Hello all.
I go through a crapton of solder, and it makes me a bit nervous all of that lead exposure, although I try not to eat my meals with the same hands I solder with. The Quad Eutectic solder from Cardas contains lead and it's my favorite solder, you really can't screw something up when you use it and it makes tight joints that are easy to manipulate, compared to the Mundorf solder of doom which is insanely hard to work with.
I got a sample of the lead-free Tri Eutectic from Cardas today in the mail, and tried it out. It was similar, but something just wasn't quite the same. I've already read that lead free solders have a more harmful flux that they use. I did recently invest in a fume extractor which lets me solder with a bit more confidence, as I don't have to always be holding my breath. It seemed to go onto metal just fine, but in my mind I hold the Quad solder in a special regard, we've been through a lot and switching to a different solder is not something I like to do, since I'm accustomed to how the Quad behaves.
Anyone have any experience comparing the two that can put their finger on the disadvantages of the Tri Eutectic?
Edit: Doh, just found a useful thread from a while back on this very subject. I do see now that the leaded solder is easier to melt. I have a Metcal iron though which picks the right temperature to melt whatever, so this is not a big issue. I guess this is more of a survey of what frequent solderers use, whether it's worth it to avoid the lead exposure for a solder that doesn't handle quite as well. I only have a little bit of the sample left and I'm reluctant to buy a whole roll of the stuff...
Edited by scootermafia - 3/2/11 at 12:24am
