Re: [Elecraft] [POSSIBLE SPAM] Re: Cleaning solder flux

[Alan Bloom]

There are some components that can be damaged by water and/or cleaning 
detergent.  For example, you may need to re-lubricate the bearings of 
variable capacitors and other components with moving parts.


If water gets inside a power transformer it can be hard to dry it out.  
A method some use is to power up the transformer with low voltage, 
perhaps from a variable-voltage (Variac) transformer.  Make sure the 
power transformer has a big enough load to cause some self-heating 
(perhaps the filaments of the equipment that the transformer is 
powering) and leave it for a few days to dry out before applying full 
voltage.  Place the equipment in a safe spot (concrete floor) and make 
sure it is well-fused in case a short does occur.


Alan N1AL


On 1/2/2022 12:20 PM, Fred Jensen wrote:
My S-Line acquired some tropical fungus that lived in the IF cans and 
would creep out onto the chassis in fuzzy little splotches.  I found 
that a trip to the DIY car wash followed by a hair dryer worked 
wonders.  Never seemed to bother the operation or calibration of the 
RX and TX either.


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Re: [Elecraft] [POSSIBLE SPAM] Re: Cleaning solder flux

[Fred Jensen]

My S-Line acquired some tropical fungus that lived in the IF cans and 
would creep out onto the chassis in fuzzy little splotches.  I found 
that a trip to the DIY car wash followed by a hair dryer worked 
wonders.  Never seemed to bother the operation or calibration of the RX 
and TX either.


73,

Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW
Sparks NV DM09dn
Washoe County

Dr. William J. Schmidt wrote on 1/2/2022 7:10 AM:

On the subject of using water on electrical components... most components 
(particularly if they might be mil spec) are made for water emersion (NOT 
ALL!).  In my office lab we routinely clean circuit boards by scrubbing them 
with just water and force-drying them.  Works fine.  About a decade ago, I used 
to buy up surplus AM/ broadcast band transmitters for repurposing to other 
countries (mainly south America) for the Christian broadcasting markets.  Once 
back at my shop, the first stop was a good through power washing in the 
driveway (paper and other water damaged goods removed of course) followed by a 
good drying (leaf blower).  Works fine!


Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ 
VP2EHZ






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Re: [Elecraft] [POSSIBLE SPAM] Re: Cleaning solder flux

[Dr. William J. Schmidt]

During my under-graduate and graduate school careers, I worked at Honeywell's 
circuit board fabrication shop for about a year and a half.  We had two 
machines in the shop that dealt with flux: a reflow machine and a parts set 
machine.  The reflow machine was used to reflow the solder after plating so 
that it looked shiny.  The board was emersed in a 601-type flux, heated to 
about 425F, cooled down, and then scrubbed (brushed) with Isopropanol alcohol 
three times (stages) with a water rinse and force-air dried (all 
automagically).  The solder was beautiful and shiny at the end of this process. 
 The parts-setting machine was similar... the whole (pre-reflowed) board was 
fluxed, the parts set, heated, and then cleaned.  All fluxes come off with 
Isopropanol alcohol (remember IPA is polar like water and works that way).

Fluxes come in various forms... some are more corrosive and some not... so you 
should follow the directions (right off the website).  Rosin can remain on a 
board, but also can be problematic because it can collect debris (dust and 
other unwanted materials) because its plastic (flows at room temperature) 
sticky.  Many of the water-soluble fluxes are more acidic, and will tarnish the 
solder joints if not removed.

On the subject of using water on electrical components... most components 
(particularly if they might be mil spec) are made for water emersion (NOT 
ALL!).  In my office lab we routinely clean circuit boards by scrubbing them 
with just water and force-drying them.  Works fine.  About a decade ago, I used 
to buy up surplus AM/ broadcast band transmitters for repurposing to other 
countries (mainly south America) for the Christian broadcasting markets.  Once 
back at my shop, the first stop was a good through power washing in the 
driveway (paper and other water damaged goods removed of course) followed by a 
good drying (leaf blower).  Works fine!


Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ 
VP2EHZ

Owner - Operator
Big Signal Ranch – K9ZC
Staunton, Illinois

Owner – Operator
Villa Grand Piton – J68HZ
Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I.
Rent it: www.VillaGrandPiton.com
Like us on Facebook! 

Moderator – North American QRO Group at Groups.IO.

email:  b...@wjschmidt.com


-Original Message-
From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net  On 
Behalf Of eda...@aya.yale.edu
Sent: Saturday, January 1, 2022 10:36 PM
To: 'Mark Goldberg' 
Cc: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: [POSSIBLE SPAM] Re: [Elecraft] Cleaning solder flux

Yes, that makes sense; though my focus was on Elecraft’s boards in their 
traditional kits.  For my very limited purpose the replies have told me enough 
and I am grateful for them all.

 

I am reminded nonetheless of a trope that’s popular in the kind of work I do, 
or did:  “If all the economists in the world were laid end to end, they would 
still not reach a conclusion.”

 

There’s a similar quote by Dorothy Parker, but I’ll leave that one for off-line.

 

Ted, KN1CBR

 

 

 

 

From: Mark Goldberg 
Sent: Saturday, January 1, 2022 9:24 PM
To: eda...@aya.yale.edu
Cc: Elecraft Mailing List 
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Cleaning solder flux

 

There is no clear consensus because there are many different fluxes, different 
use cases and different environmental conditions that the products will be 
expected to be used in. It would be useful to find out what the manufacturer of 
the particular flux used says to do. That is not sufficient, as the product 
requirements then come into play. If you really want to go off the deep end, 
get copies of IPC-A-610 and J-STD-001, which define how electronic assemblies 
should be built and inspected. Unfortunately, unless you have access through 
work or academia, they cost money. They also reference many other documents for 
specific aspects.

 

73,

 

Mark

W7MLG

 

On Sat, Jan 1, 2022 at 7:56 PM mailto:eda...@aya.yale.edu> > wrote:

My thanks to the many who replied.  The answer to my question - whether there 
is a consensus about how (or whether) to remove solder flux from PCBs
- is a clear no, there is no consensus.



But I learned a lot.  Tnx to all,



Ted, KN1CBR



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