.

 

[Stickman393]

I'd often wondered what ratio of lead and silver was the eutectic. I guess 60/40 is close. I didn't know you could get solder as a eutectic alloy.

And I haven't heard the term eutectic in about 40 years!

It is close. Though I've read that the military largely transitioned to 63/37 tin/lead after it was found that production with 63/37 led to far more reliable solder joints.

That transition point is super useful for certain applications, especially when one needs to build up a bit of volume for filling gaps. Eutectic solder is either/or liquid/solid. Great for where pads are generally only a little larger than the leads, terrible for, say, bonding layers of sheet metal.

 

[Erik S]

Probably with the hot air station I used all of four times.

They work super slick on shrink tube in tight quarters. Used mine on some microphone wiring recently and it worked great. The 'ol bic lighter wasn't gonna cut it there.

 

[jessenator]

The 'ol bic lighter wasn't gonna cut it there.

I've been using the colder part of my iron…

Yeah, if there was room on my bench/desks it could have a permanent home for sure.

 

[GAStan]

I use Solder with Silver for increased strength. Not sure it conducts any different than standard solder. It's pricey but I only build for myself so i dont go through too much. If i were to start building for others i would get some 63/37 water soluable flux core. I might get some anyway just because this flux is a pain to clean.

It does require a little higher temperature. Also if reheated too many times it turns grainy looking. When it does this i remove it and resolder (usually).

 

[Vicious C]

Been using lead free for a while now (since according to my wife I know nothing about anything) and I can say it does require higher temp, but lowers the nagging quite a bit so it’s an even trade.

 

[RetiredUnit1]

I remember about 20 years ago when a southern California city heard that dihydrogen monoxide was the most damaging chemical in the world.

They banned it. Imagine their surprise when they found out they had just banned water? It is responsible for rust, erosion, etc.

Political figures should just keep their business in what they are supposed to do. Provide infrastructure, protect sovereignty. Banning substances based on ideological opinions not supported by fact or science is not intelligent.

(edited) A parody:

Facts About Dihydrogen Monoxide

Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division provides an international clearinghouse for information on Dihydrogen Monoxide including current research results, governmental regulations, and exposure and contamination alerts. Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO) can be dangerous to humans. Dihydrogen Monoxide...

dhmo.org

 

[Hal Harvey]

Lead until I am dead. Hopefully not dead from lead though.

My experience is leaded is far superior. I’m sure the gap isn't as wide as I imagine it to be though. Especially from brands like Kester.

 

[jdduffield]

Lead until I am dead. Hopefully not dead from lead though.

My experience is leaded is far superior. I’m sure the gap isn't as wide as I imagine it to be though. Especially from brands like Kester.

My neighbor who happens to be an electrician told me he used lead his whole career and it never gave him any problems. He’s retired now. So, the dangers can’t be that bad, although I’ve done no research on it. I may look it up and see what I find.

 

[Hal Harvey]

My neighbor who happens to be an electrician told me he used lead his whole career and it never gave him any problems. He’s retired now. So, the dangers can’t be that bad, although I’ve done no research on it. I may look it up and see what I find.

Just treat it like you are handling raw meat.

The fumes do not have lead in them but are bad for you because they have other nasty stuff. I assume (but am no expert) that unleaded fumes are just as bad.

 

[Stickman393]

I remember about 20 years ago when a southern California city heard that dihydrogen monoxide was the most damaging chemical in the world.

They banned it. Imagine their surprise when they found out they had just banned water? It is responsible for rust, erosion, etc.

Political figures should just keep their business in what they are supposed to do. Provide infrastructure, protect sovereignty. Banning substances based on ideological opinions not supported by fact or science is not intelligent.

(edited) A parody:

Facts About Dihydrogen Monoxide

Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division provides an international clearinghouse for information on Dihydrogen Monoxide including current research results, governmental regulations, and exposure and contamination alerts. Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO) can be dangerous to humans. Dihydrogen Monoxide...

dhmo.org

I mean, to be fair:

Lead. Its not good for living things. Not at all. The Romans knew this. Its a neurotoxin. Fucks with brain function. Good thing to not have, like, *everywhere*. Especially not in sweet-tasting paint chips that kids might want to eat. Or coming out of every tailpipe of every vehicle on the road.

Or in drinking water delivery systems where a slight shift in PH could cause it to leech into domestic water lines.

But...electronics. Admittedly, circuit boards don't use a lot of it, but a *lot* of circuit boards are made.

The difference is between the mega-prodicers and the individual tinkerers: individuals aren't responsible for the over-production and planned obsolescence that results in (possibly) trillions of circuit boards getting tossed.

Mega-producers abuse the system, the government clamps down on production equally regardless of how much one produces, the mega-producers hire their own scientists and "experts" that they pay to have advantageous opinions to the business that then engage in propoganda campaigns to convince everybody that the real problem is that the government is taking away *your* rights, not that a business was abusing a resource that needs to be handled with care while absolutely refusing to do so responsibly.

Which is kinda where I land. Like, hey: I use a pound of 63/37 like...once every three to four years or so. I'm not doing a ton.

Apple, though? Oh fuck yeah. Make those fools use lead-free. Fucking donut building inhabiting pricks.

 

[jessenator]

…dermal absorption has been less well studied, perhaps due to the assumption that the dermal pathway is a minor contributor to aggregate exposures to Pb compounds.

The [previous studies], while of limited quality, overall strongly suggests inorganic Pb has the potential for dermal uptake in meaningful amounts associated with negative health outcomes based on upper bound diffusion rate estimates.

[a scientific paper I lack the background to fully comprehend]

Data were identified for four inorganic Pb compounds (Pb acetate, Pb nitrate, Pb oxide, and Pb metal) that may inform PBPK models for the purpose of better understanding the systemic dose resulting from dermal exposures. These data included the calculation of average diffusion rate values across animal and human skin ranging from 10−7 to 10−4 mg cm−2 h−1 and Kp values ranging from 10−7 to 10−5 cm h−1. These values are within the same order of magnitudes of other inorganic metals and organic Pb compounds where dermal absorption is of concern.

However, in conclusion, wherefore, vis a vie, ergo, so it went through some methodology of testing the exposure of different Pb compounds, but I need layman's terms…



And if you want an orders-of-magnitude-larger paper, the CDC is happy to oblige.

But basically, Hal Harvey succinctly put it already

Just treat it like you are handling raw meat.

But it's just so sweet…

 

[owlexifry]

alright. instead of a new thread, ill jump on this one.
so I've always used whatever cheap 60/40 crap that i get from a local hobby shop and have just tolerated it because I've never known anything else.
but the time has come.
my roll is about to run out and I'm browsing mouser.

63/37 properties sound great on paper, but i'm concerned it might piss me off with it's altered behaviour...

e.g. the fast setting behaviour sounds like de-soldering / removing components (like pots form a PCB) would be a heckin nightmare with 63/37. or not really?
not really concerned about risk of cold solder joints with 60/40, i'm not sure that's something that's really ever been an issue for me.

what i care about:
- good wicking behaviour.
- good wetting.

flux residues are really only a nuisance with vero builds, PCBs kinda non-issue.

but at about (aud)$100 per pound for Kester, i kinda wanna make sure i get the right one for me.

#44 seems to be the og that everyone likes. 'no clean' type and apparently ok to leave on. but then some say its corrosive. ffs - it either is or it isn't. so what's the answer there?

#245 also a 'no clean' but apparently less residue and better compatibility with other fluxes? to me it just seems like a better version #44

#331 - the water soluble clean type. but do i even wanna bother with this when i could just be using #44 or #245 and skip the cleaning?

and what's the scoop on flux %? is 2.2% enough? is 3.3% too much?

 

[RetiredUnit1]

alright. instead of a new thread, ill jump on this one.
so I've always used whatever cheap 60/40 crap that i get from a local hobby shop and have just tolerated it because I've never known anything else.
but the time has come.
my roll is about to run out and I'm browsing mouser.

63/37 properties sound great on paper, but i'm concerned it might piss me off with it's altered behaviour...

e.g. the fast setting behaviour sounds like de-soldering / removing components (like pots form a PCB) would be a heckin nightmare with 63/37. or not really?
not really concerned about risk of cold solder joints with 60/40, i'm not sure that's something that's really ever been an issue for me.

what i care about:
- good wicking behaviour.
- good wetting.

flux residues are really only a nuisance with vero builds, PCBs kinda non-issue.

but at about (aud)$100 per pound for Kester, i kinda wanna make sure i get the right one for me.

#44 seems to be the og that everyone likes. 'no clean' type and apparently ok to leave on. but then some say its corrosive. ffs - it either is or it isn't. so what's the answer there?

#245 also a 'no clean' but apparently less residue and better compatibility with other fluxes? to me it just seems like a better version #44

#331 - the water soluble clean type. but do i even wanna bother with this when i could just be using #44 or #245 and skip the cleaning?

and what's the scoop on flux %? is 2.2% enough? is 3.3% too much?

This is what I use and it works fantastic. No clean is a great way to go.
edited: only 2 left at this great price of $36.99 free shipping

Kester 24-6337-8800 / #245-No-Clean / Sn63Pb37 63-37 / .031 / 1% / 1-lb - NEW 729198854430 | eBay

Alloy: Sn63Pb37. 245 is classified as ROL0 per J-STD-004. 245 is Bellcore GR-78 compliant. Kester 245 Flux-Cored Wire Product Overview Compatible with leaded and lead free alloys.

www.ebay.com

 

[owlexifry]

This is what I use and it works fantastic. No clean is a great way to go.
edited: only 2 left at this great price of $36.99 free shipping

Kester 24-6337-8800 / #245-No-Clean / Sn63Pb37 63-37 / .031 / 1% / 1-lb - NEW 729198854430 | eBay

Alloy: Sn63Pb37. 245 is classified as ROL0 per J-STD-004. 245 is Bellcore GR-78 compliant. Kester 245 Flux-Cored Wire Product Overview Compatible with leaded and lead free alloys.

www.ebay.com

current tally:
x1 vote for #245
x1 vote for 63/37

 

[Hal Harvey]

Kester 331 and then Kester 245.

Both 6337.

Kester 331 has water soluble flux. You can literally rinse the board under the faucet at the end the session. I let mine air dry.

Kester 245 once you are doing the final wiring in the enclosure (and also stuff that can’t get wet).