Why not use liquid solder on coils?

[Texas Al]

The intro copy pretty much says it all. Is liquid solder in any way less stable, temperature tolerant, less effective than the traditional type? If not, then why haven't I heard of anybody using it when making windmill stators?

[RP]

I don't understand the question.  Is "liquid solder" some kind of room temperature solder product?

[DaveW]

All of the above and more.  It has a fairly short shelf life, requires the proper amount and type of flux, a carefully controlled temperature range to make a good joint, and a lot of practice to become proficient at hand soldering. The solder I use has the proper flux built in, keeps practically forever, and is more forgiving as to temperature range.  Simply clean the wire, make a good mechanical connection, solder it, clean the flux off to stop further etching, and slide the heat shrink in place.  Then turn off the iron and go on to the next job.  I have the tools and equipment to place surface mount components (the primary use for liquid solder) but I would never use it on the stator wiring.

[craig110]

DaveW,

With all those good attributes, if someone is proficient at using it why would you still not recommend it for stator wiring?  While reading your comment it sounded like great stuff until I hit the "but I would never use it on the stator wiring" conclusion.

Craig

[kell]

Maybe you misread his post.

CONVENTIONAL solder has "the proper flux built in, keeps practically forever, and is more forgiving as to temperature range."

LIQUID solder has the several disadvantages he described such as limited shelf life, critical temperature treatment etc.

Liquid solder is a special product developed to make surface mount work easier, not point-to-point wiring.  I don't think it would even be good for through-hole pc work, let alone joining big wires together.  It would be pointless to give yourself headaches trying to make liquid solder work in an application like that.  Not even sure how you would do it.

[craig110]

Ok, I see how I misread it.  The phrase "The solder I use" was a bit ambiguous as it could have meant (as I read it) a particular type of liquid solder that was better than the generic liquid solder in some ways.

Craig

[DaveW]

Sorry I rushed the comment, I didn't mean to leave it as ambiguous as it sounds on re-reading. The solder I prefer is a tin-lead flux core eutectic (Multicore) solder with good wetting properties and a temperature controlled iron with a tip sized for the job. This combination gives the best results.  Liquid solder (which is not a liquid but a paste) is a product designed for surface mount devices and is best handled by automatic machines. Even when doing rework on surface mount boards I have been known to reach for my needle tip 6 watt iron and the smallest multicore I have, rather than drag out the equipment, get the liquid solder out of the fridge, bring it to room temperature, fill the injector, and finally solder a few joints.  Doing all this for a few wire joints to me is using the wrong tool for the job and would probably result in an inferior job as well.