HELP! - my girl is kicking the lead out of the house!

[multimeter]

Re: HELP! - my girl is kicking the lead out of the house!

urrm not wishing to start a political war,but your in the usa ,with one of the highest concentrations of pollution from cheap fuel and gas guzzlers,surley the pollution from that is more harmfull than a poxy roll of leaded solder?,does she not realize this?


@ratdude loved that post dude !

[y_not]

Re: HELP! - my girl is kicking the lead out of the house!

I must admit, this thread has been rather amusing to follow. But something tells me the op is no longer reading, nor participating in it.

But do carry on, it's a good read with some good points. I learn something new with each post.... or so.

Lots of good ammo I can spit back at people when they get all earth motherly on me about my "lead solder". *gasp*

[severach]

Re: HELP! - my girl is kicking the lead out of the house!

Live in the city? You're getting more lead in a glass of water than you can get from soldering. Tell her to take some Silymarin and quit drinking the water.

She sees the smoke and smells the odor. The smoke is the flux and the odor is the flux. The flux is not very dangerous. No lead jumps into the air.

[kaboom]

Re: HELP! - my girl is kicking the lead out of the house!

^ kaboom has a BIG point! she sounds like a tree hugger to me.
as for the water not exploding, wrong!!! watch this http://youtu.be/UHCkvN_MLxs and you will see that tap water will explode when there is oil drilling near by.

^hehe

It's not the *water*

It's dissolved gasses in the water. Big difference.

Water doesn't "explode" til it's electrolyzed and then "recombined."

[goontron]

Re: HELP! - my girl is kicking the lead out of the house!

^ kaboom has a BIG point! she sounds like a tree hugger to me.
as for the water not exploding, wrong!!! watch this http://youtu.be/UHCkvN_MLxs and you will see that tap water will explode when there is oil drilling near by.

[kaboom]

Re: HELP! - my girl is kicking the lead out of the house!

I may have said this before, but I'm saying it again:

We don't get mustard gas poisoning from eating table salt. Contains chlorine, but not in elemental form.

Water does not "explode." Again, does not contain free elemental hydrogen.

Stainless steel contains non-elemental chromium, but we do not drop dead when eating with a knife and fork!

Solder is an alloy!

my beautiful long-term girlfriend (who I want to keep no matter what) has laid down the law, no more recapping motherboards and other electronics using any lead-based solder (I do the recapping inside the house as we have no shop/garage/basement)

And tell me, what temperature does that solder break down and not only yield elemental lead, but at what temperature does lead vaporize? A hell of a lot hotter than soldering temperatures...

Do you really think the "insanity" will stop if you "give in" to this one issue?

I'm sorry for sounding like a grumpy bastard, but it'll be your ass that's stuck with her. "Beauty fades, but dumb is forever." Proceed with caution and avoid "emotional reasoning."

In no uncertain terms, inform "her" that's she's way off the mark regarding her imagined lead problem.

[Mrx3750]

Re: HELP! - my girl is kicking the lead out of the house!

OP, I don't think many people here use lead free solder, and I can't blame them. It doesn't flow properly, doesn't bond as well, and over time, it grows tin whiskers that can short out electronics.

I can't recommend a good lead free solder, because I don't know of any. However if you take basic safety precautions like washing your hands after handling leaded solder, and not soldering in areas where food is served, like the kitchen table, you'll be just fine. If you're really worried, you can get a fume extractor to place over your work area.

You likely get more lead exposure from air pollution. If you are worried about a buildup of toxic metals in your body, you could have a doctor test for toxins in your blood. Should the worst happen and you somehow ingest a pound of leaded solder Chelation therapy is designed to remove toxic metals from the body.


Also, I don't think lead solder will go away any time soon. I bought a pound of Kester lead solder at the local electronics shop just a year ago, and I see it for sale online.

[ratdude747]

Re: HELP! - my girl is kicking the lead out of the house!

Someone invented a device in the 1800s which also happens to suck up loose grains of leaded solder stuck in the carpet or on the floor of the kitchen. It's called a vacuum cleaner. They can also suck up bloated capacitors.

Ratdude summed it up in one.

You -> <- Your future wife if you dare do something she doesn't approve. Welcome to 40 years of hell.

It's a lesson I've come to realize in the last few months. In a way I can't say what I said since I haven't been married or even engaged (pre-engaged, I am).

[larrymoencurly]

Re: HELP! - my girl is kicking the lead out of the house!

What if you both get tested for lead, and I mean blood tests, which seem to be more accurate than urine tests? There was a community where the soil lead concentrations were unusually high, but apparently almost nobody had high levels of lead in their bodies, including the children.

Grecian Formula to dye grey hair dark is made with lead acetate, but apparently users don't have elevated lead levels.

What does she think of mercury amalgum dental fillings? If she has objections to them, she may not be getting her medical information from good sources because the highest level of lead from those fillings is something like 5x less than the lowest amount known to cause any harm or symptoms at all.

I mention those examples only to point out that poison in the environment doesn't always get into the body.

[Heihachi_73]

Re: HELP! - my girl is kicking the lead out of the house!

Someone invented a device in the 1800s which also happens to suck up loose grains of leaded solder stuck in the carpet or on the floor of the kitchen. It's called a vacuum cleaner. They can also suck up bloated capacitors.

Ratdude summed it up in one.

You -> <- Your future wife if you dare do something she doesn't approve. Welcome to 40 years of hell.

[momaka]

Re: HELP! - my girl is kicking the lead out of the house!

I was once told by a HS mentor and brilliant EE that each puff of fumes has the same effect on your lungs as a pack of cigs worth of tar. However, it doesn't leave a residue like tar would, and any rosin flux would do that no matter where you were working. Don't breathe in or taste the smoke and that not an issue.

That's a bit skewed. Sure back in the days, there were fluxes that were quite dangerous, so what your HS mentor said isn't completely untrue. But nowadays - at least what you'll find in the hardware stores and online, this is no longer true. From what I remember researching, the worst you may get is asthma, and that's after prolonged exposure to the fumes (think several years in a place with really heavy fumes).

The Kingbo flux that Th3_uN1Qu3 mentioned is indeed great for lead-free solder. I've used it myself (and still do). Seems to work great with my spool of 95% tin / 5% antimony lead-free solder. I get nice solid joints every time. Sure they don't look as shiny as with leaded solder, but they are solid and strong nonetheless.

Just take off the label and print another one that says lead free.

Lol, that's exactly what came to my mind too when I read the OPs 1st post. It's called thinking like the Chinese PSU manufacturers - just give them a pen and a blank label, and they'll write for you any specifications you wish .

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: HELP! - my girl is kicking the lead out of the house!

Wow, I don't believe she need to declare war on solder with some lead, like the government declaring war on leaded gasoline!

Leaded solder isn't a major concern like leaded gasoline is for cryin' out loud!

And there's a T-storm, lol.

[ratdude747]

Re: HELP! - my girl is kicking the lead out of the house!

Here's some OT advice:

Stop thinking with your peter, and start thinking with your brain. Note that I didn't tell you to grow a pair, as I don't think that's the issue here.

Marry somebody because of who they are, not what they look like. Looks are nothing but soemthign that can be fudged with money and luck; personality, brains, and character are fixed entities and generally do not change with a person.

It's like cars: Looks are looks. A car that runs, rides, and handles poorly will still run, ride, and handle poorly if happens to look sharp. No amount of paint, clearcoat, and bondo will fix that. However, unlike cars, one cannot "tune-up" a person't brains and personality...

If all she offers is eye candy, then I'd really reconsider my situation if I were you.

Good example: My girlfriend and (hopefully within the next 5 years) future wife, Jenn. She, for me, is very socially compatible. She also is pretty good looking, but she is no "supermodel" per se. I'm with her mainly because, in addition to mutual attraction (this is critical), we get along with each other. Do we always agree? Far from it. Do we listen to each others opinions and consider each other's input on decisions? Always. And IMHO that's how it should be.

---

On topic: My favorite lead-free solder is 99.3% Sn/.7 % Cu... but IMHO it sucks. As long as you clean up your work area and wash your hands when you're done, all is fine lead wise.

If anything is a risk, it's the effects of rosin fumes; I was once told by a HS mentor and brilliant EE that each puff of fumes has the same effect on your lungs as a pack of cigs worth of tar. However, it doesn't leave a residue like tar would, and any rosin flux would do that no matter where you were working. Don't breathe in or taste the smoke and that not an issue.

[ChaosLegionnaire]

Re: HELP! - my girl is kicking the lead out of the house!

sigh ts... if that is the case, then it is more dangerous to eat seafood as seafood contains more lead and heavy metals than u will ever get drinking water from lead pipes or from working with leaded solder.

so as for marrying the bimbo not her brains. well.. here is the famous reply from another forum from a fictitious ceo of jp morgan to a pretty girl seeking a rich husband:

A young and pretty lady posted this on a popular forum:

Title: What should I do to marry a rich guy?

... I'm going to be honest of what I'm going to say here.

I'm 25 this year. I'm very pretty, have style and good taste. I wish to marry a guy with $500k annual salary or above.

You might say that I'm greedy, but an annual salary of $1M is considered only as middle class in New York.

My requirement is not high. Is there anyone in this forum who has an income of $500k annual salary? Are you all married?

I wanted to ask: what should I do to marry rich persons like you?

Among those I've dated, the richest is $250k annual income, and it seems that this is my upper limit.

If someone is going to move into high cost residential area on the west of New York City Garden(?), $250k annual income is not enough.

I'm here humbly to ask a few questions:
1) Where do most rich bachelors hang out? (Please list down the names and addresses of bars, restaurant, gym)
2) Which age group should I target?
3) Why most wives of the riches are only average-looking? I've met a few girls who don't have looks and are not interesting, but they are able to marry rich guys.

4) How do you decide who can be your wife, and who can only be your girlfriend? (my target now is to get married)

Ms. Pretty

A philosophical reply from CEO of J.P. Morgan:

Dear Ms. Pretty,
I have read your post with great interest. Guess there are lots of girls out there who have similar questions like yours. Please allow me to analyse your situation as a professional investor.

My annual income is more than $500k, which meets your requirement, so I hope everyone believes that I'm not wasting time here.

From the standpoint of a business person, it is a bad decision to marry you. The answer is very simple, so let me explain.

Put the details aside, what you're trying to do is an exchange of "beauty" and "money" : Person A provides beauty, and Person B pays for it, fair and square.

However, there's a deadly problem here, your beauty will fade, but my money will not be gone without any good reason. The fact is, my income might increase from year to year, but you can't be prettier year after year.

Hence from the viewpoint of economics, I am an appreciation asset, and you are a depreciation asset. It's not just normal depreciation, but exponential depreciation. If that is your only asset, your value will be much worse 10 years later.

By the terms we use in Wall Street, every trading has a position, dating with you is also a "trading position".
If the trade value dropped we will sell it and it is not a good idea to keep it for long term - same goes with the marriage that you wanted. It might be cruel to say this, but in order to make a wiser decision any assets with great depreciation value will be sold or "leased".

Anyone with over $500k annual income is not a fool; we would only date you, but will not marry you. I would advice that you forget looking for any clues to marry a rich guy. And by the way, you could make yourself to become a rich person with $500k annual income.This has better chance than finding a rich fool.

Hope this reply helps.

signed,
J.P. Morgan CEO

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Re: HELP! - my girl is kicking the lead out of the house!

I take it no one here has figured out how to solder lead-free?

Turn the heat up a bit on the soldering iron, and use Kingbo flux, which is some of the best stuff you can buy. It's cheap too. Still no match for good ole lead, but if the missus insists and you insist following her advice, there you go.

[Topcat]

Re: HELP! - my girl is kicking the lead out of the house!

the girl is like a supermodel

riiiight....

and besides, it's time all of us learned to solder lead-free because it will one day be the only choice

Not here it wont. I have more than a lifetime supply of trusty leaded solder.

and just because lead doesn't come off in the fumes doesn't mean the crumbs don't find their way into the dust of the house and could eventually accidentally contaminate food or water, so she has a good point.

you sound as dumb as you claim she is. the amounts of lead from solder it would take to do that would be more than you'd ever encounter repairing electronics in your living room in 20 lifetimes. You and wonderwoman seem to be a perfect low IQ match.

I take it no one here has figured out how to solder lead-free?

Tried it. Don't like it.

[cheapie]

Re: HELP! - my girl is kicking the lead out of the house!

Just take off the label and print another one that says lead free. Or switch the labels between spools. Or change the solder wires between them.

Or just write "free" under "lead" on the label.

[goontron]

Re: HELP! - my girl is kicking the lead out of the house!

I am the brains of the family, she doesn't have to be smart, she is just here to look great, be sweet, and be insatiable

Great so between the 2 of you your kids will have a IQ of 75 if they are lucky. And trust me her good looks will soon fade and you will be left with rotten worthless fruit.

wow abit harsh

[brethin]

Re: HELP! - my girl is kicking the lead out of the house!

[QUOTE=theOracle;346392]I am the brains of the family, she doesn't have to be smart, she is just here to look great, be sweet, and be insatiable /QUOTE]

Great so between the 2 of you your kids will have a IQ of 75 if they are lucky. And trust me her good looks will soon fade and you will be left with rotten worthless fruit.

[smason]

Re: HELP! - my girl is kicking the lead out of the house!

I am the brains of the family, she doesn't have to be smart, she is just here to look great, be sweet, and be insatiable

Wow, at least you have your priorities straight.
Personally I'd rather have smart.

Lead-free solder isn't rocket science. Crank the iron heat up a bit, and use a good quality solder, and just do it.