Lead Free Solder.

Baldbloke

Baldbloke

Baldbloke

Associate
Joined
26 Nov 2010
Posts
1,389
Location
Thorne Yorkshire
I used to do a lot of soldering. Not so much now. Very rarely in fact.
Back in the day, solder wire was a mix of tin/lead. 60/40, If I recall correctly. My soldering skills were adequate.

Nowadays when soldering I have been using lead free stuff. I dislike using it. The joints are poor and lead free needs so much heat I'm often concerned about damaging the components I'm working on. (It doesn't help that I have to use a gas soldering iron.) But anyway, gas irons worked fine on the old leaded solder.

I just had a quick google. Opinions are mixed on the health aspects of leaded vs non leaded.
Is it illegal to use leaded solder in the UK?
 
Armageus said:
It isn't illegal to use - certainly not for hobbyist applications, and as you rightly say is a lot easier to work with.

It's still readily available from most places e.g. RS Components:
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/solder/7568881
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/solder/8007661
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link, Armageus. Unfortunately for me, I can't use it. I solder mainly for work. I am employed by a large corporate concern. If they discovered I was using "proper solder" I'd probably get a polite letter from H&S.
Then again, I might get some for home use though.
 
Baldbloke said:
Thanks for the link, Armageus. Unfortunately for me, I can't use it. I solder mainly for work. I am employed by a large corporate concern. If they discovered I was using "proper solder" I'd probably get a polite letter from H&S.
Then again, I might get some for home use though.
Click to expand...

Strangley its not allowed to be sold for home use, but is allowed to be supplied to businesses

https://docs.rs-online.com/94cf/0900766b816e8ba8.pdf

I get the feeling though that this is particly because the businesses will have to have their own rules around it, and would unlikly be able to ship a finished product containing it, for example, however if the line of business was refurbishing old 1980s 8bit computers, then it would probably not be a problem.

Iterestingly enough, nothing to stop schools being supplied leaded solder, although most supplier's 'recommend' that they don't have student projects using leaded solder.

Some lead free solders contain flux thats worse to breathe in than that in leaded solder, which isn't a problem if you're in a lab/workshop with appropiate extraction, if at the bench in the garage though its probably not great
 
Adam_151 said:
Strangley its not allowed to be sold for home use, but is allowed to be supplied to businesses

https://docs.rs-online.com/94cf/0900766b816e8ba8.pdf

I get the feeling though that this is particly because the businesses will have to have their own rules around it, and would unlikly be able to ship a finished product containing it, for example, however if the line of business was refurbishing old 1980s 8bit computers, then it would probably not be a problem.

Iterestingly enough, nothing to stop schools being supplied leaded solder, although most supplier's 'recommend' that they don't have student projects using leaded solder.

Some lead free solders contain flux thats worse to breathe in than that in leaded solder, which isn't a problem if you're in a lab/workshop with appropiate extraction, if at the bench in the garage though its probably not great
Click to expand...
We ship products all over the world with 100% leaded solder used.

I didn't realise it was hard to get for home use, we just buy it from the likes of RS Components.

Edit: looks like you can buy 60/40 off Amazon.
 
Adam_151 said:
Strangley its not allowed to be sold for home use, but is allowed to be supplied to businesses

https://docs.rs-online.com/94cf/0900766b816e8ba8.pdf
Click to expand...
That's interesting, you can still buy solder from model shops etc for home use.

I bought a boat load (enough to last a couple of lifetimes!) of the RS 60/40 solder when the future surrounding it looked uncertain. Looking at the prices now I'm glad I did!
 
Using MG Chemicals SAC305 #4900 series solder - unleaded.

Lead itself doesn’t evaporate until very high temps but fumes of lead do exist (rather than flux) but it depends on impurities - the reason for melti mg lead for fishing leads is done in a ventilated space.
Flux fumes on the other hand.. evil. The best you can do is reduce the halides, and other nasty stuff. Then you’re left with the acidic components which need extracting.

The fun with flux is you want it to prepare but not be left to corrode, most of the water soluble flux is worse than no clean but if you’re doing high voltage or high frequency the flux remnants can promote the forming of bridging. So I’m ok using RA but look for something that is removable with Iso and a cotton bud.
 
robj20 said:
We ship products all over the world with 100% leaded solder used.

I didn't realise it was hard to get for home use, we just buy it from the likes of RS Components.

Edit: looks like you can buy 60/40 off Amazon.
Click to expand...
Are your products RoHS certified? It's my understanding that electronic goods have to be now, and that's the specific governance that stops leaded solder being used.

I think It's OK to use for repair or restoration etc - when the rules were about to change I was making guitars and our angle was "it's period correct for the product type"
 
LuckyBenski said:
Are your products RoHS certified? It's my understanding that electronic goods have to be now, and that's the specific governance that stops leaded solder being used.

I think It's OK to use for repair or restoration etc - when the rules were about to change I was making guitars and our angle was "it's period correct for the product type"
Click to expand...
No we're exempt from RoHS. Military and Aerospace.
 
Sorry this is not a helpful response, but you just popped a memory up in my head, so I will share!

When I was a teenager, I had a Tamiya RC car, and the solder to the speed controller was always failing, so I got myself a soldering iron so I could fix it myself. Went to a local hardware store for some solder. This place was like Aladdin's cave. Run by an ancient guy who sat in front of a paraffin heater all day waiting for customers. The stock was all over the place, but he knew exactly where everything was.
Anyway, asked him for some solder, expecting to be handed a reel of wire. What actually happened was he produced a bar of metal, sawed a couple of inches off the end of it, and sold me that. I was far too shy to argue, so I bought it - and I think it only cost about 20p. Never worked out how I was supposed to use it with a soldering iron though. Maybe I was supposed to melt it in a crucible or something?
 
bazzabear said:
Sorry this is not a helpful response, but you just popped a memory up in my head, so I will share!

When I was a teenager, I had a Tamiya RC car, and the solder to the speed controller was always failing, so I got myself a soldering iron so I could fix it myself. Went to a local hardware store for some solder. This place was like Aladdin's cave. Run by an ancient guy who sat in front of a paraffin heater all day waiting for customers. The stock was all over the place, but he knew exactly where everything was.
Anyway, asked him for some solder, expecting to be handed a reel of wire. What actually happened was he produced a bar of metal, sawed a couple of inches off the end of it, and sold me that. I was far too shy to argue, so I bought it - and I think it only cost about 20p. Never worked out how I was supposed to use it with a soldering iron though. Maybe I was supposed to melt it in a crucible or something?
Click to expand...
Sounds like a lot of the solder you can get from model suppliers like Eileens emporium, squires etc. It's often the low melt stuff sold like that, I always just stuck the iron into it to remove some.
 
Its not illegal to use for consumers but for the commercial side it is due to the regulations. Just remember to watch your hands after using it, can cause forgetfulness. Just forgot my line of thought:D.

Anyway soldering with lead free is a PITA for me as you need to use a lot of RA flux or no clean RMA flux just to get it to stick on. I tend to use 60/40 for desoldering as there is a plastic stage and 63/37 for general soldering (less chance for cold joints and slightly lower melting point).

bazzabear said:
Sorry this is not a helpful response, but you just popped a memory up in my head, so I will share!

When I was a teenager, I had a Tamiya RC car, and the solder to the speed controller was always failing, so I got myself a soldering iron so I could fix it myself. Went to a local hardware store for some solder. This place was like Aladdin's cave. Run by an ancient guy who sat in front of a paraffin heater all day waiting for customers. The stock was all over the place, but he knew exactly where everything was.
Anyway, asked him for some solder, expecting to be handed a reel of wire. What actually happened was he produced a bar of metal, sawed a couple of inches off the end of it, and sold me that. I was far too shy to argue, so I bought it - and I think it only cost about 20p. Never worked out how I was supposed to use it with a soldering iron though. Maybe I was supposed to melt it in a crucible or something?
Click to expand...

Did that bar have a 60/40 stamp on it? Could have been a lead filler for cars.
 
I can't remember to be honest, it was about 30 years ago. I did try just attacking it with the heated soldering iron, but it didn't seem to do anything.

I just assumed he'd sold me something they used to use in the 50's before wire reels existed. But I have no knowledge to back that up! :)
 
bazzabear said:
I can't remember to be honest, it was about 30 years ago. I did try just attacking it with the heated soldering iron, but it didn't seem to do anything.

I just assumed he'd sold me something they used to use in the 50's before wire reels existed. But I have no knowledge to back that up! :)
Click to expand...
It would have been silver solder for brazing e.g. joining brass and stuff. At school we got to do it, you shear off a little sliver, beat it on an anvil so it's thin and flat, then snip it to size. Flux pieces, insert solder into joint, get the blowtorch on it :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom