"Cydrome Leader" wrote in message
...
Arfa Daily wrote:

"Cydrome Leader" wrote in message
...
What happens if you use regular solder on something that was originally
lead-free,
or you get the lead free solder on a regular iron?

I understand manufacturers keep separate lines as mixing the two is bad,
but what
about in the repair world?

Does lead free solder mess up good quality tips or anything like that?

The metalurgical wisdom is that leaded and lead-free solders should not
be
mixed in the same joint, as the mixing can, apparently, compromise the
long-term integrity of the joint. I don't know whereabouts in the world
you
are, but across Europe, strictly speaking, it is actually illegal to use
leaded solder, or non RoHS components, to repair anything manufactured in
lead-free after implementation of the RoHS directive, which was June 2006
(I
think) in the UK. Prior to that time, some manufacturers, notably Sony,
were

Luckily, here in the US you can buy and use any type of solder ever made.
The issue which I've avoided but can't be ignored is that there's lots of
that RoHS crap floating around and I will at some point have to deal with
it.

A friend that's starting out in electronics and building some basic kits
wants to use a soldering iron.

I'm not clear on if I should just grab a spare and hand them a roll of
60/40, or get new tips for them and let them start "fresh" with some
lead-free sample packs from trade shows. It's all through the hole stuff,
and probably doesn't matter at al for what they're doing now.

Also are there any foolproof method of telling if lower production type
items are traditional or lead-free?

already manufacturing in lead-free, and insisting that their dealers used
*only* lead-free to effect repairs to all of their equipment,
irrespective
of whether it was originally manufactured in lead-free or leaded solder.
This actually flew in the face of expert advice which recommended using
only
the type of solder that the equipment was originally manufactured with.
There was no legal mandate to use lead-free solder for repairs to any
equipment manufactured prior to RoHS implementation, whether it was
manufactured with lead-free, or not. There is still no legal requirement
to
use lead-free solder to repair any equipment originally built with leaded
solder.

As to whether lead-free damages tips, that's a bit of a grey one. If you
are
using iron-clad tips, then yes, it does rot them much quicker than leaded
solder does. The reasons for this appear to be threefold. According to
Cooper Tools, who manufacture Weller soldering equipment, the composition
of

Boo


If the friend is not already an experienced hand-solderer, and there is no
legal requirement for him to use lead-free, then I would not start him off
with it. Even the latest alloys specifically for hand soldering, still have
a bit of a 'pasty' feel to them, and are not intuitive to solder with, as
leaded solder was. Even for the most experienced of us, lead-free solder is
still quite easy to make bad (or mechanically not very good) joints with,
particularly on large components, and those which are reluctant to take
solder in the first place.

If your friend is doing kit building just for himself, then maybe you could
consider introducing lead-free at some point in his training, once he has
got the hang of leaded soldering, but if there is any commercial angle to
his activities, where any lack of reliability will come down on his head,
then I would say stick to leaded if your local laws allow. Of course, if
there is a commercial angle, and he has any intention of selling
internationally, then he must consider that it may be a requirement that he
uses lead-free.

There doesn't seem to be a reliable way of telling lead-free for definite,
without some 'help' from the manufacturers. This help is usually in the form
of a symbol silkscreened on the board that is either a circle with the
letters Pb in it, and a strike-through line across it, or the letters "PbF".
In general, if a commercially sold piece of consumer electronics has been
built in either Europe or the far east since mid 2006, it will definitely be
lead-free. I believe Australia is the same, but I'm not sure of the date
they went lead-free. Perhaps one of the Oz lads in the group can help out
with that one. Mr N.Cook on here has done considerable research on trying to
come up with a definitive test for lead-free. If you search this group for
the last 6 months of posts by him, you should catch them all. Other than
this, with a good eye, you can identify most lead-free constructed boards.
The joints tend to have a dull grey surface, and are shaped more like a
volcano than the typical leaded joint which has a concave profile between
the pad and component leg. If you apply a normal non temperature controlled
iron to a lead-free joint, you will quickly spot the difference. It just
doesn't melt, flow and resolidify in the same eutectic way as leaded
solder - particularly at leaded solder temperatures.

Arfa