{"id":5813,"date":"2015-01-20T09:17:24","date_gmt":"2015-01-20T17:17:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/?p=5813"},"modified":"2015-09-26T11:10:55","modified_gmt":"2015-09-26T18:10:55","slug":"cool-tools-flux","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/cool-tools-flux\/","title":{"rendered":"Cool Tools: Flux!"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m a believer in using the right flux for the job, and as such I keep a variety of electronics fluxes on my bench. Here are some of my favorites.<\/p>\n

MG Chemicals 835<\/h3>\n

\"835-100ML\"<\/a><\/p>\n

MG Chemicals 835<\/a> is an\u00a0electronics-grade activated rosin (RA) flux that is useful for a wide variety of soldering applications. The high activity rosin formula is helpful for soldering corroded copper wires and oxidized components or tarnished copper clad. It’s readily available at most electronics stores, inexpensive, and versatile. The biggest downside of this flux is that since it contains a very high solids content (50%), it tends to leave gummy rosin residue on everything it touches (including your fingers).\u00a0This flux is also available in a flux pen<\/a>. The RA designation implies that all flux residue should be thoroughly removed after soldering to prevent long term corrosion and electrical leakage.<\/p>\n

Kester 186<\/h3>\n

Kester 186<\/a> (datasheet<\/a>) flux is a lower solids content RMA flux (36%) and IMHO the ideal compromise between activity and residue. If I had one flux on my bench, this would be it.<\/strong> Kester sells it in flux pens or by the gallon (and one gallon will last years in even the busiest prototyping lab) but fortunately you can\u00a0buy smaller bottles on eBay<\/a>. Kester claims the residue can be left on your PCB but I usually clean it off if long term reliability is a concern.<\/p>\n

Kester 951<\/h3>\n

Kester 951<\/a>\u00a0(datasheet<\/a>) \u00a0is a low solids (2%) \u00a0rosin-free no-clean organic flux that is useful for situations where cleanup would be difficult or impractical and flux residue must be minimized. This flux is surprisingly\u00a0readily available on eBay<\/a> and seems to be very popular with the Xbox repair crowd. It is the lowest activity flux I have on hand and can be frustrating to use if the components to be soldered are anything but spotlessly clean. During soldering, this flux remains active for a matter of seconds before largely evaporating. I would avoid it unless you’re doing really fine work (eg. soldering close to bare die) where removing flux residue might damage bondwires or sensitive components.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Flux Dispensers<\/h3>\n

\"FD-21\"<\/p>\n

These Plato flux dispensers<\/a> are my favorite dispensing tool and are perfect for applying a precise drop of flux to just the right spot on a PCB, minimizing mess and cleanup. They are inexpensive, high quality, and easy to use. These are available from many distributors (Techni-Tool, Mouser, etc.), but I usually order from All-Spec<\/a> because they typically have the best pricing.\u00a0I prefer the Plato FD-21 (0.010″ needle) for thinner fluxes such as Kester 186 and the FD-2 (0.020″ needle) for thicker fluxes like MG Chemicals 835.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m a believer in using the right flux for the job, and as such I keep a variety of electronics fluxes on my bench. Here are some of my favorites. MG Chemicals 835 MG Chemicals 835 is an\u00a0electronics-grade activated rosin (RA) flux that is useful for a wide variety of soldering applications. The high activity … Continue reading Cool Tools: Flux!<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[40,5],"tags":[485,492],"class_list":["post-5813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books-and-resources","category-electronics","tag-cool-tools","tag-flux"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/835-100ML.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pioCd-1vL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8451,"url":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/2016\/06\/mightyohm-guest-spot-on-the-embedded-fm-podcast\/","url_meta":{"origin":5813,"position":0},"title":"MightyOhm guest spot on the Embedded.fm podcast","author":"Jeff","date":"June 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week I was honored to be a guest on the Embedded.fm podcast. Embedded.fm is \"the weekly podcast for people who love making gadgets\", and is hosted by embedded rockstars Elecia\u00a0White and Chris White. We spoke about developing hardware at Valve, soldering, amateur radio, RF engineering, and the finer points\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Announcements"","block_context":{"text":"Announcements","link":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/category\/announcements\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4398,"url":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/2011\/11\/new-flickr-group-for-your-electronics-workbench\/","url_meta":{"origin":5813,"position":1},"title":"New Flickr Group for your Electronics Workbench","author":"Jeff","date":"November 18, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Ahh, the electronics workbench - shrine to the electron, the diode, the transistor, the soldering pencil and flux pen. You can learn a lot about someone by looking at their workspace. Note the way that they store components (in pullout drawers or plastic organizers?), hang test leads (on hooks or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Electronics"","block_context":{"text":"Electronics","link":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/category\/electronics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"workbench","src":"href=http:\/\/mightyohm.com\/files\/flickr\/4699351571_651d9d96ae.jpg","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2115,"url":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/2009\/09\/coombs-printed-circuits-handbook\/","url_meta":{"origin":5813,"position":2},"title":"Coombs: Printed Circuits Handbook","author":"Jeff","date":"September 24, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"If The Art of Electronics is the bible of electronic circuit design, then the Printed Circuits Handbook is almost certainly the bible of printed circuit board (PCB) technology. I say this because even if you disregard the volumes of useful information inside (much of which I have never seen elsewhere\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Books and Resources"","block_context":{"text":"Books and Resources","link":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/category\/books-and-resources\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Printed Circuits Handbook","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/41b213YFWHL.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5801,"url":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/cool-tools-menda-35622-spudger\/","url_meta":{"origin":5813,"position":3},"title":"Cool Tools: Menda 35622 Spudger","author":"Jeff","date":"January 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Menda 35622 spudger\u00a0(datasheet), an official Apple repair tool made famous by ifixit's iPhone repair guides, is\u00a0handy for all sorts of spudging(?) applications, including bending, prying, pushing, shoving, tweaking, twisting, scraping, and soldering. These are now readily\u00a0available from most electronics and phone repair shops, but I usually buy them in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Books and Resources"","block_context":{"text":"Books and Resources","link":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/category\/books-and-resources\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/menda_35622.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/menda_35622.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/menda_35622.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/menda_35622.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5831,"url":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/cool-tools-metcal-mx-5211-soldering-station\/","url_meta":{"origin":5813,"position":4},"title":"Cool Tools: Metcal MX-5211 Soldering Station","author":"Jeff","date":"January 26, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This is it! This Metcal soldering station will make you put away your Weller or Hakko and never look back! The dual simultaneous iron feature means you no longer need to buy two Metcal base units in order to solder SMT components with both hands! At over $800, these cost\u00a0more\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Books and Resources"","block_context":{"text":"Books and Resources","link":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/category\/books-and-resources\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/81fb-NNmMqL._SL1500_.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/81fb-NNmMqL._SL1500_.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/81fb-NNmMqL._SL1500_.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/81fb-NNmMqL._SL1500_.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/81fb-NNmMqL._SL1500_.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/81fb-NNmMqL._SL1500_.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5386,"url":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/2013\/01\/soldering-is-easy-shoutout-in-lifehackers-how-to-get-started-with-diy-electronics-projects\/","url_meta":{"origin":5813,"position":5},"title":"Soldering is Easy shoutout in Lifehacker’s “How to Get Started with DIY Electronics Projects”","author":"Jeff","date":"January 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Photo credit: bionerd Soldering is Easy got a shoutout from Lifehacker's Thorin Klosowski\u00a0this week in his post How to Get Started with DIY Electronics Projects, alongside Ladyada's \"E is for Electronics\" coloring book. Lots of great advice here: One of the key things to learn right off the bat is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Electronics"","block_context":{"text":"Electronics","link":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/category\/electronics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"null","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm9.staticflickr.com\/8094\/8354836798_332aba85d9.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5813"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5826,"href":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5813\/revisions\/5826"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mightyohm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}