[TechAssist] Re: 1 pound roll solder, 50 feet of chem wick

  • From: Ed Gaidies <teltek3@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: techassist@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2005 16:55:26 -0400

Gary;
About 8 Years ago I bought some Solder Wick from Rosgol in Montreal.
Really good price...didn't work worth a Damn.
     These were 25' rolls.  I bought 10 rolls...still have 9 left.

As far as Dri-Wik...use what you know.

     I bought a 1000 foot roll of Coaxial Cable (RG59),,8 years  
ago...for $95, which had a good copper braid. Takes some time to  
separate the braid from the core. But consider...1000 feet of Dri- 
wick for $95...good deal...since Cathray wants $4.75 for 5'.

     May not be wise to do that these days, since I believe they use  
Aluminum shielding.

-Ed-
On Jul 24, 2005, at 3:22 PM, Gary McCartney wrote:

> I had a 50' roll of wick that wouldn't pick up any solder. I fixed  
> it by
> soaking the wick in liquid solder flux, then drying it in the sun.
> Worked fine then.
>
>
>
>
>
> Gary McCartney
>
> McCartney Electronics
> Guelph Ontario Canada
> Est. 1984
> email: gary (at) number63.ca
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> gulftech@xxxxxxxx wrote:
>
>> My apologies to those of you who are getting tired of this thread.
>>
>> John reminded me of a point I want to make.
>>
>> First, all solder wick is not created equal.  I have had some  
>> rolls that
>> just wouldn't work.  I have had the best luck with Techspray No- 
>> clean,
>> but some rolls of the same brand are better than others.
>>
>> Second, wick has a limited life.  Did you wonder why wick comes in a
>> vacuum-sealed bag?  That is done to lessen oxidation of the  
>> copper.  Once
>> oxidided, the wick is almost worthless.  I once bought 50 5-ft  
>> rolls from
>> a distributor at what I thought was a great price.  It was so poor  
>> that I
>> threw almost all of it into the garbage.
>>
>> Third, it may be better to get rolls of 25' than 50 or 100.  It  
>> depends
>> on how much you use.  (Wayne could probably do with the smallest
>> available!)  Once the package is opened, the rate of oxidation  
>> increases,
>> so you end up thinking mean, nasty things about the distributor you
>> bought it from thinking they sold you garbage.  For that reason, I  
>> only
>> open one roll at a time, and roll out 10 feet at a time to other  
>> techs in
>> the shop.  Also, helps me keep track of wasteful usage.  I can  
>> understand
>> Perry's situation of working in the home, where desolding stations or
>> desoldering irons are impractical, but I cringe when I see a tech  
>> waste
>> five feet of wick on a flyback.  Yes, I tend to micromanage!
>>
>> Now, if someone has ideas on the best brand of wick, I'd be  
>> interested...
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>>
>> Ken Smith
>> Gulf Technical Services
>> 3034 Gulf Breeze Parkway
>> Gulf Breeze, FL  32563
>> 850-934-8324 (Voice) 850-932-0819 (Fax)
>>
>> On Sun, 24 Jul 2005 13:54:46 -0400 "John @ Myers TV "
>> <myers_tv_b@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
>>
>>
>>> I met a fellw once who desoldered with freeze spray. He didn't care
>>> that
>>> he wound up with blobs of solder all over the board.
>>>
>>> As for me, I swear by solder-wik. I buy it in 50 ft rolls, but
>>> splurged
>>> last time for a 100ft roll.
>>>
>>> John Myers
>>> Myers TV Service Co.
>>> 376 E. State St.
>>> Alliance, OH 44601
>>>
>>> Voice / Fax: 330-821-6545
>>> Myers_tv_b@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> http://www.myerstv.net
>>>
>>> Work as if you were to live a hundred years,
>>> Pray as if you were to die tomorrow.
>>>                            Ben Franklin
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> tjanphyl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> I have several of those blue spring loaded desolder tubes you cock
>>>>
>>>
>>> on
>>>
>>>
>>>> your knee and push the button. It sucks flyback pins good,and any
>>>> massive globs and I use wik on the ICs. You know this is like
>>>> anything. Bowling, skeets,baseball,fishing.You can find a dozen
>>>>
>>>
>>> guys
>>>
>>>
>>>> who swear BY one thing, and the other dozen swears AT it. Do what
>>>>
>>>
>>> you
>>>
>>>
>>>> are most efficient with and that's what will make you more money.
>>>> Phil
>>>>
>>>> Phil Bader, Pres.
>>>> Jan Phyl TV Inc
>>>> Winter Haven, Fl
>>>> (863) 299-8821
>>>> estab. 1976
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: Electric Medic <info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>>> Date: Sunday, July 24, 2005 12:31 pm
>>>> Subject: [TechAssist] Re: 1 pound roll solder, 50 feet of chem
>>>>
>>>
>>> wick
>>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Wayne: I tried those desolder stations one time, it was a Pace. It
>>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>> was blue
>>>>> with a foot pedal and all. Had a long clear hose that ran up to
>>>>> the tool. I
>>>>> was not coordinated enough to use it. I tried and tried to work
>>>>>
>>>
>>> that
>>>
>>>
>>>>> contraption, I was running solder all over the board. I couldn't
>>>>> suck and
>>>>> heat at the same time. I would suck after the solder was cool or
>>>>> vice versa.
>>>>> I would melt the plastic tip so the hole was to big then it would
>>>>> slurp up
>>>>> chip components. I wouldn't even try it on those tiny areas where
>>>>> those chip
>>>>>
>>>
>>> mponents are everywhere. I remember using it on a tuner that I
>>>
>>>
>>>>> replaced on
>>>>> some brand and I sucked up a chip resistor and I almost never
>>>>> figured out
>>>>> what was wrong with that set. Plus, I couldn't use it on service
>>>>> calls. I
>>>>> know I waste a lot of wick especially on flybacks, I must have 6"
>>>>> of the
>>>>> stuff hanging with solder on it taking out a flyback, but I am
>>>>> used to it.
>>>>>
>>>>> Perry Bower
>>>>> Electric Medic
>>>>> "It's Cheaper to Keep Her"
>>>>> http://www.electricmedic.com
>>>>> 3850 Washington Road  Suite 4C
>>>>> Martinez, Georgia 30907
>>>>> Phone: 706-8MEDIC4  (863-3424)
>>>>> Phone: 706-863-3474
>>>>> Fax: 706-863-2316
>>>>> mailto:info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: techassist-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>>> [mailto:techassist-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Wayne Vanaman
>>>>> Sent: Sunday, July 24, 2005 10:49 AM
>>>>> To: techassist@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>>> Subject: [TechAssist] Re: 1 pound roll solder, 50 feet of chem
>>>>>
>>>
>>> wick
>>>
>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Hey Perry, buy a desolder station.
>>>>> I put the date on a 50 foot roll of chem wick when I opened it: 26
>>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>> june2001.  I finished that roll off on 26 June 2005.  Four years.
>>>>>
>>>>> Not only will you spend less on chem wik, desoldering is faster
>>>>> with a
>>>>> desolder station.  I spend about a dollar a month on filters. Much
>>>>> cheaper than chem wik.  It takes about two seconds to desolder a
>>>>> joint,and no damage to the board.
>>>>>
>>>>> If I used two rolls of solder wik a month, 2x$10=$20 $20x48
>>>>>
>>>
>>> months=
>>>
>>>
>>>>> $960.  I bought my solder station for about $1500 in 1993.  That
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> would
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> be 144 months times $20 = $2880 minus the $1500= over $1300
>>>>>
>>>
>>> savings,
>>>
>>>
>>>>> plus the time saved.  My solder station was paid for long, long
>>>>>
>>>
>>> ago.
>>>
>>>
>>>>> Wayne Vanaman
>>>>> Omega Electronics
>>>>> 6904 W Fairfield Dr
>>>>> Pensacola, Fl.  32506-3310
>>>>>
>>>>> Wayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>>> WWW.PensacolaTVRepair.Com
>>>>>
>>>>> 850-456-5995 voice
>>>>> 850-458-6369 fax
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Electric Medic wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> Is that correct? 18 Month's for one roll of solder? I never
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> thought about
>>>>> it
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> and I am not sure how long it takes me to go through a roll. I
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> use off
>>>>> rolls
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> everywhere, one in my toolbox, one in the truck, and one on each
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> bench. I
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> know my wife bought about 20 rolls of the stuff sitting up there
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> on the
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> shelf. I think the parts salesperson talks us into a roll every
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> time we
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> order parts. That will probably last me 30 years. Hey, I finally
>>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> was
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>> good-newsed, I won't have to by solder again. I can retire on
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> what I have.
>>>>> I
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> wish the wick would last that long. I must go through those 50'
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> foot white
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> round ones in 2 weeks.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Perry Bower
>>>>>> Electric Medic
>>>>>> "It's Cheaper to Keep Her"
>>>>>> http://www.electricmedic.com
>>>>>> 3850 Washington Road  Suite 4C
>>>>>> Martinez, Georgia 30907
>>>>>> Phone: 706-8MEDIC4  (863-3424)
>>>>>> Phone: 706-863-3474
>>>>>> Fax: 706-863-2316
>>>>>> mailto:info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
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