WTB: Kester 24-6337-8853 Solder At Reasonable Price (UK) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: yngndrw
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 26, 2016, 03:05:20 pm
content: Hello all,It's about time I got some decent solder, I've happily used lead-free solder in the past and I'm currently using some 0.3mm leaded Kaisi solder (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301741897552) but as you might guess from the price it doesn't flow so well. It's actually fine to use right until you need to rework something, at which point it turns to liquid clay. It also doesn't look shiney once it sets like leaded solder is meant to so I don't know what's going on there ! I think it just doesn't have enough flux.I'm looking for some Kester 24-6337-8853 solder but I'm having difficulties finding it at a reasonable price in the UK. I'm either finding it at a high price in America where I'd then have to pay a load in shipping and Taxes or I'm finding it with minimum order quantities.Kester 24-6337-8853 is the 245 series (http://www.kester.com/products/product/245-Flux-Cored-Wire/) which has no-clean flux. This specific model is leaded (SN63 PB37), 0.015" in diameter (0.38mm - I'm used to using 0.3mm but can't find anything closer to this size) and has 3.3% flux by weight.I'm happy to take suggestions on alternatives but I don't want to have to clean after use, I really want it to be really thin (0.3mm - 0.4mm) and I want it to be leaded 63/37. The cheapest I've found it so far is £60 posted + Taxes.Thanks,-Andrew.

author: trevwhite
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 28, 2016, 06:15:52 pm
content: Is this any good?http://uk.futureelectronics.com/en/technologies/production-products/solder/solder-wire/Pages/9455841-24-6337-8806.aspx?gclid=Cj0KEQjw2ua8BRDeusOkl5qth4QBEiQA8BpQcG4eRvyrVmDsI8nM2CUEs3oM2kYwyblz-Wrdr3nypokaAn708P8HAQ

author: yngndrw
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 28, 2016, 10:16:43 pm
content: Thank you, that's the site that I found the 24-6337-8853 solder on with a minimum quantity of 25 rolls but didn't realise that they have the other blends with different order restrictions.The one you have linked to is 1.1% flux by weight which is probably a little low, but I have just noticed that the also have the 2.2% version available in single quantities as well:http://uk.futureelectronics.com/en/technologies/production-products/solder/solder-wire/Pages/3257813-24-6337-8843.aspx?IM=0Sadly by the time you add on VAT (£10) and postage (£20), it ends up being £70 anyway.So I've currently got two options that I'm weighing up:24-6337-8853 - 3.3% flux - From America - ~£60 (Dated March 2015)24-6337-8843 - 2.2% flux - From UK - ~£70This is more than I wanted to pay, but it's starting to look like that's just the going rate. I'm also not sure how much flux I should be going for. I don't want to be using extra flux all the time so that leads me to the 3.3% solder, but that also means more residue and splatter.

author: trevwhite
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 28, 2016, 11:57:10 pm
content: Well I bought some lead free no clean solder from a specialist supplier of such products to the industry, BLT Circuit Services. It works fine on new joints but if there is any other solder type on the joint or its not totally clean the solder turns to clay. That is 2.2% flux. It does seem to work really nicely on very clean joints but I would not say it flows like lead used to. I would love to buy a real of leaded solder again for prototype work.

author: eKretz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 29, 2016, 04:45:04 am
content: Forgive me if you're already aware of this, but it sounds like you guys are having an issue due to cross-contamination of solder. If the solder is acting "clayish" that's a good indication. If you use leaded solder to make a joint after removing a component that was previously soldered with lead-free solder, the two will co-mingle and create what is almost an amalgam.The best way to get around this is to desolder the original component, then remove as much of the lead-free solder as possible with a sucker or wick. Then add some fresh leaded solder and remove it again. After this the leaded solder should perform and appear as it normally does.

author: yngndrw
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 29, 2016, 11:25:41 am
content: In my case I was using new components on a new board, but I guess that as I was adding a tiny amount of solder the lead-free solder that is used to tin the board and components could have been enough to contaminate the solder. I can try re-tinning the board before starting and see if that improves things, but I have a feeling it's just down to the dirt-cheap solder I have been using.Does anyone have any experience with the different flux amounts in leaded solder for solder of this sort of diameter ? I have a feeling that I'll need a larger amount of flux by weight because of the smaller over-all size.

author: trevwhite
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 29, 2016, 12:58:08 pm
content: I used to solder some relays on to boards. All new and fresh and some pins would just react with the no clean lead free solder and it would be the worst looking joint I have ever seen. Nothing I did. I think lead free is just more sensitive to impurities maybe and so its easier to get bad joints.2.2% with unleaded works fine. I did not notice any splatter but I would not say its a natural flow. It would be good to know what 3.3% is like.If you called up BLT they might send you a sample length of each but I do not think they sell any leaded solder any more but I might be wrong

author: yngndrw
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 29, 2016, 02:40:14 pm
content: I suppose it could be grease or old component leads which have some oxidisation from storage, or even a bad batch of whatever solder they use to tin the leads of the component. Can't say I've ever noticed particular components behave like this but then again I'm not going through thousands of components so my sample size is tiny. When I've used unleaded in the past it's flowed fine, (Generic Maplin lead-free solder with some silver) but it was much bigger (0.8mm) and therefore had much more flux. I'm assuming that diameter affects things but in all honest it's little more than a guess.BLT does look to have some leaded solder on their site but don't look to deal with Kester. I've dropped them a message asking about both the supply of this solder and also the different flux core sizes so will see what they get back with. Thanks.

author: eKretz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 29, 2016, 08:31:03 pm
content: 1.1% is a little light for me - when I use it I usually use an external flux also. If everything isn't dead clean 1.1% is just not enough IMO. Personally I like 3.3% Kester 63/37 or 60/40 best.

author: yngndrw
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 01, 2016, 02:09:16 pm
content: So over the weekend I was discussing this with Greg York from BLT Circuit Services as trevwhite suggested.They do not stock Kester solder but they do have some leaded alternatives, some with the same make-up and some which are slightly different. Greg informed me that the Kester 245 solder I was looking at was a standard 63/37 alloy with a standard ROL0 flux. They did have a matching alternative in stock but only with a larger size and with 2.2% flux, so instead he suggested a ROL1 alternative which was available in 0.38mm size and with 2.2% flux. Their offering is also much cheaper than the Kester version.I ended up going for a roll of their Nitro Flo 63/37 TL2 0.38mm solder along with a tube of flux paste. Greg also suggested that I try their lead free offering so I've got a sample of that on the way as well.Thank you all for your help, I'll finally be using proper solder which should make things much better.

author: trevwhite
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 02, 2016, 01:14:52 pm
content: What price did you pay in the end? I might be tempted to purchase some myself.

author: yngndrw
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 03, 2016, 02:29:10 pm
content: My order and pricing was as follows:NITRO FLO 63/37 S'WIRE TL2 0.38mm X 250Grm - £23.02 including VATBLT REWORK FLUX PASTE 15-T X 10cc SYRINGE - £7.20 including VATCARRIAGE - £7.80 including VATThey kindly included samples of their lead-free NITROSOL SN100SB 3.3% solder (Both 0.25mm and 0.5mm) free of charge.Note that this solder was only available in 250g rolls. The 0.5mm ROL0 version (NITROSOL TIN LEAD 63/37 SOLDER WIRE 1.6 FLUX 0.5mm X 500G) was slightly less money for a 500g roll, but I suppose the smaller diameter solder is less common.I've not tried it yet as it's only just arrived today.