Soldering my PC PSU wires, the wire inside is not copper please help - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: cjsizemore19
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 03, 2016, 08:29:30 am
content: Soldering my PC PSU wires, the wire inside is not copper, It's silver in color I'm sure it's like nickel or aluminum I was hoping that some 60/40 tin lead solder would do the job this is my first time soldering and really don't want to fry my pc or something. Any insight would be much appreciated.

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 03, 2016, 08:33:23 am
content: The wires are probably tinned copper... copper plated with a very thin layer of tin. Copper alone otherwise would oxidize.You can use 60/40 solder just fine. When you're more confident in soldering, you should move to 63/37 solder, it's a bit better than 60/40.If you have difficulty soldering you either need a more powerful soldering iron, or you may need the help of additional liquid flux (apply before trying to solder over the area you want to add solder)

author: cjsizemore19
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 03, 2016, 08:49:55 am
content: Im having a hard time finding solder that's not lead free.. is that gonna be a problem?

author: cjsizemore19
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 03, 2016, 08:55:26 am
content: Quote from: mariush on November 03, 2016, 08:33:23 amalso I have a 40 watt solder gun, heat shrink, flux, solder helping hands, a wet sponge, and a gun holder. and of course I've got to find the 60/40 solder. am I missing anything?

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 03, 2016, 10:52:42 am
content: Quote from: cjsizemore19 on November 03, 2016, 08:49:55 amNot really, for LF you just need a bit higher temperature.

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 03, 2016, 11:05:38 am
content: If you plan to solder the wires into holes in the circuit board of the power supply, the 40w gun may not be enough. There's a lot of solder there and a lot of cables all going into holes very close together so the cables and the solder will suck up the heat and act as heatsinks. The iron may not be able to keep the temperature above 180c which is needed for leaded solder (183c for 63/37). Lead free solder needs even higher temperatures, around 217c so to desolder existing wires you really gonna have to keep your fingers crossed and hope the iron is powerful enough.Good quality solder has some flux inside it, but it always helps to have some extra flux in form of liquid. The solid flux is not that great for beginners.If you want to buy some good quality solder, get it from reputable distributors like Digikey, Mouser, NewarkHere's some very good solders:60/40 multicore with 3% RA flux , 0.39mm diameter :http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/multicore/389261/82-105-ND/249890363/37 multicore with 3% no-clean flux, 0.39mm diameter :http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/multicore/397982/82-131-ND/2498929A bit small in diameter, but you can take a piece of solder and bend it in two to get thicker solder wire. It's expensive at 22$ but quantity, will probably last you a very long time.If you want just for this one job, these solders at $5-6 should be enough:4.72 60/40 18 grams 0.8mm diameter :http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/mg-chemicals/4890-18G/473-1160-ND/20003755$ 63/37 28grams and 0.51mm diameter :http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/chip-quik-inc/SMDSW.020-1OZ/SMDSW.020-1OZ-ND/21770546$ 63/37 57 grams 0.79mm diameter :http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/chip-quik-inc/SMDSW.031-2OZ/SMDSW.031-2OZ-ND/2177049Plenty of other solders on that website, you could in theory buy any but should stay away from the ones with water soluble flux (they're not beginner friendly), should use no-clean or rosin based.Flux pens are a bit on the expensive side but if you're going to do more soldering in the future they're worth it, here's a good one at 10$ :http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/kester-solder/83-1000-0951/KE1804-ND/95158

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 03, 2016, 02:05:31 pm
content: Quote from: cjsizemore19 on November 03, 2016, 08:49:55 amYou can get great 63/37 solder from amazon.com. Go for either Kester, Multicore or MG Chemicals.This is my everyday solder:https://amzn.com/B0149K4JTY