[sdiy] Which solder is safer for home projects ?

[Tony Clark]

On Fri, Oct 23, 2015 at 7:06 AM, Dan Snazelle <subjectivity at hotmail.com> wrote:
> Between regular Rosin based flux , no clean and water based clean which solder is the easiest on the home environment for PROTOTYPING
> And light repairs
>
> I'm not talking about mnfgrng

I do manufacturing for a living, have for over 20 years.  Went through
the RoHS debacle, and still solder most everything I make by hand.

Unless you are doing exotic high frequency work or high impedance
sensor electronics, 63/37 leaded solder with rosin core is simply the
gold standard for long term soldering as far as fumes, rework, and
reliability.

Otherwise, I use water-soluable Kester #331 (63/37 mix).  You can wash
this stuff off in a sink with standard dish soap and hot water.  Due
to potential lead contamination, you may not want to do this in any
sink that  handles food.  Fair warning.

I generally avoid no-clean as I don't see any reason to use it where I
wouldn't be using water-soluable.  The only case for it might be to
solder parts that can't be exposed to the water rinse (switches, et
al.) where you don't want the ugly rosin residue showing up.

I do agree, like others, that non-rosin fluxes are very hard on the
respiratory system.  I do use fans and breathing techniques to
minimize exposure.  Drink lots of water.

Hope that helps.

Tony

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Tony Clark
Great Lakes Modular
www.greatlakesmodular.com
Design, Engineering, and Manufacturing Services
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