'LEAD FREE' SOLDER

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'LEAD FREE' SOLDER

Postby Goldenthroatcharmer » Wed Feb 10, 2021 8:20 pm

Hi All,
I have posted this on another forum that I follow and have so far, not received any comments or feedback and wondered if anyone here had experienced the same issue?
I recently repaired a soldered joint that had started leaking but later became concerned that I had inadvertently used the wrong solder, as I had rolls of ordinary and 'lead free' together on my workbench. To put my mind at ease, I purchased a lead testing kit from eBay which consisted of swabs that you make damp with water and rub on the item or area that you want to test and if it turns red, it indicates the presence of lead.
I decided to try one on a soldered joint that was definitely made with 'lead free' solder and much to my dismay, the swab turned red.
I then tested a few more of my original joints and some samples from the two different rolls of 'lead free' solder that I purchased specifically after reading about the dangers of lead.
I was horrified to see that in each case the test proved positive.
I am now pondering what to do, as I have invested considerable time and money in the project and more importantly, wonder how many other people out there must be running their equipment, completely unaware and oblivious to the fact that the 'lead free' solder they used is not quite what they thought?

GTC
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Re: 'LEAD FREE' SOLDER

Postby RuddyCrazy » Wed Feb 10, 2021 8:31 pm

Got a link to that tester kit as it sounds like it may be over priced junk that sucker newbies in like a seagull to a bucket of chips :laughing-rolling:
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Re: 'LEAD FREE' SOLDER

Postby Goldenthroatcharmer » Thu Feb 11, 2021 12:03 am

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Laboratory-L ... 2749.l2649

This is the kit I used, but they seem pretty universal from most internet sellers that i could find, including Amazon. The only reason I chose this particular one was because it offered the fastest delivery.
I did test one on a piece of copper and SS and both showed a negative result.
I also tried it on a piece of 0.8mm fine solder wire that i use for electronic projects and which happened to be labelled lead free.
That showed a negative result which, worryingly, would indicate that they do actually work.
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Re: 'LEAD FREE' SOLDER

Postby wynnum1 » Thu Feb 11, 2021 12:54 am

Lead free' solder could have lead because fake packaging and product that is why they can buy baby formulae and send to China because can not trust their local products.
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Re: 'LEAD FREE' SOLDER

Postby Goldenthroatcharmer » Thu Feb 11, 2021 4:33 am

Surprisingly enough, the small 0.8mm solder wire that tested negative, actually stated on the packaging that it came from China.
The first solder that I bought specifically for my build, advertised as lead free, came as a metre length that had obviously just been cut from a larger roll and was not in any form of packaging.
Being a bit dubious about this, as they could have sent me anything, I ordered (from a different supplier) a full roll, packaged and labelled accordingly, although no info about it's origin.
As it turned out, I need not have bothered. I just didn't realise that I needed to test it before using! :sad:
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Re: 'LEAD FREE' SOLDER

Postby scythe » Thu Feb 11, 2021 10:21 am

Be interesting to see what aquasafe100 returns.
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Re: 'LEAD FREE' SOLDER

Postby gad » Thu Feb 11, 2021 10:40 am

Goldenthroatcharmer wrote:. To put my mind at ease, I purchased a lead testing kit from eBay which consisted of swabs that you make damp with water and rub on the item or area that you want to test and if it turns red, it indicates the presence of lead.


Would dampening with water give a false result? The web site quoted says "just dip in vinegar and rub the testing surface".
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Re: 'LEAD FREE' SOLDER

Postby RC Al » Thu Feb 11, 2021 1:27 pm

As much as we whinge about our nanny state dictatorship, some things like Australian standards are a good thing, I would be very shocked if aquasafe come up with lead, think of the law suits :scared-eek:
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Re: 'LEAD FREE' SOLDER

Postby Goldenthroatcharmer » Thu Feb 11, 2021 7:52 pm

gad wrote:
Goldenthroatcharmer wrote:. To put my mind at ease, I purchased a lead testing kit from eBay which consisted of swabs that you make damp with water and rub on the item or area that you want to test and if it turns red, it indicates the presence of lead.


Would dampening with water give a false result? The web site quoted says "just dip in vinegar and rub the testing surface".



I have noticed that, although the same generic product photos are used on the Ebay listings for this,(as is normally the case with anything that originates in China!) there is some discrepancy in the instructions of how to use. Some say to dip in household vinegar and some say white vinegar but the instructions on the label of the ones I received definitely say to dip in clean water. Maybe something got lost in translation!!
I will try again using strong white vinegar that I bought for cleaning runs and keep my fingers crossed!!!
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Re: 'LEAD FREE' SOLDER

Postby wynnum1 » Fri Feb 12, 2021 8:47 am

I see they say lead burn red when burn alcohol which has lead and has anyone done tests to see if does show the presence of lead by putting some lead solder in alcohol and burning..
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