Recommended lead free solder

marlinman

Decided I need to buy new solder as the stuff I have is ancient, anybody able to recommend a good brand of lead free flux solder for general guitar repairs. Looked on the usual suspects sites but there are so many different types its difficult to know the best option.  

paulmapp8306

just dont..... you can still get the leaded stuff and its SOOOOOOOO much better.

steer

What is wrong with the stuff you have already? It will not go off. 

marlinman

Just that I read solder does have a shelf live and assumed it was true but happy to hear thats just tosh if it is, it will save me some money. The stuff I have is from RS (RS Pro) and probably 5-10 years old. 

oldfoxy

The only issue with solder and a “shelf life” is the flux core in the wire. If it the flux flows and it solders OK then don’t worry 

ICBM

paulmapp8306 said:

just dont..... you can still get the leaded stuff and its SOOOOOOOO much better.

Lead-free with added silver, with a silver content of 3% or higher, is fine. It is more expensive though.

Don't use plain lead-free with no silver, you'll find it very difficult to make good joints.

marlinman

@oldfoxy that makes sense, couldn’t get my head round how metal could go off but flux makes more sense. 

@ICBM thanks I’ll silver solder a try.

Roland

marlinman said:

Just that I read solder does have a shelf live and assumed it was true but happy to hear thats just tosh if it is, it will save me some money. The stuff I have is from RS (RS Pro) and probably 5-10 years old. 

Most of my thinner solder is 30 years old, and only this year have I needed to use separate flux. The thicker solder, which I acquired from my secondary school more than 50 years ago, is still going strong.

Philly_Q

I've still got leaded.  I only tried to use lead-free once and didn't like it at all, but I'm sure there are better-quality varieties available.

humps.b

ICBM said:

paulmapp8306 said:

just dont..... you can still get the leaded stuff and its SOOOOOOOO much better.

Lead-free with added silver, with a silver content of 3% or higher, is fine. It is more expensive though.

Don't use plain lead-free with no silver, you'll find it very difficult to make good joints.

I went with this too... I think it was called MG Chemicals on Amazon, who did 3% silver. Two plastic tubes for about £13. Expensive, but the joints are pretty solid. Only issue is re-melting the stuff once on the back of a pot. My 450C iron with 3mm tip only just about manages it when there is a bigger mass of it (e.g. used for a braided shield wire). Leaded would probably be a bit easier to work with. 

chickenbonejohn

We use Weller WSW SCN M1 (from Farnell). It took us a few tries to get something that we were happy with after we couldn't get the stuff we liked from Maplins.

paulmapp8306

My solder I brought with me when I left the forces (electronics tech) - well, when I left my last hands on position.  That was 2009 and I used it yesterday - still good.  

m_c

marlinman said:

@oldfoxy that makes sense, couldn’t get my head round how metal could go off but flux makes more sense. 

@ICBM thanks I’ll silver solder a try.

Just so you don't order the wrong thing, you want lead free solder with silver.

Silver solder is something very different, and won't work well with electronics (It's the name given to solder typically used for model engine boilers, and generally fits between normal/'Soft' solder, and brazing in terms of heat required and joint strength)

oldfoxy

Silver solder should be referred to as silver braze to distance it from the SAC solders

thermionic

Last time I bought solder (a couple of rolls of 60/40 in different thicknesses) I also got a little flux pen - worth a try if you’re concerned about flux cores getting past their best.

marlinman

Gone with some lead free with 4% silver, hopefully end up with good results. Thanks everyone for the advice. 

oldfoxy

4%Ag 0.5%Cu or plain 96/4 SnAg?

rossi

I use Ersin Multicore .Have done for at least 57 years.For brass work I use Bakers fluid , Silver solder needs a gas torch !!!! .Weirdly I have used a gas torch on electronics .A very fine point of flame is super hot and super accurate  but dont try it at home kids .

Modulus_Amps

This is the stuff I use, been using it for a number of years now. I did some pedal building courses here and one chap called it magic solder and came and got more from me a few months later.

https://www.somersetsolders.com/lead-free-solder-wire-sn100e-nc600-p110#175=

Happy to send you a small sample to try if you DM me your address. 

marlinman

@Modulus_Amps thanks for the kind offer of a sample but I have already ordered a small amount of lead free solder to try so rather than waste your time and generosity I will give the stuff I have ordered a try first. 

As it turned out the solder I was intending to order was out of stock and I ended up coincidentally ordering some Qualitek solder. Not the same as the one you use but one with some silver content. It is Qualitek SAC 305 NC601 Rosin Free No Clean Flux 2.2% 0.71mm, not sure if it might be it bit thin but we will see. Its apparently this combination Sn96.5Ag3Cu0.5

Thanks for your offer on the sample 

OilCityPickups

It's a total fallacy that Lead free solder is any more difficult to use than lead solder. It's just that there are a lot of suppliers of very dodgy lead free solder - rock bottom, cheap shit from the Far East that is worse than useless. 
As has been said before on here ... you want high silver content solder NOT 'Silver Solder' totally different animal.

Next you want a good soldering Iron that has plenty of power, with an appropriate sized tip for the job in question. 

Cheaping out on solder or soldering iron is a good way to make horrible solder joints that aren't either good to look at or serve their purpose properly. 

High silver content solder is actually mechanically a bit stronger than lead solder mixes, and I actually much prefer working with them to the old stuff. 

Bottom line, buy good tools and materials learn to solder properly :-) 

Sadly my usual recommended solder of choice from Lynx cables is out of stock at the moment.