Despite being unable to apply anything but a humongous amount, it is much less effective than RA on oxidized but otherwise clean copper. I just dug out one of my syringes of 8341-10mL to see why it is I didn't like it. I also found this interesting on AIM website: RA core solder wire: It also suggests that residue becomes problematic at frequencies in the GHz range, where the skin effect becomes strong. Essentially, that it can be harder to wash off the residue, should the need arise. Here's an article that seems to support my feeling on no clean. ![]() So I guess not all no-cleans are the same. Perhaps glowcore is some sort of synthetic rosin. It is similar to the "purified rosin" cored solder wire I have (made by Indium). (Not like the Kester no-clean flux pen, nor the no clean solder pastes I have used, which are quite the pain to clean up). And it washes off similarly to my rosin core solder. The residue looks and feels like rosin but is much more clear. Per Mouser, this is a rosin core, but in the description is says that it's made from rEsin. The fact that MG states that 835 residue is non-corrosive suggests that they are not adding halides.Ĭonfounding the issue of no clean vs rosin, I bought some "rosin core" solder from Mouser, and when it got here, I see "no clean" on the label. ![]() I have read from various sources that it might be long chain organic fatty acids or even halides (like zinc chloride). From the MSDS, the "activators" of common Kester and MG RA flux remains a mystery. I have never been able to record any conductivity of RA residue. Thinking flux residue might be contributing, I carefully washed some of the boards, and there was no detectable change, so I ordered some higher tolerance resistors. I recently have made up a lot of boards that require an exact voltage on a particular ladder, and I found I had to tune many of them. There is some debate on whether or not you can leave RA residue on a board, but the MG website and bottle says "non conductive and non corrosive residue." And I have never had any problem with MG 835 residue. No clean flux turns to crap if you ever need to wash the board with alcohol. And it is easy to wash off the residue with alcohol and water. It just takes a few hours, rather than seconds as with no clean. A rosin flux is a very long chain acid which also basically turns into a polymer when the solvent evaporates. A no clean flux leaves these compounds in a bed of a polymer, so they are non-conductive. This chloride embeds in the metal and can't be washed off with water. Also, the chlorides in the flux promote continued corrosion, particularly a concern on ferrous metals. If completely dried out, it would be non-conductive, but the naked salts/compounds are hygroscopic and pull moisture out of the air. An acid core flux leaves these compounds behind in water, which makes the residue conductive. In truth it dissolves the copper oxides, leaving behind copper compounds. You will usually read that the acid "deoxidizes" the copper. No clean vs RA: By it's very nature, flux leaves conductive compounds behind. ![]() Seriously, if I had one of the gallon jugs of Kester's stuff shipped, adding the hazmat fee, shipping, etc, it's be close to $60-70, and it's FAR too much for my needs. So my question is: If I want to get away from flux pens and their inconsistent flow, and favor the simplicity of a bottle and brush, are there any brands of flux that offer hobbyist friendly quantities, and are equivalent in quality and composition to Kester's No-Clean flux? Really do not want to deal with high acidity or conductive fluxes, and am quite accustomed to Kester's stuff, but I'm more than willing to try another brand, if they make a reasonable sized bottle of liquid that's more. just like the flow on their dang flux pens. Kester really doesn't have a middle ground. ![]() I STILL have never figured out how to get a flux pen to flow in moderation! The problem, is that for hobbyists, the good stuff (I prefer Kester 951 No-Clean) goes from a dinky little 10mL pen, to a 1 gallon jug plus a hazmat delivery fee. I find the pens either go dry, or dump a ton of flux. Flux pens are pretty easy for hobbyists to get their hands on (thanks Amazon), but often times, I find that the pens are more of a nuisance than just a bottle with a brush. I've used both liquid flux and flux pens. I'm a long time electronics hobbyist and professional, but had a question pertaining to the hobbyist side of things, that would be of likely interest to newbies too, so I'll post it here.
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