Choosing a good solder (for my Crackatwoa)

[iBLAMEALCOHOL]

I bought a Cracktwoa the day before yesterday, now, as I was thinking of building it, I thought about soldering.

As the Audioautism is strong in me, I can obviously not just solder with regular solder. A semi in depth research led me to Au80Sn20 (80% Gold 20% Tin). What are your opinions on the topic of choosing a solder? Now, obviously its not going to make a h u g e difference (prolly no audible difference at all), but if I am going to build an amplifier myself, I might as well pour all my passion into it if you get what I am trying to say.

 

[Paul Birkeland]

I've never seen or worked with gold/tin solder, where do you see that for sale on a spool?

Good old Kester 60/40 rosin core solder would be my recommendation.

Be sure to avoid solders that are lead free (silver bearing) or solders that don't have "Rosin" written on them somewhere.

 

[iBLAMEALCOHOL]

I've never seen or worked with gold/tin solder, where do you see that for sale on a spool?

Good old Kester 60/40 rosin core solder would be my recommendation.

Be sure to avoid solders that are lead free (silver bearing) or solders that don't have "Rosin" written on them somewhere.

I will follow your recommendation for I dont know enough myself to have a well substantiated opinion. Still, what is the reason for you recommending Kester 60/40 rosin core solder?

 

[Doc B]

Horses for courses. The gold solder you mention is for things like chips with nickel plated substrates with gold over them and is intended to be used in a vacuum oven. It also appears to be about $400/gram. If you want to use a solder known for high quality and specifically designed for good performance in point to point wiring with a solder station like in these kits you could try Cardas Quad Eutectic.

 

[Paul Birkeland]

I will follow your recommendation for I dont know enough myself to have a well substantiated opinion. Still, what is the reason for you recommending Kester 60/40 rosin core solder?

It has been around for many decades with no complaints. It's also extremely easy to source.

 

[Jameson]

For what it's worth, Paul and Dan have assembled more of these kits (and other projects) than I have had hot meals so I'd say their perspective is very trustworthy here. I've used both Kester and Cardas and they're good solders. As long as you're following PB's advice (rosin core, not lead-free), the biggest gain in performance will come from your soldering technique.

 

[Thermioniclife]

Kester 60/40 or 63/37 has served me well for over 4 decades.

 

[iBLAMEALCOHOL]

Horses for courses. The gold solder you mention is for things like chips with nickel plated substrates with gold over them and is intended to be used in a vacuum oven. It also appears to be about $400/gram. If you want to use a solder known for high quality and specifically designed for good performance in point to point wiring with a solder station like in these kits you could try Cardas Quad Eutectic.

i assume this is the correct product? https://www.klangheimat.de/audio-zu...-solder-lotzinn-113g-cardas-audio.html?type=N

 

[iBLAMEALCOHOL]

For what it's worth, Paul and Dan have assembled more of these kits (and other projects) than I have had hot meals so I'd say their perspective is very trustworthy here. I've used both Kester and Cardas and they're good solders. As long as you're following PB's advice (rosin core, not lead-free), the biggest gain in performance will come from your soldering technique.

I am looking forward to soldering again, I find it to be fun. I will try my best with the technique.

 

[4krowme]

Hey guys, I have been out of site for some time and now, this will be my first response. This question is something that I have confidence in replying to. Yes, solder is important. What I see as more important is the initial mechanical connection of wire to its connecting point. That may mean wrapping a wire around a post more than once or crimping a wire into place before soldering an eyelet. Then you can have the expected start to a clean connection. The solder of choice is best selected by what you are soldering in the first place. Preparation cannot be underestimated either. I can't think of a single place that I would use a gold component in the alloy of solder where it would do any good except as stated in a post above. Having said that, I have a choice in my shop where three solders are on spools, ready to be selected. WBT solder is one, Wonder Solder is next, and Kester is the other. Not in order of 'like'. Kester is often used for power connections as what I have is a thicker solder. WBT often is used for some signal connections, and Wonder Solder has been a go to for me for years.
I tried the Cardas solder once and I bet that I actually got a Cardas 'clone' as the solder was not easy at all to use. Pretty suspicious since most people love it.

 

[Paul Birkeland]

Having said that, I have a choice in my shop where three solders are on spools, ready to be selected.

So your advice to a new kit builder is that they need to buy three different rolls of solder?

 

[4krowme]

No, but I would advise finding a solder that works well for you as a starter. I only mentioned what I have as solders that I like to use and where. I used a single solder for 20 years, but a deal came up where a guy wanted to trade solder for equipment and now I have three.
Some of the solder out there has become too expensive to buy a roll at a time. The better way is to buy a sample length of it and try it out on some practice soldering. See if that works for you. If you like it, then you buy it. Simple as that.