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A different type of solder, other than using lead-based solder, is probably not going to help. There are two causes to your problem: Crappy tips. Higher temperature required due to lead-free sol...
Answer
#2: Post edited
by
Olin Lathrop
·
2021-03-21T12:41:03Z (almost 4 years ago)
- A different type of solder, other than using lead-based solder, is probably not going to help. There are two causes to your problem:<ol>
- <li>Crappy tips.
- <li>Higher temperature required due to lead-free solder.
- </ol>
- You can fix the first by getting a good soldering tool.
- Leaded solder will help with the second. You cite several reasons not to use leaded solder. The disposal issue is valid (although quite minor), but the remaining ones are not, and the use of lead-free solder may actually make things worse:
- <blockquote>children and pets in the house, it would make sense to not have a spool of lead laying around</blockquote>
There are far more dangerous substances in your house than leaded solder. Pretty much any cleaning chemical is worse, not to mention medicines. Simple touching, unlike with some cleaners, isn't going to cause problems. Teaching the kids to keep they hands off your electronics stuff, and putting away the solder when not in use should really be good enough.The big point you are missing is that the main danger of solder to humans is the vaporized flux, not the metal itself. This is made <i>more</i> dangerous with lead-free solder due to the high temperatures. Kids standing near you watching you solder are exposed to significantly more harm due to inhaling flux fumes, than they would be by handling leaded solder.
- A different type of solder, other than using lead-based solder, is probably not going to help. There are two causes to your problem:<ol>
- <li>Crappy tips.
- <li>Higher temperature required due to lead-free solder.
- </ol>
- You can fix the first by getting a good soldering tool.
- Leaded solder will help with the second. You cite several reasons not to use leaded solder. The disposal issue is valid (although quite minor), but the remaining ones are not, and the use of lead-free solder may actually make things worse:
- <blockquote>children and pets in the house, it would make sense to not have a spool of lead laying around</blockquote>
- There are far more dangerous substances in your house than leaded solder. Pretty much any cleaning chemical is worse, not to mention medicines. Simple touching, unlike with some cleaners, isn't going to cause problems. Teaching the kids to keep their hands off your electronics stuff, and putting away the solder when not in use should really be good enough.
- The big point you are missing is that the main danger of solder to humans is the vaporized flux, not the metal itself. This is made <i>more</i> dangerous with lead-free solder due to the high temperatures. Kids standing near you watching you solder are exposed to significantly more harm due to inhaling flux fumes, than they would be by handling leaded solder.
- <hr>
- <blockquote>In what manner the higher required temperature affect the service life of the tip …?</blockquote>
- Chemical reactions and diffusions speed up with temperature. In this case, the metal of the tip slowly "dissolves" into the molten solder. Different metals vary in this. Copper is actually quite susceptible, which is one reason solder bonds with copper so well. Good quality soldering tips are copper on the inside (for good thermal conductivity), but coated with a metal that doesn't diffuse into molten solder as well. Higher temperatures speed up all these processes.
#1: Initial revision
by
Olin Lathrop
·
2021-03-17T14:15:59Z (almost 4 years ago)
A different type of solder, other than using lead-based solder, is probably not going to help. There are two causes to your problem:<ol> <li>Crappy tips. <li>Higher temperature required due to lead-free solder. </ol> You can fix the first by getting a good soldering tool. Leaded solder will help with the second. You cite several reasons not to use leaded solder. The disposal issue is valid (although quite minor), but the remaining ones are not, and the use of lead-free solder may actually make things worse: <blockquote>children and pets in the house, it would make sense to not have a spool of lead laying around</blockquote> There are far more dangerous substances in your house than leaded solder. Pretty much any cleaning chemical is worse, not to mention medicines. Simple touching, unlike with some cleaners, isn't going to cause problems. Teaching the kids to keep they hands off your electronics stuff, and putting away the solder when not in use should really be good enough. The big point you are missing is that the main danger of solder to humans is the vaporized flux, not the metal itself. This is made <i>more</i> dangerous with lead-free solder due to the high temperatures. Kids standing near you watching you solder are exposed to significantly more harm due to inhaling flux fumes, than they would be by handling leaded solder.