Fire Metall Eutectic Solder
Description
Fire Metall is Norwegian for "Four Metal". This is a reference to the basic makeup of the solder -Tin/Lead/Silver/Copper.
It was designed by a diyAudio member Einric (an electronics technician with 20 years experience and also passionate DIYer), to be the perfect solder for do-it-yourself hobbyists to use for their audio projects.
Specifications
- Sn/Pb/Ag/Cu
- 0.020" (0.5mm) diameter
- 3% MAR core
- Made in the USA
- 4oz (113g) spool
Composition
A eutectic (melts and solidifies at one temperature) solder blend of four metals. Tin and lead have been used for years to make the solder that many people are familiar with.
Traditionally eutectic tin/lead solder is a 63/37% blend. High tech eutectic solder has 2% of silver integrated into the blend. This silver additive provides additional mechanical strength to the joint.
I have chosen to add a proprietary amount of copper to the mix. The copper additive provides resistance to thermal cycle fatigue, improves the wetting process of the joint and improves soldering iron tip life. To further improve the wetting of the solder joint I have chosen a Mildly Active Rosin (MAR) core. This helps to clean the joint surfaces during the soldering process.
Internal testing has shown that the melting point of the solder is approximately 330F/165C. The eutectic nature of the solder is very handy for beginners, it reduces the chances of a "cold solder joint". The low melting point reduces the time spent on each joint.
The smaller (0.020") diameter has multiple benefits;
- Lower thermal mass at the joint.
- Greater control over the amount of solder being applied to the joint.
- Ease of application in tightly packed circuits.
Usage
I do all my soldering at 650F (343C) with a 3/16" (4.8mm) chisel tip. It works well for 90% of everything I do. I solder in a 3 second cadence, "On One Thousand, Heat One Thousand, Off One Thousand". If I can't get the joint filled in that time then I wait for the joint to cool and try again, this helps to prevent lifting any PCB traces.
I recommend that all boards be cleaned after soldering is completed. Even "no clean" solder should have the boards cleaned because dust can build up on the rosin residue. Over time you can build up enough dust to start collecting trace moisture from the air. This build up can create a noisy circuit under certain circumstances. Rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover and an old tooth brush works really well at cleaning the boards.
For some great soldering how-to videos, we recommend having a look at the great videos in Dave Jones' EEV Blog Soldering Playlist, or jump straight to Dave's soldering technique in this one.
At home Einric uses a Hakko FX-888D which is an excellent all-round choice for any hobbyist. At work he uses a Pace PRC-2000 (which can sometimes be found cheaper on eBay, and being industrial equipment will serve you for a lifetime).
Customer Reviews
As a longtime audio hobbyist this particular product is new to me, having used numerous solder types previously including another popular brand eutectic. So far I’m finding FIRE-METALL is terrific for wiring passive crossovers, as well as for terminating speaker cables and interconnects. It has excellent joint strength and looks great too in case the finished work will be exposed. I expect to see the same desirable results with PCBs though I rarely dabble with them.
When experimenting with eutectic solder for the first time it can be tricky to command, but once the correct temp is dialed in your project(s) will thank you and your patience will be rewarded.
(With their rebuild still in progress, the first-order crossovers depicted belong to a pair of ‘70’s era Rectilinear XI’s… a ported 10” 2-way bookshelf design employing the ever popular 2” paper cone tweeter with phenolic-ring surround. Only the sand-cast resistor being kept for posterity, all else upgraded. FIRE-METALL used throughout to optimize performance and longevity.)
This solder is easy to use and I recommend it.
So I have used Cardas eutectic solder exclusively because I have always had good luck with it's workability. I recently switched to Fire Metal as a way to support DIYaudiostore. Also, if I need something else while I am ordering solder, it is a convenient way to save on shipping. Also, the Firemetal is a little cheaper... There are pros and cons to each.
Both flow great and leave nice shiny solder joints. The Firemetal is much better for fine work due to its thickness compared to the Cardas.
I tend to bend my lead to a shape and hold the wire itself with my hand to get around parts etc. With the Cardas, it holds its shape and is easier to see. When you need three hands to do a particular task, it can be difficult to find the wire of the Firemetal while you are scrambling due to how thin it is.
Feeding the wire into crossover parts, 3+ watt resistors, snap in caps takes a much faster feed rate with the firemetal than the Cardas.
The flux seems to clean off of the Firemetal solder joints a lot easier than the Cardas.
So all in all, I will stick with the Firemetal solder as I get to support the DIYaudio store. The other reason is Firemetal lists the ingrediants where as Cardas has a 'secret formula'.
As a kind of rookie in soldering, I am very happy using the fire metal solder. Thank you.
It’s a pleasure to work with, THANK YOU:))
Love the low melting poing and the diameters just right
This solder is everything they say; melts at low temp, and produces solid good looking connections. Very nice for use on connections where lead spacing is tight (eg., small transistors). But many of my solder joints don't have that constraint, so it would be nice to have another version with slightly larger diameter.
Just getting back into soldering, very easy to use, melts fast, hardens fast.
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