On Apr 10, 8:40*am, Jack Jones wrote:
In a burst of enthusiasm when I was much younger, I bought a large reel
of solder which I barely used.

It must have been at least 20 or more years ago. It looks similar to
this:http://img-europe.electrocomponents....C557130-01.jpg

Now I need to do some soldering again. *Would that old 60/40 multicore
of mine have deteriorated?

I'm thinking the rosin in the multicores may have gone off in some way
because when I tin the tip and then leave it unused for 10 minutes, it
turns brown and uneven on the tip. *I'm using brand new tips.

Maybe this is normal and happens even with less old 60/40 solder?

I'm still using 30 year old Sn/Pb cored solder - it's perfect.
Last year I picked up a few more 1 lb reels of "63/37" in case the
RoHS-police stopped the sale of the stuff - should last me out in this
hobby.
My old company went Pb-free around 2007 - what a headache!
Cheers,
Roger