Solder

[porthos]

there is flux core solder and solder that needs flux. is there any advantage to using solid core solder? i'm sort of a novice in soldering.

 

[markba633csi]

For electrical work, rosin core solder is always used. For some types of sheet metal joining, acid core is sometimes used, or solid core with a separate paste or liquid flux.
Also, for filling a solder pot large solid core bar solder is used, with the flux being applied to the part being dipped
Radiator repair shops probably make some use of solid core
-Mark

 

[C-Bag]

there is flux core solder and solder that needs flux. is there any advantage to using solid core solder? i'm sort of a novice in soldering.

As you can see by Mark’s reply it is very dependent on what you’re doing. I use appropriate flux even with flux core as sometimes the flux drains out. I’ve also after decades of using my one pot, run out of flux and bought some new stuff and it was useless. Luckily my neighbor had a ton of the old stuff so filled me up.

Depending on the job heat source is critical too. I‘ve done a ton of soldering, acid and rosen along with brazing. Just yesterday I did silver solder on a stainless steel counter end for the first time and that was another whole ball o wax. Every solder process needs different heat source too. So without knowing what you’re doing it hard to know what you need.

 

[Janderso]

I haven’t done a wide variety of soldering but i have learned this much,
Clean your parts very well, sand, grind then acetone.
Use the right high quality flux for the job and the correct solder.
Determining what’s correct for the job has been challenging for me.
I like to learn as I go

 

[RJSakowski]

You want to buy solder made from virgin metals. Cheap solders are often made with reclaimed metals which can contain impurities which prevent proper flow of the molten solder. Fluxes also come in different activities. The more active fluxes will more aggressively attack oxidation that prevents proper wetting of the metals being joined. I has preferred Ersin solder in the past as it offered an alloy called Savbit which contained a small amount of silver which greatly reduced erosion of the soldering iron tip. Kester would be a second choice.

The 63/37 alloy has the lowest melting point. Significantly lower than lead free solder being used for RoHS compliant products. The lower temperature means less chance of damaging sensitive components. I prefer either a 63/37 or 60/40 alloy if I can get it.

{Plumbing solder uses an acid core or acid flux if solid core. The "acid" is usually zinc chloride. It should noit be used for electrical or electronic work though as it will corrode the base metal.

50/50 solder is used for body work. It is usually solid core if in a wire form or it comes in bars. Acid flux is used with it.

Edit: Alpha is another good brand

 

[woodchucker]

I've used solid with electronics, my friend freaked out .. but I use liquid rosin flux by MG chemicals, or Kester acid paste flux sp30.
I've not had a problem with that method. I still use rosin cored solder when out in the field and at home...
but I'm not afraid to use the solid. These 2 fluxes make up for the lack of rosin core.

As someone said, sometimes the cored fluxes leak out, so by having my own flux, I can control things..

Just another opinion.. you know what opinions are like right?

 

[porthos]

OK, acid core and rosin core. different uses and why??

 

[woodchucker]

I use rosin mostly for electronics. But if I have a broken mount for a board, I will use the acid. I clean it immediately.
I use acid for electrical, heavy stuff. For my F3B winches, I crimped the welding cables with terminal ends (forget what they are called), then used the acid core, and soldered the connection. We want full contact, so that we are not changing resistance. Each winch has to meet a certain resistance, and if the connection is weathering it changes. With ACID and ROSIN I clean all connections afterwards. I use alcohol wipe it clean, and/or flood it.

As long as you clean up both will be safe.

I find old electrical that was soldered, when resoldering, I find the kester Acid to work better at reflowing and resoldering.

I am no expert by the way, it's just what I found that works for me.

edit: btw both were sold by my semi local Electronics house... Greenbrook Electronics. Not a plumbing supply or Home center.

 

[RJSakowski]

OK, acid core and rosin core. different uses and why??

See post #5

Additionally, rosin core wouldn't be used for plumbing because it isn't as aggressive at dissolving oxidation and remnants aren't wasily removed from plumbing. Acid flux is soluble in water.

 

[markba633csi]

Acid core is for hard to solder metals, like steel. But the acid can cause corrosion if not cleaned off afterwards, and even then it sometimes corrodes.
Rosin core is for relatively easy to solder metals, like clean copper wires and brass items.
-M