Lead free in my experience has sucked. But Kester's new K100LD is working really well for me, feels just like the leaded Kester I was using and it isn't super expensive. +1
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matt's mind
yep, the older parts weren't relevant to the lead-free concern, the only new thing was the assembly. at least as far as what the manufacturer has control over
there was an exemption for parts in market prior to the implementation of the RoHS leg. in the EU. (which wiki tells me was july 1st, 2006)
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matt's mind
Theta_Frost wrote:
Lead free in my experience has sucked. But Kester's new K100LD is working really well for me, feels just like the leaded Kester I was using and it isn't super expensive. +1
thanks for the tip 
been pretty disappointed with most lead-free i've tried
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Austin, Texas
I hate lead free with a passion because it's so much harder to get a wet joint with the stuff, and so much easier to cook your circuits. I also ruin my tips really fast when I'm doing lead-free (I have a cheaper iron, so it doesn't really have the best tips).
That said, I still try to use lead free as a standard operating procedure when I build something entirely with new parts. Even if you do clean solder work, is the functional life of your product in the long term still compromised by having used lead free solder?
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:doubled please delete:
Last edited by 12ianma (Sep 24, 2012 12:48 pm)
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It matters how much humidity it is exposed to. also flux helps greatly with getting a nice wet joint
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Austin, Texas
Yeah, I use flux-cored stuff, but sometimes nothing beats dedicated flux.
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Telerophon wrote:
I hate lead free with a passion because it's so much harder to get a wet joint with the stuff, and so much easier to cook your circuits. I also ruin my tips really fast when I'm doing lead-free (I have a cheaper iron, so it doesn't really have the best tips).
That said, I still try to use lead free as a standard operating procedure when I build something entirely with new parts. Even if you do clean solder work, is the functional life of your product in the long term still compromised by having used lead free solder?
Yeah, regardless of the quality of work, the quality is always affected when using lead free solder. The Xbox 360 is a good example of how using lead free solder can go very wrong.
You may be using a tip that's meant for lead solder. They're supposed to be dedicated for one or the other, but that's probably not the case with cheaper irons.