Don't use plumbing flux, it is acidic and can eat into the copper wires. Electrical flux like rosin is not acidic.
Soldering question...
- Thread starter Dokkodo
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Which is of course exactly how it works very effectively on copper pipe.I have used this technique on stubborn joints for years without issues. You certainly do have to make sure you use it very sparigly, and clean properly afterwards, otherwise yes you would have issues in future. But for instances where all normal techniques have not worked, this has never failed me. If access for cleaning afterwards is an issue then you can use it as a preparation beforehand. I also find that the moern lead free solders are nothing like as effective, unless everything is spotless. Ì treasuure a stock of old lead solder for those more challenging situations
You can still buy lead based solder for both plumbing and electrical / electronic's . For avionics, medical and mil specs then I believe you can only use lead based solder which does say something for lead free!
Have seen it for elecrical use, didnt know you could still get it for plumbing. Fortunately i still have enough rolls of the good old stuff to see me out!
charles79130
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I find if it’s clean and fluxed it will flow I usually used cored solder on wiring ( solder with flex inside) good luck
chas
Yes with plumbing you can use lead but not on potable water supplies. What some plumbers do is to roll lead solder onto the spool saying lead free. We have had lead solder for decades, I cannot recal any deaths as a direct result of plunbers using lead solder, there are still a lot of houses with lead pipes and the only joint failures I have had, have been with lead free. You are probably inhaling more toxins and such just by walking through London than the lead used in pipework has delivered to the population.
Yes, sill have a lead main here. And at my dads cottage he still has a number of pipes with the big egg shaped lead joints. He's nearly 100 and still going strong. As for air pollution I seem to recall reading somwhere that if you drive a modern low emission, cat etc car through some cities the air coming out of the exhaust pipe can be cleaner than the stuff going in
And you need different flux for silver solder. The borax type and a lot of heat from a gas torch. I don’t recommend using it.
Henniep
Established Member
Maybe you could crimp a tiny ferrel to the end of the wire and the solder
Henniep
Established Member
Correction - then solder
Yorkieguy
Established Member
You need to use the same time of solder as was originally used. I can’t remember at what stage lead-free solder was introduced, but its some years now, so if the joint was made with that and you’re using 60/40 lead/tin solder, or conversely, the joints were made with lead/tin and you’re using lead-free, they won’t mix. Well they will, after a fashion, but in my experience, the alloy created has a much higher melting point.
You can buy small bottles of non-corrosive liquid flux as is used in SMD PCB production. It works well with both types of solder.
The coil is itself is just a few turns of fine enamelled copper wire. Much depends on the age of the speakers, but as often as not, the wire is self-fluxing and when the enamel melts, the joint will solder without cleaning off the enamel or using flux. (assuming the solder is flux cored, as it usually is).
Hope that might help a bit.
You can buy small bottles of non-corrosive liquid flux as is used in SMD PCB production. It works well with both types of solder.
The coil is itself is just a few turns of fine enamelled copper wire. Much depends on the age of the speakers, but as often as not, the wire is self-fluxing and when the enamel melts, the joint will solder without cleaning off the enamel or using flux. (assuming the solder is flux cored, as it usually is).
Hope that might help a bit.
Auldfart2010
Established Member
Tons of interesting 'how to' videos here.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=solder+speaker+cones
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=solder+speaker+cones
As has been said just be aware plumbing flux tends to be rather strong and can be both water soluble (easy clean) and not so easy!
It will hopefully achieve what you want but should be neutralised or cleaned off to prevent future damage to the surrounding cone.
John Hall
Established Member
Some one has already mentioned it, but the fact you say the metal is silver coloured when yo removed the coating may mean it’s not copper…it may be aluminium…in which case it’s back to the drawing board
Seascaper
Established Member
Hello,
It could just be your solder, use a solder which has flux in it. Take a look as RS Components for the correct solder
Regards
Yes cleaning any residue is important, so it doesnt carry on working afterwards. So needs to be used vary sparingly and neutralised/cleaned with a dampened q tip or contact cleaner. I certainly wouldnt advocate using it routinely, but when you are in that last chance saloon situation, when the next move is to have to bin the thing, its well worth a try. Has got me out of a hole on many occasions. It is also useful for soldering dissimilar metals. I do regularly use it for soldering brass curb pins onto steel regulator arms in pocket watches. Have tried various specialist products, but have never found anything else that does the job as well.
It seems to me that this is a common problem with many modern products, be it flux/solder or for example weedkiller. Making them free from nasty ingredients is all very well, but often leaves you with a product which doesnt actually work as well as the old fashioned "dirty" version.
guineafowl21
Established Member
I’ve managed to solder headphone and speaker wires in the past by flicking a lighter flame over the end. Any coatings burn off, and you can scrape it clean, flux and tin it. They are quite delicate so be careful.
Back in my younger days and well before noise pollution police and asbo,s I had two 18” base bins home made of course. Every now and again 1 bin would drop out - I had to remove the back and literally climb in and re-solder this tiny wire back onto the coil. It would last a few weeks then fail again , In the end I could do the repair in a few mins - I used a standard soldering iron and some old resin cored solder -I think it came off the arc . I have a small refillable torch with a catalytic converter that heats a small soldering tip to a high temperature-it could be worth trying this method if all else fails. I’ll post a pic of my torch when I’m back at home .
throbscottle
Established Member
I'm inclined to think the wire will be aluminium because of its light weight. The silver colour would tend to corroborate that. You can get special solder for that.
Re: enamel - it's entirety possible that it's plain enamel and not polyputthekettleon type, which doesn't melt and has to be scraped off.
Re: enamel - it's entirety possible that it's plain enamel and not polyputthekettleon type, which doesn't melt and has to be scraped off.
sawtooth-9
Established Member
Wire corrosion is the formation of an oxide, flux does not REMOVE the oxide.
Whether the wire is copper, aluminium or other - they will either oxidise ( or in marine environments form chlorides )
Flux just assists in the soldering process by "wetting" between the base metal and the solder.
It may appear that you have formed a good fusion, but not so.
If the wire has ANY signs of corrosion - just replace it
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