Solder Preference, WBT, Cardas, or 'Other'?

Anyone have a solder they like a lot?

 

"Tin Solder" by The Small Faces was a great favourite of mine....

 

I've used Cardas and found it to be ok but I usually use Kester. Basically any of the big brands eutectic rosin cores are perfectly good for electronics. I just find Kester to give very consistent joints and it isn't very expensive.

 

Not the topic where 'get the led out' applies.

We used mainly Kester 60/40 (lead) 44 rosin flux in most applications at work.
Recent years have mandated RoHS complaint lead-free for most everything we make.
I smuggled a couple rolls of the leaded stuff for home use since it's far easier to use & not as brittle as the lead free stuff.

 

Cardas

 

Cardas Tri Eutectic lead-free. High silver content means you need a proper soldering station that can generate high enough heat. Solder points are fast and tight.

 

Unless you've got a fair amount of experience and a decent work station iron I'd avoid any lead free solder. It's easier to over heat joints with lead free.

There's no magic recipe for solder. You just need good, clean mechanical connections and iron at the right temp and a little practice. True eutectic gives you the best joints because it has one melting temp. So once it goes wet it's all wet, not pasty for a bit, and that is what gives you the tightest joint. I've found when people refer to one solder as better wetting it just means it has more flux in it's core.