I have some lengths of cooper bar - 1 inc x 1/2 inch x 5 inch - used
as interconnectors on 2v battery cells. I wish to tin them and can
either cart them off to an electroplater or tin with solder. Solder
wire worked fine on a test piece with a blow torch. My question is
which solder bar to go for - lead free or leaded?? My instinct is
leadfree - tin with some silver and possible copper - something like
Sn96/Ag4.
Unless you need to use lead free solder, I would use traditional lead-tin solder. The general consensus seems to be that lead free solder is less satisfactory and more difficult to work with.
I have some lengths of cooper bar - 1 inc x 1/2 inch x 5 inch - used
as interconnectors on 2v battery cells. (...)
Unless you need to use lead free solder, I would use traditional
lead-tin solder. The general consensus seems to be that lead free solder
is less satisfactory and more difficult to work with.
What Chris said. Leaded is better. Plus, if you are generous with CLEANING and FLUX and heat before applying solder, you will be rewarded with a nice, shiny finish.
Remember to wash your hands after working with any leaded metal. Please keep your face out of the smoke.
I, too would go with the lead/tin solder. You will be using an appropriate flux, I assume. You wil also be "shining" the parts up just before fluzing so the flux won't have so much work to do, right?
You didn't say how big your sample was or how big your torch was. Just remember that a small sample won't take nearly as much heat as your part may take. Also, if you are using "electronic" solder, it may be a lower melting point alloy than what you get when buying a "solder bar". The solder bar ( maybe 95/5) could well melt at a couple hundred degrees higher than 63/37. If you've got enough "solder wire", just go with that.
Pete Stanaitis
CS wrote:
I have some lengths of cooper bar - 1 inc x 1/2 inch x 5 inch - used
as interconnectors on 2v battery cells. I wish to tin them and can
either cart them off to an electroplater or tin with solder. Solder
wire worked fine on a test piece with a blow torch. My question is
which solder bar to go for - lead free or leaded?? My instinct is
leadfree - tin with some silver and possible copper - something like
which solder bar to go for - lead free or leaded?? (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I believe lead is used on top of storage batteries because it resists corrosion by the sulfuric acid fumes. Using solder, I would worry that the acid would leach out the tin, and leave you with a porous layer which would then allow the acid to attack the copper. I would try tinning with solder, and then cover that with lead. I'm pretty sure you could get the lead to wet the solder easier than trying to get it to wet the copper. (Have never tried it, though.)
I retinned all the mates copper pots a few years back using bar tin and flux but Johnson's E-127 is a lot easier.
I have tinned all the bare copper busses going to the T fuse blocks on Rutu. Used Johnson's E-127 Flux N Solder paste. Pure tin powder in a flux. Scrubbed the copper clean, dipped it in some fresh degreaser and handled it with cotton gloves. Spread the E-127 on all surfaces and laid it on an asbestos shingle. Gradually heated it with a propane torch until the tin melted and brushed it lightly with some bronze wool. Came out looking better than a professionally tinned buss bar.
