which solder?

[artl]

I need to buy some solder
Are these two essentially the same, or is one better than the other for BH kit building.




thx

[Thermioniclife]

I use the 24-6337-0027 type and have for a long time. I can't speak of the 245 no clean type.

[hoy83]

a friend of mine recommended I get the Cardas Quad, WBT 820 or the TRT wonder solder. Does anybody know which solder I should use or is the kester above already good enough for kit assembly? Thanks.. And where/website can you acquire this?

[debk]

I have been using Cardas Quad Eutectic for many years.  I also have some thin Kester 44 that I have used for SMD parts

[Adrian]

I currently use the Kester 24-6337-0027, .031 and Chipquik SMDSW.020 (63/37) for SMD work.
Both of these solders are eutectic (solidus and liquidus temperatures are the same).
The Kester 245 solder the OP asks about uses a low residue flux that may result in a PCB or solder joint not requiring cleaning off excess flux.
(I usually put a drop or two of additional flux regardless of the solder I use and use 99.9% Isopropyl to clean as needed. The additional flux is more of a belt & suspenders technique and not really necessary.)

[Deluk]

I like the Cardas. Clean and easy to use. Melts quickly and leaves a nice meniscus. A bit expensive but for kit building you don't need much.

[Paul Birkeland]

Kester 60/40 is just fine to use.  Remember that there is nearly a century's worth of audio equipment made without audiophile solder that is still well regarded.

[Adrian]

Kester 60/40 is just fine to use.  Remember that there is nearly a century's worth of audio equipment made without audiophile solder that is still well regarded.

Well stated PB.
We all need a nudge toward reality at times.

[Clover]

I need to buy solder and was thinking or ordering Kester 24-6337-0010 44 Rosin Core Solder 63/37 .020.  A little bit thicker solder was asked about above, but nobody seemed to say if it worked.  Should I just order the more standard solder or go with thinker then .020?  I saw other people reference thinner solder being easier to work with but I have very little experience with this and have only used the solder that came with my soldering iron before.

[Thermioniclife]

I use .031

[Natural Sound]

My ex boss and I were clearing out a storage unit a while back and came across several rolls of standard Kester 60/40 solder. I asked if I could have a roll. He gave me two. One was .022 and the other .032. That was 40 years ago and I still have/use them. Both work great.

[2wo]

I like the thinner myself, just a little easier in a tight spot but eather is fine...John

[ipetruk]

Hi folks who use Cardas Eutectic Quad.

I've just got it, but I have some doubts.

First of all I am terrified by this thread https://forum.bottlehead.com/index.php?topic=13361.msg121951#msg121951 He says he did not use flux on any of his boards, yet all parts look yellow and the first thing Paul asked if he was using excessive flux.

Is there excessive flux in this Cardas? Does it leave everything yellow?

Also, what solder temperature do you use with this Cardas? Cardas is not super clear about, but their melting point is pretty low - around 170C.

I will be building Mainline, so there is a strong desire to use some audofool snake oil solder. What if I don't sleep well because the solder was not the best?  I have

• Cardas Quad Eutectic. Cardas just arrived, I did not use it much. This: https://www.moon-audio.com/cardas-roll-solder.html
• Mundord Silvergold Supreme. Mundorf is kinda hard to use, rarely shines. But I used it successfully to make DIY cables
• "nobrand" Tin 99.3%, Copper 0.7%
• Austor Sn-0.3Ag-07Cu

I was trying to find 60/40 that I used to build Crack, cannot find it. Afaik, I run out of it.

[Paul Birkeland]

I'm a big fan of old school 60/40 rosin core leaded solder.  The Cardas stuff should work just fine though.  The lead free solders that you have in your list are definitely not recommended. 

As far as temperature goes, I recommend turning your station up as high as it goes.  Having solder flow out quickly will reduce the dwell time on your parts and give you more reliable joints.

[Doc B.]

I agree with PBs suggestion and will also mention 63/37. That's the eutectic blend, meaning it melts and flows a wee bit better than 64/40. I also happen to like Cardas solder, but seldom use it as I inherited many 1lb. spools of 60/40 and 63/37 years ago and still haven't quite used them up.

Silver and other metals sound very audio boutique chi-chi, but they can also make the solder way more difficult to work with.

The melting point gives you some idea of how low you can set your solder station. But anyone I know with a lot of experience leaves their iron set to the max temp for most jobs. It allows you to work more quickly - less dwell time on the joint potentially reduces unnecessary heat soak on the parts you are soldering.

You will hear pretty much the same from me in the new basic soldering video that we shot a couple days ago and is now in editing. Should be out in the next month or so. In that video I used 63/37, about .025" dia. and have the Hakko 936 set to maximum temp with a 1/16"chisel tip.