solder suggestion?

[MordechaiBenZev]

I just purchased a new spool of solder wire, but it's not working well; I use a Weller WP35 solder iron and the wire I've got isn't melting so I can't make contacts.  Looking for suggestions for good brand/variety of solder wire, then .7mm or such variety in terms of thickness.  Any help would be appreciated.

[idy]

Tell us more about this no-stick solder.
What percentage tin/lead?
Not that lead free kind?
Flux core?
I am happy with 63/37 .04" (which I guess is around 1mm.)

[MikeA]

Sounds like you got hold of some no-lead solder.  Your iron goes to about 450C, which is right at the edge of the melting points for some lead-free solders.  Look for some 60/40 or 63/37 (tin/lead ratio) solder and you should be back in business.   

[FSFX]

Sounds like you got hold of some no-lead solder.  Your iron goes to about 450C, which is right at the edge of the melting points for some lead-free solders.  Look for some 60/40 or 63/37 (tin/lead ratio) solder and you should be back in business.

You may be getting your Fahrenheit and Celsius temperatures mixed up. 

The lead free solder we all use here in Europe has a melting point of around 220C. The 63/37 leaded solder has a melting point of 183C which is about the lowest you will ever get.

I use lead free solder all the time and have been doing so for at least the last 10 years like many electronics builders in Europe.

Most of the time my iron is set to around 360C which is commonly the default temperature setting of a lot of temperature controlled irons such as the Hakko FX888 and is quite suitable for soldering with any normal type of flux cored solder designed for electronic use.

The lead-free solder I have and what many in Europe and elsewhere use is quite capable of being used perfectly well at an iron temperature of 300C.

Here is a quote from Wikipedia regarding some lead free alloys:

Tin-silver-copper (Sn-Ag-Cu, or SAC) solders are used by two-thirds of Japanese manufacturers for reflow and wave soldering, and by about 75% of companies for hand soldering. The widespread use of this popular lead-free solder alloy family is based on the reduced melting point of the Sn-Ag-Cu ternary eutectic behavior (217 °C, 423 °F), which is below the 22/78 Sn-Ag (wt.%) eutectic of 221 °C (430 °F) and the 59/41 Sn-Cu eutectic of 227 °C (441 °F).[19] The ternary eutectic behavior of Sn-Ag-Cu and its application for electronics assembly was discovered (and patented) by a team of researchers from Ames Laboratory, Iowa State University, and from Sandia National Laboratories-Albuquerque.

Much recent research has focused on the addition of a fourth element to Sn-Ag-Cu solder, in order to provide compatibility for the reduced cooling rate of solder sphere reflow for assembly of ball grid arrays. Examples of these four-element compositions are 18/64/14/4 tin-silver-copper-zinc (Sn-Ag-Cu-Zn) (melting range 217–220 °C) and 18/64/16/2 tin-silver-copper-manganese (Sn-Ag-Cu-Mn; melting range of 211–215 °C).

[Rob Strand]

The WP35 is sold lead-free, 800F,
https://www.diverseelectronics.com/upload/documents/WP25.pdf

Have you tried searching for some datasheets on the solder you have?

[anotherjim]

There are very low-melt solders. Needed for pewter repair or delicate assemblies. I have some that melts below 100c. 188c is fairly common.

[FSFX]

There are very low-melt solders.

These low melting point solders usually have elements like bismuth in them. The 42/58 Tin/Bismuth has a melting point of 138C.
My father used to use some of these low melting point alloys in jewellery repairs. Those alloys are not usually considered suitable for electronics work.
 

[slashandburn]

If you're in or near the UK and need Lead based solder, most big suppliers will only sell to business accounts at the moment. Try drone shops (I won't name any directly on here as don't want to get them in any trouble) and look for TBS Solder. It's 0.8mm, 63/37 and 1.8% flux. It's pretty good stuff.

For a good while I was going between that and 1mm stuff that was roughly the same in terms of the other properties, branded Cynel. The Cynel stuff is excellent, but I was having to source it on eBay and and have it shipped from Poland.

If you can live with 1.5mm I believe there are still some unscrupulous sellers on Amazon stocking Weller 60/40 which is also excellent stuff but the diameter is less than ideal for most of our purposes.

[antonis]

The Cynel stuff is excellent..

+1 

[stallik]

I bought a big reel of  22SWG 63/37 from Wharton Metals (Lancashire UK) some while back. Great stuff but checking their website, they too will only supply leaded solder to professionals now. Thankfully, my reel probably won’t run out before I peg it.

[slashandburn]

I bought a big reel of  22SWG 63/37 from Wharton Metals (Lancashire UK) some while back. Great stuff but checking their website, they too will only supply leaded solder to professionals now. Thankfully, my reel probably won’t run out before I peg it.

Ha, well in the (hopefully likely) event you live longer than you were expecting and find the REACH regulations for lead still haven't been lifted, most of the online drone "hobby" shops sell the TBS stuff which should have you covered.

The Cynel stuff though somehow eclipses it. Don't ask me how or why. It's just an absolute delight to work with for this stuff. Good to see Antonis agrees and it's not just all in my head. I like it so much I've found myself wondering they've put additives in there's a bit like the old Marlboro scandal (joking obviously).