I don't know what size he uses, but I do know Ben loves lead solder. It melts cooler and flows better than most lead-free stuff so its great for prototyping and anything where you might have to remove something. He jokes that he bought a lifetime supply of leaded solder awhile back.
Go to radio shack and get some 60/40 solder. It's a good general purpose solder. The stuff at home depot is most likely for soldering copper pipes together.
I like to have lead in the solder too. While 60/40 solder is common, 63/37 solder is much better. The number 63 and 37 stand for 63% tin and 37% lead. The 63/37 is better than the 60/40 because when the 2 metals of Tin and Lead are mixed at 63/37 ratio, it becomes eutectic, which means:
from wiki
"
1. It has the lowest melting point (183 °C or 361.4 °F) of all the tin/lead alloys; and
2. The melting point is truly a point — not a range"
Having a melting point rather than a range, makes the solder joint harden quickly rather over a longer period of time. This makes the joint less likely to be moved while in the middle of solidifying, which causes cold solder joints. It also give a better conducting crystaline structure.
My FAVORITE solder ever is sold at Radio Shack. When I use it, it makes my soldering look like I am a professional solderer. It is called Silver Bearing Solder, but it must be the .022" diameter stuff so that the flux is included inside, Part Number 64-013. There is a .015" diameter, Part Number 64-035, but it does not seem to have flux inside, so you must use flux paste with it, and it works well with the Radio Shack Flux Part Number 64-022 when you need small diameter for surface mount work.
Note: Smearing the Radio Shack Flux Part Number 64-022 accross all of the pins on one side of a Surface mount IC and then soldering each pin, causes the solder to not want to bridge the legs, and can turn a previous nightmare solder job into a beauty. Don't forget to have some flux remover on hand for clean up afterwards.
With the Silver Bearing Solder, 1 perceent is taken from the Tin and Lead so that 2% Silver is in the mixture. The resulting mixture is a 62/36/2 solder. This makes the melting point higher, but the joints do seem to have less resistance which is good for high current curcuits like a PWM Power Supply. But one of the things that makes this solder so good is the flux that is inside. There are many different mixtures of flux and result in very different ease of use. I don't know what the Flux mixture in Radio Shack Part Number 64-013 is, and I wish I did, but it does not make much of a mess, and works better than any other flux I have ever used. Between the Silver, the Eutectic, and the Flux, it is easy to make solder joints which are best described as pretty.
I don't know how much longer this stuff will be available, as I am afraid the Lead police will make it go away.
Note: when soldering with any solder, keep away from the smoke as it rises so that neither Lead or Solder Resin gets into your lungs. I hold my breath while soldering if the smoke comes my way, then move away to take a breath of fresh air after the joint is soldered. A slow fan, just enough to move air, blowing across the bench top, in a well ventilated room, is a good idea.
There is another solder that I consider better than the Radio Shack 64-013. It is the Cardas Quad Eutectic solder. It is a Eutectic mixture of Tin, Lead, Silver, and Copper, and supposedly makes the best connection you can get. It can be found on ebay in small amounts. The flux is messier than the Radio Shack solder, but works well. One of the best things about this Solder is that it has a very low melting point for solder which has silver in it, 364-384º F. This can be VERY helpful if you are soldering things which can't take much heat. The reason this solder was created is becasue it is supposed to give the best possible sound in high fidelity audio circuits. This means it is also giving the best connection. I would use it in any circuit where I wanted the lowest possible resistance, like the output section of high current power supplies. Cardas also makes a eutectice silver solder which is lead free. I expect that if I ever go to lead free, this would be the only stuff I would use, because most lead free silver solder joints look horrible, like cold solder joints, and I don't trust them for reliability or low resistance.
One more thing. No I do not work for Radio Shack. I spent many years and tried MANY different brands of solder trying to find solder as good as the stuff I used as a kid, which came from a Heath Kit that my uncle gave me. That stuff was GREAT, and I needed it as somebody who was new to soldering. When I finally tried the Radio Shack 64-013, it was the end of that search.
Ben do you want the electronics you make for other people to fail from tin whiskers, or have they finally solved the tin whiskers without putting the lead back in?
Ben do you want the electronics you make for other people to fail from tin whiskers, or have they finally solved the tin whiskers without putting the lead back in?
Taking the cynical business/beancounter line for a moment... Of course we want the stuff we make for others to fail, as long as it fails just after the guarantee expires. That way you need to buy another one from us and we get more of your money on a more regular basis. Repeat business and how much un-needed intangible rubbish they can "attach" to the sale is what's important.
Now obviously that's not how I'd like things to work, I'd prefer to spend a little more on something that's reliable, but you need to realise that big business cares about just one thing (and how that affects the CEO's bonus). The customer is quite a long way down the list..
Ben do you want the electronics you make for other people to fail from tin whiskers, or have they finally solved the tin whiskers without putting the lead back in?
