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desertjoe 
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 Topic: flux for soldering,,,,,,
Posted: 06 Apr 2022 at 6:29pm |
I think a few weeks ago,,I was singing the praises of this "Water Soluble Flux" made by Harris,,, THe little .5 oz tube was included in the soldering gun kit I got at Lowes and It absolutely made me a believer of soldering wires together,,,!! I been soldering a lot lately making up the wiring harness of those winch controllers and I HAVE RAN OUT of the flux,,,,!! The bad part is I cannot find any anywhere!! I finally called Harris Mfg Co and talked to their CS Dept and while they admit they do still make it,,,they ONLY sell to distributors,,! I aslked for a list of their ddistributors and one is Fastenal, Plains Welding which are within 100 miles but,,,they do not stock it and were not too interested in ordering some for me, even tho I gave em the address and phone for the Harris Company. I told the dude at Plains Welding I would order $20 worth if he would get me some,,,,??He said he would try tamarrow,,,,(It was 1Pm)
What is it with these workers??
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JW in MO
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Posted: 06 Apr 2022 at 8:06pm |
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I have never used flux soldering wires together, just rosin core solder. Now I have used plenty of Harris flux on copper fittings, got it at United Refrigeration Supply but I would think maybe an electrical supply company or maybe Johnstone Supply. I've also been very happy with Nokorode products.
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Maximum use of available resources!
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Les Kerf
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Posted: 06 Apr 2022 at 8:23pm |
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Yup, rosin core solder is all you need. The old lead-based type works much better (I am hoarding my stash)
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Stan IL&TN
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Posted: 06 Apr 2022 at 8:36pm |
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Rosin core for clean wire, acid core for dirty nasty corroded wire.
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1957 WD45 dad's first AC
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jaybmiller
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Posted: 07 Apr 2022 at 6:47am |
never use 'acid core' (aka plumbers solder) for soldering wires ! The acid is a 'gift that keeps on giving' and will destroy the wire over time Rosin core... 2 types.. old(smell great..) new ( water soluble)
If you have 'dirty, nasty corroded wire' GET RID OF IT !! The corrosion is inside and will 'wick' it's way to the other end. Grab a piece, strip off a bit...if not clean cooper, strip more. I've had 150' of it go 'funny' once.
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Tbone95
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Posted: 07 Apr 2022 at 6:51am |
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That's what I was a-thinkin' Jay!
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jaybmiller
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Posted: 07 Apr 2022 at 6:57am |
heck,I've only done soldering for 6 decades, what would I know ? 
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3 D-14s,A-C forklift, B-112
Kubota BX23S lil' TOOT( The Other Orange Tractor)
Never burn your bridges, unless you can walk on water
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DaveKamp
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Posted: 07 Apr 2022 at 7:11am |
Acid-core flux never stops working... it does everything water does to copper, and more. Reserve it for fitting plumbing, go rosin core on electrical wire.
The other reason to be wary of dirty-corroded, is because stranded wire is highly disposed to capillary action... it draws water up the wire with wonderful effect, and once the moisture and minerals in that water start reacting with copper, the wire strands assume a fuzzy-green personality, and they'll seemingly always do it right-in-the-middle of a wire somewhere... so the really good connections one puts on an old dirty wire look great, but the middle of that wire is nothing more than a plastic-covered resistor.
Applying rosin-core solder to a crimp terminal, however, does a very good job of filling in the filaments of that wire, and while the insulation is still slightly soft, pull it up against the solder of the terminal, and you'll have an effective seal for the strands beyond. Top it off with a little heat-shrink, and some proper securing, and you'll have a wire that lasts a LONG time.
Water-rinse solder fluxes were developed back in the late '80s when 'wave soldering' of printed circuits was perfected.
Darned near any type of electrical solder flux you can imagine, is on the list at Digi-Key, probably Mouser too. Grainger will have SOME types...
Kester sells it in a handy 'pen' applicator... The Flux Pen 186 is a favorite of mine.
Edited by DaveKamp - 07 Apr 2022 at 7:16am
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Ten Amendments, Ten Commandments, and one Golden Rule solve most every problem. Citrus hand-cleaner with Pumice does the rest.
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Dave H
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Posted: 07 Apr 2022 at 7:21am |
DJ, did you give google a try? I got a hit on it, but was in a plastic jar, not a tube.
Just stumbled across that stuff on Face Book. Source listed was SupplyHouse.com.
Edited by Dave H - 07 Apr 2022 at 10:02am
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Ray54
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Posted: 07 Apr 2022 at 11:35am |
 Dang old bunch bubble poppers. Being cheap I save ever little piece of copper wire.  Thinking just take a little more insulation off and use it again.  But this could explain  why my old junk wont go.
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tadams(OH)
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Posted: 07 Apr 2022 at 11:55am |
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steve(ill)
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Posted: 07 Apr 2022 at 12:29pm |
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I always wipe a little rosin flux on the wires before i solder... Been doing it that way for over 50 years.. Too old to change now.
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Like them all, but love the "B"s.
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JC-WI
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Posted: 07 Apr 2022 at 4:19pm |
Dang!... Never paid much attention to that fact. Never had a trouble in having to track down a bad wire connection that I solderd. Went and looked, Soldering paste flux, alphametals - contains zinc Chloride... and the solder wire itself, one spool says acid core, another doesn't say anything, another says lead free ASTM B32, another said for electronics, that was very fine solder wire... Now I got to remember to watch out for the acid solder when soldering stranded wire, such as even battery cables when I solder them and then crimp them while hot. I went to soldering everything that should not need to be disconnected and paint them in liquid insulation that dries, or slip shrink wraps on them.
Those old 3m quick connects, they will eventually fail for sure from corrosion that gets in over time. Hate them for that fact.
Never heard of the water soluble flux. Learned some new things today.
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The truth is the truth, sugar coated or not. Trawler II says, "Remember that."
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Ken Mn
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Posted: 07 Apr 2022 at 5:03pm |
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I use Oatey Water Soluble Tinning Flux on most everything I solder. There are other brands as well available from hardware stores or anywhere plumbing supplies are sold. It is made for soldering copper water pipe so it is lead free. Tinning flux is gray in color because it is powdered solder mixed with a water soluble flux. Work very well.
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desertjoe
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Posted: 07 Apr 2022 at 9:48pm |
Well,,I used to have some success with acid core solder,,but not all the time,,,,, With rosin core,,,I NEVER HAD ANY lUCK weirth a CHIT,,,, That's why I was so excited bout the ease of soldering by using the Harris Water Soluble Flux,,,!!! I mean that stuff would suck the melting solder right into the wire and make the prettiest job,,,!!! I mean I used to would literally shy away from soldering anything and even started to use the crimp on ends to keep from using any solder,,,!!! THis stuff is THAT GOOD!!!!! Hey Dave H,,I'm gonna check out that link you posted,,,, 
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WF owner
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Posted: 08 Apr 2022 at 8:01am |
I found this from Home Depot.
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Les Kerf
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Posted: 08 Apr 2022 at 8:05am |
I was an Avionics tech in the Marines back in the 70's, then spent 30 years in sawmill maintenance (saw filer), then went back to school and got my degree in Bio-Medical technology, and ended up my career in the Engineering department at an encoder manufacturing company (it paid well and was close to home). https://www.encoder.com/ I am pretty good at soldering, but not good enough to keep up with the girls that do the soldering inside those little encoders on the production lines  They not only solder well but they also solder quickly. We had to be able to pass the J-Standard soldering test: https://www.protoexpress.com/blog/ipc-j-std-001-standard-soldering-requirements/ It is mighty difficult to accomplish this with anything but brand-new, spotlessly clean components.
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desertjoe
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Posted: 08 Apr 2022 at 8:57am |
Well,,,we getting closer and closer,,,ole WF Owner has fount what I'm looking for,!!!!,,Home depot lists a "Solder Kit" for a measly $6.95 that includes a small roll of solder AND,,,AND,,a tube of the Harris Water Soluble Flux stuff I want,,!!!! Only'ist thing they dont carry it but can be ordered thru them ,,,minimum order is $45 Plus S&H,,,,,I'ma call my lady friend at the Alien Town store and she if she can help me get around that and order bout 4 kits which ought to last me forever,,,, Ya'll that do soldering,,,auta try this stuff,,,it IS good,,,!!
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DavidKT Ky
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Posted: 08 Apr 2022 at 3:52pm |
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If you are still looking there is a listing on ebay item 284749704055 .
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desertjoe
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Posted: 09 Apr 2022 at 2:18pm |
Well,,,ole WF Owner,,,come thru,,He Did,,,!! I called my lady friend at Home Dept in the Alien Town,,,and lordy, lordy,,,they had 3 KITS on the shelf,,,!! WHAT?? When I talked to CS at Harris Company ,,they "DID NOT" list Home Depot as one of their distributors,,,!!! What the heck,,,?? Anyway, as we speak,, my son is going to The Alien Town and he will pick up the 3 kits for me,,,,, Ain't that the CHITS,,,when you look all over the frigging world and the dang stuff is hid out almost under your feets,,,,, OK,,I feel much better now,,,,,  This Is the absolutey the BEST bunch of " SEARCHERS" ever to come together,,cause they can find ANYTHING any of us needs,,,,and prolly some we do not want to find,,,,
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WF owner
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Posted: 09 Apr 2022 at 2:38pm |
Glad you got what you were looking for! It was just luck that I found it.
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