HI,
As far as home electronic projects go, does it matter if I use leaded solder?
Thanks
David
leaded solder
Moderators: adafruit_support_bill, adafruit
Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.
- adafruit_support_bill
- Posts: 88097
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Re: leaded solder
Not really. If you are not licking your fingers and sniffing the fumes, your lead exposure is minimal. The main aim of the industry move to lead-free is the tons of solder that finds its way into landfills from discarded consumer electronics.
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- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sun May 13, 2012 12:46 am
Re: leaded solder
Those were the only things I had left to look forward toadafruit_support wrote:If you are not licking your fingers and sniffing the fumes
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- Posts: 87
- Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 6:08 pm
Re: leaded solder
Tin\Lead solder is a better choice. It's easier to work with and creates more reliable joints anyway.
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- Posts: 164
- Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2010 9:21 pm
Re: leaded solder
Another reason to avoid leadfree is that the fumes from the flux in leadfree are typically nastier than leaded.
- kscharf
- Posts: 277
- Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2008 10:29 am
Re: leaded solder
IIRC lead free solder has a higher melting point than the leaded kind. While lead free parts are designed to handle the higher soldering temperature, some things are safer to install at lower temperatures such as LEDS. I've seen too many LED's destroyed by over heating during soldering.
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- Posts: 6
- Joined: Wed May 04, 2011 2:26 am
Re: leaded solder
There are different factors to take into account when soldering leaded or lead-free: alloy, temp, and flux.
Any ways, I found a decent article awhile back that goes over different lead-free alloys, etc etc. There is a bit of corporate spiel in the beginning but the knowledge is really good and the uninitiated will get a firm understanding of the concepts. There are associated papers after the initial article which provide even more info for those who wish to geek out.
http://www.psma.com/ul_files/forums/lea ... _guide.pdf
Any ways, I found a decent article awhile back that goes over different lead-free alloys, etc etc. There is a bit of corporate spiel in the beginning but the knowledge is really good and the uninitiated will get a firm understanding of the concepts. There are associated papers after the initial article which provide even more info for those who wish to geek out.
http://www.psma.com/ul_files/forums/lea ... _guide.pdf
Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.