Re: NF7-S Rev. 2.0 Bad Capacitor (see pic)



60/40 is fine. 63/37 is easier to work with due to a lower melting point.

The 450 degrees is in F not C (450C would cause the tip of your soldering iron to glow if you turned down the lights). 450F is a bit warm but if you have a low power iron you might need to heat the iron up a hotter to keep up with the load. Ideally you want to have the iron in the solder as short of time as possible because, you are right, if the body of the capacitor were to heat up too far you would end up damaging it....

Re: Why desolder the old?

In pretty much all respects nothing comes close to the ideal properties of the old sn/pb alloy so its not surprising most of the early adopters have had problems (we switched over pretty much on the last day we could). This even includes the new lead free alloys and processes (first off they stress the electrical components more due to the heat required in the ovens).

Typically join contamination causes problems the worse in areas of higher mechanical or thermal stress. This means most often a through-hole component will be the first to exhibit...

Re: Why desolder the old?



I know this is an old post but I just wanted to make sure people had a word of caution when it comes to mixing solder formulations.

Solders are typically bi-metalic compounds that have been rigorously tested to meet desired properties. When you introduce other elements into the mix those properties change. The major one we are concerned about is the eutectic temperature. This is the point when the solder as an aqueous solution begins to cool it will solidify almost universally. Adding another element to the mix will alter...