Leaded solder

[Malcolm T]

I am wondering about the availability of the leaded 60 / 40 type. Some places only sell lead free. I have heard some bad opinions about lead free and had a go with it once and I tend to agree.
I am looking into buying solder flux and paste for some SMD work, can anyone give me some pointers on SMD flux and solder paste please.

[bikerhifinut]

eBay, a few suppliers still of 60/40 resin cored.
I had to resort to this when RS refused to supply me as my account isn't a proper business one.
The solder was and is just fine.

Andy

[Glowing Bits!]

Durite sell leaded solder in both 60/40 & 40/60 varieties, price is unknown as it's a trade catalogue.
Ebay sometimes has 500g rolls but it ain't cheap anymore, ISTR it was 30 quid a few years ago.

[MeerKat]

Cricklewood Electronics sell both and delivery is £3.25 + VAT, I have no connection to them, just on their site today looking at stuff, other vendors are available of course!

Regards,

[emeritus]

I got some from CPC last year with no problems, but that was last year. Leaded solder is still mandated for some applications.

[joebog1]

Freely available here in quite a variety of diameters. NOT cheap anymore though, 500 grams is about $40 AU.

Joe

[Glowing Bits!]

From what I'm aware of, lead solder has to be used for hospital equipment/devices and military gear, this may apply to aircraft too.
The reason should be obvious as to why this is the case.

[Radio Wrangler]

Originally Posted by Glowing Bits!

this may apply to aircraft too.

It does.

David

[Craig Sawyers]

Any safety critical application - hospital gear, military and aerospace - use leaded solder.

Space stuff goes through several additional stages. Most leaded parts arrive with gold plated leads, just to prevent tarnish. But before use, the part is de-golded and pre-tinned. The gold cannot be left in place because solder makes a brittle intermetallic with gold. There are special solder baths and jigs to automate the process and take the human element out.

Even with surface mount parts, they are all pre-tinned and if not immediately used stored in desiccators under dry nitrogen.

I use leaded solder, but I do prototypes (and hobby use), and have enough in various gauges to see me in my box.

Craig

PS isn't English a confusing language. We have the word leaded. Which can mean something containing lead, or an electronic component with leads! Like depot, which can mean a building, or to remove the potting from a part or assembly...

[Electronpusher0]

I think the permit to carry on using lead in Medical equipment has ceased or is about to.

"RoHS 3 (EU 2015/863) directive has been adopted by the EU legislature and came into full force on the 22nd of July 2019 with a special provision for medical devices until 2021"

When the last company I worked for moved to lead free I rescued all the remaining reels of leaded solder, I have enough to see me out.

talking of dual use words my local supermarket has ceiling hung signs one of which directs me to POLISH - Eastern European foods not cleaning materials.


Peter

[Malcolm T]

I was expecting comments like this , doesn't look good then for leaded solder in the future.
Better get looking then.
Thanks folks.

[vinrads]

I like rescuing things Peter! ref post 10 ,When the firm I was working for closed down I rescued a nice signal generator and found it a nice new home.
on the subject of lead solder the last reel that I bought was supposed to to be 60/40 but when making a joint I noticed it dries dull ,I have taken to using a bit of plumbers flux with it seem better . Mick.

[kalee20]

The company I work for uses lots of leaded solder - hi-rel, civil aircraft, some defence work.

Obviously, things have to work, and continue to work. Leaded solder is problem-free. Unleaded suffers from tin whisker growth, and at low temperatures a transition to a non-metallic form (tin pest). The industry is well aware, and has been playing with different (unleaded) alloys to combat both of these.

In the fullness of time, when unleaded solder has been in use in the consumer market and products are being found to still work after 30 years, it is likely that the exemptions for high-reliability equipment is removed. If not, then leaded solder will be available for many, many years - the downside is that for a niche market, it will be in small volumes and economies of scale will not exist so price will be high.

[livewireless123]

ESR.electronics have plenty of 60/40 on their website at reasonable prices.
I have had plenty of stuff from over the years, they seem to have updated their
ordering method . Last time I tried it I found it clunky and hard to navigate so I did it by snail mail.
Regards, Mike.

[Glowing Bits!]

Just been looking on Ebay, the price for a 500g roll has dropped compared to what it was a few years ago, there are lots of people selling it, it's clearly not in short supply at the moment.

[emeritus]

Just checked the CPC website. A site search for solder, refined by restricting to lead, produced 75 different solder wire lines with various lead contents. I didn't complete a purchase as I have more than enough to see me out, but was able to proceed to the checkout for a 60:40 reel without getting any warnings, other than what seems to be the usual warning these days about possible delays in dispatch due to Covid.

[wave solder]

Leaded solder seems to now be commonly used on repairing mobile phones and consoles at it has been found that reflowing the board with lead free solder causes unreliable repairs. Quite where RoHS comes into that I'm not sure.

[Herald1360]

Originally Posted by vinrads

On the subject of lead solder the last reel that I bought was supposed to to be 60/40 but when making a joint I noticed it dries dull. I have taken to using a bit of plumber's flux with it which seems better. Mick.

Some of the cheaper stuff I've bought recently was like that. I must admit to wondering if it wasn't 40/60 rather than 60/40. Lead is cheaper than tin.....

[Glowing Bits!]

The roll I've been using for a while happens to have more tin than lead, I never realised till I had a look at the roll.
It seems to solder without any problems.

[Andrew B]

Some of the cheaper stuff I've bought recently was like that. I must admit to wondering if it wasn't 40/60 rather than 60/40. Lead cheaper than tin.....

That's a warning, maybe start finding fake solder, just pure lead wire ?