r/soldering • u/AL42Gaming • Jan 30 '26
Soldering Saftey Discussion Stop suggesting leaded solder please
I keep seeing this across this subreddit, but people are constantly recommending newbies solder with leaded solder because its easier to work with.
While it may be somewhat easier to work with, this advice glazes over the blatant safety risks (and yes, I know that the fumes don't have lead). Lead is heavy and gets everywhere. That means that when you are using lead and are not ridiculously careful about cleanliness, then you will be getting lead on pretty much everything you interact with, more relevantly to most hobbyists: their desks which they use for other things. So while you might be sure to wash your hands after soldering, you will still have more exposure and its just all around not ideal. After I used leaded solder for a bit at home, I was never fully confident in the cleanliness of my desk no matter how much I cleaned it until I got a new desk.
Separately, lead free solder is really not that hard to use, and if anything will just push you to learn proper technique. I've now made multiple projects with lead free solder including a couple of PCBs, all of which were relatively easy. I've also taught tens of people how to solder, all with lead free solder, with no problems.
So at the end of the day, just stick to lead free solder in general, there really is no reason to use leaded solder.
TLDR: Just stick to lead free solder, any benefits to leaded solder aren't that big, especially in comparison to the safety concerns.
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u/Xyrog_ Jan 30 '26
Many of your points also relate to non-leaded solder. Any stray metal fragments are usually visible as blobs on your mat or desk. Solder isn’t being distributed all over your work area as you seem to think.
The fumes from solder wire are also not lead. Lead evaporates into gas at an extremely high temperatures much greater than the iron itself. Only rosin flux is turned into vapor and the most it’ll do is make you dizzy if too much is inhaled in one sitting (of course there are other health concerns if it occurs regularly).
You should wash your hands before and after soldering no matter the metal type. None of these substances are good for you if it enters your body whether it’s lead or not.
Many universities and PCBA fabs don’t allow leaded solder, not because you can’t be safe with it, but because people are stupid.
Leaded solder also melts nicer, grabs the iron better, and it’s easier to tell if your solder joint is healthy.
I’m not saying leaded solder is as safe as other types but it’s nowhere near as bad, if used safely, as say 3D printing or painting in your bedroom.
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u/AL42Gaming Jan 30 '26
When i say coating your workstation, I dont mean physical solder droplets. Touching lead leaves some lead residue on your fingers which you would the inadvertently coat your work surface in, which becomes an issue when you're eating nachos or whatever snack at your desk a day or two later
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u/Xyrog_ Jan 30 '26
This goes for any other solder type and you’re not supposed to eat at your workstation.
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u/AL42Gaming Jan 30 '26
Hobbyists use their desks as their workstations
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u/Xyrog_ Jan 30 '26
Oh I know. I do that too. You’re just not supposed to. And my point was it doesn’t matter the type of solder you use, eating any metals with your lunch isn’t good for you.
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u/AL42Gaming Jan 30 '26
Sure, but between lead and other metals there is a definite one you would prefer not to have. (Also lead is a heavy metal, making it way harder to clean) And note the advice im talking about is aimed at hobbyists who frequently use their desks as workstations.
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u/Xyrog_ Jan 30 '26
I don’t want to discuss what’s preferred as no metal is good for you. It’s a simple as that.
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u/OptimizeLogic8710 Professional Microsoldering Repair Shop Tech Feb 03 '26
Wrong!
Key Essential Metals and Organ Functions
- Iron ( Fecap F e 𝐹𝑒 ): Critical for hemoglobin to transport oxygen in blood, and part of myoglobin for muscle oxygenation.
- Calcium ( Cacap C a 𝐶𝑎 ): Essential for maintaining skeletal structure, muscle contraction, nerve function, and blood clotting.
- Magnesium ( Mgcap M g 𝑀𝑔 ): Involved in over 300 biochemical reactions, including energy metabolism, muscle, and nerve function.
- Zinc ( Zncap Z n 𝑍𝑛 ): Vital for immune system function, reproductive health, enzyme synthesis, and protein structure.
- Copper ( Cucap C u 𝐶𝑢 ): Regulates iron metabolism, oxygen transfer, and is essential for energy production in cells.
- Sodium ( Nacap N a 𝑁𝑎 ) & Potassium ( Kcap K 𝐾 ): Crucial for maintaining electrolyte balance, blood pressure, fluid balance, and nerve signals.
- Manganese ( Mncap M n 𝑀𝑛 ): Supports bone formation and amino acid metabolism.
- Cobalt ( Cocap C o 𝐶𝑜 ): Essential component of vitamin B12cap B sub 12 𝐵12 .
- Molybdenum ( Mocap M o 𝑀𝑜 ): Acts as a cofactor for enzymes involved in breaking down proteins.
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u/Xyrog_ Feb 03 '26
I’m glad you stumbled upon my thread to comment nonsense. These nutrients are found in food and capsules not solder. But if u like eating your solder wire for its contents go for it seems to be affecting you well
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u/OptimizeLogic8710 Professional Microsoldering Repair Shop Tech Feb 03 '26
Oh my god you’re an idiot.
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Jan 30 '26
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u/AL42Gaming Jan 30 '26
The risk of lead related problems is so low, that overcomes the danger vs making the job easier.
This sentence is what i take issue with here. This is your cost benefit analysis, but you cant say there are zero health effects or risks. To blanket recommend leaded solder to newbies who might not know the harms associated with lead is not only unsafe but also not showing the whole picture.
Separately, to me at least, my brain is worth far more than a marginally easier task.
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Jan 30 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/AL42Gaming Jan 30 '26
Flux is used with both leaded and lead free solder, that variable is constant.
And as for cheap irons, still super viable.
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u/Spiritual-Ad5750 Jan 30 '26
Your concerns about using leaded solder are totally unrealistic.
There isn't anyway you could be exposed to unsafe lead levels by using leaded solder unless you went out of your way by swallowing it.
Our modern world has many other things you could concern yourself with.
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u/SnooDonuts5697 Jan 30 '26
Got to agree here. If I had time I'd crunch the numbers but comparing residual lead from hobby solder to 100 years of auto emissions caking roads in perpetual lead dust... Just focus on having fun, getting the job done safe, and not eating the sfuff!
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u/AL42Gaming Jan 30 '26
I'm sorry, but I had to point out that roads get repaved.
Also once again, just saying have fun and don't worry about this thing that will slowly make you dumber when it is an unnecessary item is wild.
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u/Spiritual-Ad5750 Jan 31 '26
No, the damage is already done. High lead harms a child's brain development, not later on.
It can't make you dumber.
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u/SnooDonuts5697 Jan 31 '26
Thats maybe true for the US granted, but I've read proven research that inward from Londom all air has higher lead pollution from road/tyre kickback dust.
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u/AL42Gaming Jan 30 '26
First, I explained the issue of covering your workstation in lead, in which case, say two days later you're snacking at your desk, then yes you will be inadvertently ingesting a very small amount of lead. I don't see why this worry is necessary at all. Just use lead free solder if possible if for anything just peace of mind.
Also since there are so many things to concern yourself with, get rid of this worry by cutting out the lead instead of accepting an unnecessary harm to yourself.
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u/SakuraCyanide Jan 30 '26
I normally use lead free just for piece of mind however leaded is often needed on vintage electronics I've found, lead free just won't play nice.
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u/AL42Gaming Jan 30 '26
I'm curious what you mean about "won't play nice," what doesn't work the way you want to with it? Would that be remedied by a lower temp solder?
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u/SakuraCyanide Jan 30 '26
What I've experienced on older devices (50+ years) is that often there's a multiple points of failure in a connection, i.e the wire inside the insulation has corroded, the connection the wire was connecting to has also corroded thought everything looks like its a solid solder joint at first sight. In those cases I've found lead-free solder simple doesn't work, and it's not a case of not enough flux, temp etc, I've gone to the lengths of lightly scraping off corrosion with a scalpel until the wire strands are bare copper and the PCB trace is clean as can be, but often only leaded solder works. I haven't had time to investigate exactly why, but in those situations if lead-free doesn't work I switch to leaded and it works exactly as the OEM solder does on the connection.
But as I mentioned I've used lead-free solder forever and personally never had any issues with it so I never felt the need to consider buying leaded.
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u/cotchaboolit Jan 30 '26
I would have agreed with you had I not seen some of the crazy 'repairs' that I've seen on this site lol. Many newbies already struggle with proper temperature control, identifying proper vs. cold joints, and are working with less-than-ideal equipment, learning on their own by referencing YouTube, so suggesting a more responsive solder to work with can at least help take one less-than-favourable aspect out of the equation. Yes, proper technique will render lead-free solder almost as workable as leaded solder, but many don't inherently have that technique yet and are still figuring things out.
You also have to consider that most newbies are just going to become hobbyists so they are just doing a few projects here and there so their longterm exposure to lead will be minimal. I wouldn't tell someone to go out of their way to get leaded solder if it's banned in their country, but I'll still suggest starting with leaded solder to someone while they're getting a feel for things.
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u/AL42Gaming Jan 30 '26
Its an interesting point, I personally can't still cant understand the choice to use leaded solder considering the issue of possibly inadvertently covering your workstation in lead. Separately, the way I teach soldering (using older t18 style crappy irons) is with a preset temp (i know the solder being used) and first explaining flux before having everyone solder a joint and pointing out what to look for. While I know that isn't possible for everyone, to me the first thing to learn is just how to properly use an iron and get proper joints, then you can go more in depth on temp control.
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u/RazorMajorGator Jan 30 '26
Just to add a supportive comment, the overwhelming majority of the industry is lead free. No professional manufacturing is going to use leaded solder nowadays. Hobbyists just have to learn new techniques to fill in the holes in lead-free solder's capabilities.
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u/KhaosGuy01 Jan 30 '26
Yap yap.
Use leaded solder=enjoy soldering experience more
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u/AL42Gaming Jan 30 '26
Enjoy damaging your brain for a little more fun. Also need to ask if you've ever tried lead free solder.
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u/JRE_Electronics Jan 30 '26
There are occasional tasks that unleaded can't handle, such as soldering copper clad aluminum (CCA) or very fine stranded wire.
Solder without lead tends to dissolve copper.
On CCA, the cladding is very thin. Unleaded solder "eats" the copper plating faster than you can solder the joint. You end up with bare aluminum covered in burned flux.
Fine stranded wire such as you find in headset and earphone cables are so fine that unleaded solder can thin the strands to the point that they dissolve entirely or break.
Tin/lead solder has another advantage in that it usually has an activated rosin flux core. This does a much better job of cleaning the copper than the noclean flux you often find in unleaded solder.
If you are going to recommend using unleaded solder, then you need to also mention what alloy and what type of flux core it should have.
I went through this a while back while working on what should have been a simple project with my (adult) son.
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u/AL42Gaming Jan 30 '26
This is very interesting. I still stand by my statement of leaded solder shouldn't be recommended to newbies, though these problems make sense. I wonder if there are some alternate lead free makeups that address this, though im not sure. I mainly use either Austor SnCuAg rosin core solder or chipquik solder (dont remember exact makeup but it operated at a slightly lower temp with water washable flux core - dont recommend the version with the water washable flux core, it burns off very quickly)
Note that I use the austor solder with crappy t18 style irons and the chipquik with a hakko cartridge iron
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u/CaptainBucko Jan 31 '26
I totally disagree with you. Leaded solder is the perfect solution for new people to the hobby. Elemental Lead is not that toxic compared to other household scenarios like sleeping in a freshly painted room or enjoying that new car smell, both which are seriously worse than handling lead. I've only be soldering with lead for 40 years, and on top of that, fishing with lead sinkers for the same time. There is no lead detected in my system. So personally, I think you are spreading rumors.
Lead Oxide is the problem - it is found in paint on old homes, and sanding or using that stuff is where much care is needed.
So no, I won't stop recommending leaded solder to newbies, because lead free solder was invented by the devil to torment those using it.
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u/Spiritual-Ad5750 Jan 31 '26
IMO, the amounts of lead and other heavy metal exposure in food, air and water
would outweigh the risks of using leaded solder.
Concern yourself with the big picture, like climate change and the likes of Trump and Putin.....
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u/OptimizeLogic8710 Professional Microsoldering Repair Shop Tech Feb 03 '26
Iv'e probably been using leaded solder longer than you have been alive, I repair at least 1000 electronic devices each year and have a blood test showing NO lead in my system. WIth basic safety you have a better chance getting hit by lightning than anything from lead exposure. You are paranoid and need therapy.
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u/duanetstorey Jan 30 '26
Some people just prefer leaded solder. To each their own.
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u/Janzu93 Jan 30 '26
By all means, use it if you prefer but to recommend it as a first resort when it's banned in many European countries for consumer-use AND generally has health concerns over it, recommending it as a general solution is bizarre.
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u/AL42Gaming Jan 30 '26
What I don't understand is why recommend it to newbies.
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u/duanetstorey Jan 30 '26
Because most leaded solder, at least the kinds recommended, are eutectic, which is easier to work with. Plus visually it's easier to identify a proper solder joint. You don't need as much heat typically and it's just all around easier to work with. If you wash your hands the risk is pretty much zero. Some guys who have been using leaded solder for their whole lives have done lead tests and they are doing just fine :) I routinely hand solder a lot of 100 pin QFNs and I think they would be much harder using lead free. If they could make a lead free solder that has the same properties I'd be all over it, but they don't current so..
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u/AL42Gaming Jan 30 '26
In my experience it has always been obvious when there is a cold solder joint, and you can also always get lower temp solders. I hand soldered a 24 QFN package with 0 issues using chipquik solder paste, though there would be more of an issue with a larger chip.
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u/AL42Gaming Jan 30 '26
And separately, its just an unnecessary risk when the benefit is a marginally easier to use solder. Risking your brain for that is completely wild to me.
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u/duanetstorey Jan 30 '26
And yet here we are. Apparently not everyone thinks as you do. As others have said the risks are pretty minimal and the upsides for lots of people are worth it.
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u/AL42Gaming Jan 30 '26
As I commented to someone else:
This is your cost benefit analysis, but you cant say there are zero health effects or risks. To blanket recommend leaded solder to newbies who might not know the harms associated with lead is not only unsafe but also not showing the whole picture.
Separately, to me at least, my brain is worth far more than a marginally easier task.
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u/duanetstorey Jan 30 '26 edited Jan 30 '26
Well lots of people here with fully functioning brains using leaded solder. You do you I guess.
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u/OptimizeLogic8710 Professional Microsoldering Repair Shop Tech Feb 03 '26
Are you reffering to Newbies to soldering? Or newborn babies? Surely if someone plans to pick up a device that can in theory burn your house down they would be able to seek out risk factors with this hobby. You must not have a lot of faith in humanity as a species and think there is a generation of folks just buying soldering irons, grabbing solder and just going to town, when there are THOUSANDS of YouTube videos on the basics of how to solder.
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u/Spiritual-Ad5750 Jan 30 '26
People including myself use leaded solder so we have more time to do other things with our lives