On Fri, 09 Jul 2010 19:28:33 -0700, David Nebenzahl
wrote:

On 7/8/2010 8:56 AM Jim Yanik spake thus:

63/37 (eutectic) is the usual replacement for 60/40 in
electronic/electrical work.

Just curious: how different is eutectic from 60/40? If eutectic is the
best, why make 60/40 at all?

Not that much difference. 60/40 melts at 370F and 63/37 at 361F (pure lead
melts at 621F). 60/40 should be a little harder. Often the mixture is set
for a specific melting point such that the part can be soldered without
another joint melting. For common electronics use, either will work.