dc soldering

a lot of the videos on soldering dont say anything about the importance of clean stranded copper wire before soldering. Some mention not to use an acid cleaner because it can wick up under the insulation and start to corrode later. But it seems like the best cleaner would be iso alcohol because its not acidic and evaporates fully. anyone here solder on a regular basis?? I know many people dont clean the wires thinking that flux cleans it but that is disputed by some people. One series of soldering videos made by an electronics company as a training film and very detailed(5 parts) says to clean the wires and tin then Before you solder the wire. Not just tin the element but tin the actual wire first also. what do you think??

 

On the rare occasions I have needed to solder I have just used the correct flux. The wires were not dirty under the insulation.

 

I use wire nuts for almost all wire connections except where it connects to a board of some kind. I just use the solder and don't have connections problems.

 

I solder pretty frequently. For most hobby wiring I use old fashioned rosin/acid type flux. If I'm in the mood I'll wipe the flux off with a rag after soldering but I never bother too much about it. If soldering components on a circuit board I'll often try it with no solder and if I need I'll use flux. How much I worry about cleaning up the flux depends on what I'm working on. Much of what I solder is going to be protected from the environment and is not intended to last for decades so long term corrosion is not a big concern usually.

You mention cleaning wires and also mention stranded wire. I'm not sure how you clean stranded wire but I'll clean solid wire if it's not shiny. Stranded wire I'll either cut back until I get to clean wire or just use acid flux which does a pretty good job of cutting through mild tarnishing.

 

Alcohol won't do much for cleaning copper oxide. Never acid flux on stranded wire; it's OK for larger solid or even copper strap or copper tubing.
if the copper is not black, rosin core should work. If it is black, then you will need to scrape/sand first.
If you have access to solder pot, then dip the wire in rosin flux, then into the liquid solder (pre-tinning).
Otherwise, I'd think rosin core solder will work ok. Alcohol is used to wash away flux residue from PCB's and such AFTER the soldering; unless it's water soluble flux. There are better flux cleaners than alcohol, however.

Give us an idea what gauge wire, and what color the copper is.

 

You didn't mention what you are soldering. copper to copper, copper to brass, copper to nickel, new wire, old wire, copper to a circuit board, copper to connector, copper to a motor?

If the wire is dirty you can wire brush it.
Always Tin your wires. Tin each part and hold the parts together while soldering.
Each type of solder requires a different temperature. Use a quality Soldering iron like THIS where you can control the temperature.
Use a heat sink next to the insulation to prevent the insulation from melting. A heat sink can be a simple as a pair of needle nose pliers.

I like using Indium solder. Here's a link to their Rosin/Flux core wire solders.

Different solders are used for different applications.
Here's the most common types used for simple copper wire.

Core 230 is a "No Clean" solder. It contains a heat-stabilized rosin that provides
excellent wetting and solder spread.

CW-201 is a Traditional Rosin Core for non-sensitive oxidized copper, non-sensitive electrical/electronic assemblies where higher speed wetting is desired.

CW-207 Activated Rosin for Lead-Free: CW-207 is similar to CW-201 except that it is formulated using a blend of heat stable clear rosins. It is the standard option for soldering with lead-free alloy core wire when soldering non-sensitive electrical or electronic applications, or when soldering moderately difficult-to-solder metals such as brass or nickel.

CW-209 Highly Activated Rosin: CW-209 is exactly the same as CW-207 except with twice the amount of halogen activator. It is recommended for use where CW-207 or CW-201 are not active enough to solder to highly oxidized metals, or where speed of wetting is a high concern.

CW-501 High Activity Rosin-Free No-Clean: CW-501 is rosin free and due to the heat stable nature shows exceptionally effective soldering on a wide range of assemblies with a wide range of alloys and conditions.

 

if you were soldering hi fi audio components,power supplies,pots, caps etc...
what solder would you use and what prep would you do to the wires assuming they were all new and virgin..

 

Look at THIS solder for general electronics.

 

Another good solder for electronics is Kester 63/27 lead/tin, it's very similar to the one I linked above.
Tin both components very lightly first. If it's stranded wire, you should be able to still see the strands after tinning.

 

You need to use a rosin core type solder or liquid rosin.
I use Kester and have a large supply of lead type solder.

Since the government has legislated the reduction/removal of lead in solders it's very rare to find many that do contain it.