A question of soldering

[burgundy]

Rather than start a new thread, can I resurrect this one with a slightly different question?

At our on-line meeting last night, the discussion wandered into the topic of soldering and the use of unconventional sources of flux. The use of cola (of whatever brand) was mentioned but none of us had actually tried it. Does cola form an effective flux or is this just an urban myth? Similarly, would vinegar or lemon juice work - more to the point, has anyone tried them successfully? 

Best wishes 

Eric 

[hayfield]

I now use Carrs solder and flux and I find by using the correct temperature solder and the correct flux for the metal(s) being fused together has improved my joints no end

 

It may be an expensive** way of doing things but when a Chemist makes the correct formula for items to be soldered together it makes sense 

 

** Over time its cost neutral as you use the same or less materials, save time and make a better job. Whatever you use there is a cost and in the end the cheapest method often becomes the more expensive option

[sagaguy]

Now being a builder of brass 0 gauge kits,i`ve moved to using Fry Powerflux rather than Carrs fluxes which i find are a bit  corrosive coupled with a London Road RSU for a lot of the soldered joints these days.

 

                       Ray.

[Phil Parker]

5 minutes ago, sagaguy said:

Now being a builder of brass 0 gauge kits,i`ve moved to using Fry Powerflux rather than Carrs fluxes which i find are a bit  corrosive coupled with a London Road RSU for a lot of the soldered joints these days.

 

                       Ray.

 

Powerflow is great, but I find Copalux from the same DIY aisle works nearly as well and is an easier cleanup. Both have a space on my bench though.

[dpgibbons]

2 hours ago, burgundy said:

Does cola form an effective flux or is this just an urban myth?

Cola contains phosphoric acid, which is the active ingredient in many brass fluxes. But it also contains sugar, colouring and flavouring, none of which are welcome in a soldering environment. Metal kits are expensive and proper flux is cheap, so there's no reason to experiment.

[burgundy]

Thank you to those who have commented. 

It is fair to say that none of us on the zoom call had tried to use cola - we all rely on the tried and tested solutions. As has been pointed out,  the other ingredients in cola seem likely to create a sticky mess and none of us were particularly keen to be the one to find out.

The question was really to nail whether this is one of those urban myths! I suspect that it is.

Best wishes 

Eric 

[BR traction instructor]

I find this particular flux works best with my solder/iron combination...don't forget that regular trips to the ultrasonic bath keeps everything as clean as possible...

 

BeRTIe

Edited July 14, 2023 by BR traction instructor

[Bucoops]

1 hour ago, BR traction instructor said:

I find this particular flux works best with my solder/iron combination...don't forget that regular trips to the ultrasonic bath keep everything as clean as possible...

 

BeRTIe

 

That's what I use and it does work very well. The site dissappeared a while back unfortunately. Someone recommended some similar stuff from s stained glass window place - not tried it yet though.

[jonhall]

1 hour ago, burgundy said:

Thank you to those who have commented. 

It is fair to say that none of us on the zoom call had tried to use cola - we all rely on the tried and tested solutions. As has been pointed out,  the other ingredients in cola seem likely to create a sticky mess and none of us were particularly keen to be the one to find out.

The question was really to nail whether this is one of those urban myths! I suspect that it is.

Best wishes 

Eric 

 

I seem to recall Carrs green label flux being around 10-12% phosphoric acid, I'd be really surprised if cola was even 1/10th of that level

 

jon

[Chas Levin]

A vote here for the gaugemaster flux - that link takes you to the page for their brass one, the white-metal one seems to have disappeared from their site temporarily but it's product code is GM03.

 

I'd also agree that coke is a bad idea as a flux; I suspect there's been a confusion of urban tales because coke can be used to clean etches, much like tomato ketchup, because of the acid content. Ketchup works much better in many peoples' opinions because it's thick consistency means you can coat an etch in it and it stays in place for the few minutes it takes to eat through the tarnish.

 

Ketchup also rinses off the etches very quickly and easily whereas I'd agree with those above that the sugary content of coke makes cleaning it off less easy.

 

Cleaning unstarted etches with things like coke or ketchup is more practical then using coke as a flux because you can wash off a flat etch really thoroughly, which isn't necessarily the case with soldered assemblies.

 

Also, th heat generated during soldering might have unfortunate effects on the other consitutents of coke...