Wave Solder machine leftovers?

[paraord]

Hey guys,

So I have access to "dross" from a wave solder machine. The only thing that goes into it is 63/37..Like since ever....starting in the 80's. I am kinda starting to think thats gotta be what the majority of whats coming off the top is. There is zero chance for zinc contamination, maybe a little flux but no big deal there. I am gonna bring home maybe 200lbs or so and clean it up and ingot it. I wish I could have it analyzed but no idea as to how to even approach that. If it was in the realm of 63/37 that would be primo for alloying in with pure to make 20 to 1. What do you guys think?

Thanks,
Andrew

[paraord]

I should add, the solder pot in this machine is set to 500 degrees

[RogerDat]

Member named BNE will do a XRF scan of a pea sized sample for one pound of any lead per sample. Yes wave solder is good source of tin. Big batch melts are good since that you have 100# batches that are all the same alloy. Rather than 5 batches at 20# that might vary a bit.

You might want to look into the mini muffin tins for molds and pick up one of those salad bar sized small ladles, bend the handle and you have yourself a way to measure small amounts of solder in each pour. I like solder in small ingots, those mini muffin tins are cheap molds (especially from thrift store or garage/estate sales) those mini muffin tins allow you to make thick "coins" of solder of about 1/2 a small ladle each. Nice size for adding a few ounces at a time to a pot.

I have also used mini bread loaf pans size is maybe 2 inch x 4 inch. I like those because they are distinctly different size and shape from my lead ingots and allow me to make nice little 1# to 2# ingots. Fairly full I think they can hit 5#'s of solder. I don't have your massive (200# of tin is massive) inbound supply to process but do scrounge for scrap solder until I have a stash built up and do it as one large batch, get sample tested and then have a couple of coffee cans of know tin solder coins. Or a mix of coins and mini ingots.

PS. If you plan on selling don't make those mini ingots taller (thicker) than will fit in a SFRB, I imagine a good number of members might like to purchase a few pounds of tin solder if the price was decent.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I was a supervisor at a Electronics manufacturer from 1986 til 1993, we had a wave solder machine (using 60/40). Dang, all the 5 gallon buckets of dross (that weighed 80+ pounds) that we paid to have hauled away is a crying shame...If I only knew then, what I know now.

Anyway, to get a close guess to see if your alloy is near the 63/37 ?

from Wikipedia:

63/37 is a eutectic alloy of these metals, which:
has the lowest melting point (183 °C or 361 °F) of all the tin-lead alloys; and
the melting point is truly a point — not a range.

what that means, is there is no "Slush" stage like other lead alloys have.
After you clean up some of that solder, run the temperature up and down, and watch for melt temp and the lack of a "Slush" stage.

[fredj338]

If you are looking to package & sell some, drop me a pm.

[paraord]

Thanks Rogerdat, I'll get a hold of him and get more muffin tins. That "coin" idea is a great one.

Jonb, I wish I wouldn't have listened to my maintenance guy when he said it's probably all scrap and you don't wanna shoot it. Must have scrapped over 1k lbs in the last year.

Check this out. Raw looks rough


Now here we get to melting....I may have overshot the temp. Oh well. It had a lot of dust in it but honestly zero metal dross. Fluxes 2x with pine shavings and once with wax



And here we are. 40 lbs or so of rainbow lead.



Who wants to play "guess the composition". i will likely reheat to an appropriate temp and reflux in the tin that's now all Technicolor raincoat on the ingots

[paraord]

For the record I only did One of those buckets. 3 more to go!
Jon I'll also get to my pid pot with an ingot to do a temp run in the next month or so as well. Great call on that

[samari46]

When I worked for a living had a buddy that taught the splicers school. Still have some of the stuff that came out of the melting pots. Mostly 60/40 if I remember right. Frank

[KYCaster]

Specific Gravity test should get you very close to actual composition.

Jerry

[runfiverun]

if they run their pot at 500-f you just got oxidized alloy.
if they cranked it up [which I doubt] you got more oxidized tin.

I would throw 1.5lbs of your stuff in with 20 lbs of lead and just cast some bullets.
you, your gun, and the targets probably won't ever know the difference.

[RogerDat]

Corn Ingots! I hated trying to stack or store them but they looked soooo Cool!

Can't give you the details but if you have accurate thermometer and measure the temp every minute as it goes from liquid to solid. The temp will plateau at a temperature where entire batch has to cool so it can move to a solid. That varies by alloy. Will be a range if alloy has a slush stage and is not eutectic, the 63/37 alloy will sit at one very narrow temperature and then boom solid and temp falls off the plateau. Less tin wider temperature plateau, more of a curve than a drop.

[paraord]

No progress on the testing front but I did bucket #2 today. Lowered the temp and looks great. Up to 65lbs total and have 2 more to go. I'm pretty happy with how this situation is going. Although I'm gonna need to up my pure lead game that's for Sure.


[/URL]



And I finally get to use my monster Fairbanks scale for something lol.

[Idz]

Pb/Sn solder for plumbing was banned back in the 1980s. Most electronics shifted to 'green' solder in the 2000s which was usually about 99.5% Sn + 0.5% Cu. So you may have almost pure tin dross there.

[paraord]

Idz, that is true in Rohs, but seeing that we don't run any Rohs boards through this machine, I am positive that the only solder this gets And has ever had is Kester Ultrapure 63/37. But man of I had 65 lbs of pure tin I could be sittin pretty on some trades lol.

[garym1a2]

I got some dross from 63/37 solder about 8 years ago from work. You flux it and get some solder out of it with some nasty dust. When they shut down the lines a few years later They empty the wave machine are scrapping the solder I got 100+lbs in a metal bucket and a bunch of mixed ignots, total was about 250lbs. I made 2lb ignots and when I woulds smelt I just put a 2lb bar in the pot and 80lbs for WW and mix lead.

[paraord]

Gary, you ain't lying about that dust. It is serious. But I can't beat the price!!! If the composition ends up being close to 63/37 I'll have to get some trading or selling going as I run primarily pure in my front stuffers, 20:1 in rifles, and WW in handguns. Did you ever have yours analyzed?

[BNE]

paraord, If you want me to XrF it, just PM me, I have a similar supply of solder scrap. (But no where near that much!) I have done many XrF tests on the solder pot to confirm the alloy mix. I also had samples sent back to the solder supplier to confirm the analysis. I strongly suspect that after you smelt that "Scrap" you will have a 63/37 alloy.

You will read horror stories by some who think that the Tin is getting depleted from the pot due to Tin oxidation. I have never been able to find a measureable difference even in a 40 pound pot that runs at 500F+ 24/7/365. Yes, oxidation happens, but that thin layer you see on top of your melt is VERY thin.

Congratulations on this haul! That will be a great supply of a known alloy.

[garym1a2]

Watch the dust it will have nasty stuff in it. Use a dust mask,
wash often. Put dust in a seal container. I have not test my solder but once and don't remember what it was. It will be bright silver color. Once you get a pile of solder don't sell till you decide to get out of casting. It will only go up in value.

Gary, you ain't lying about that dust. It is serious. But I can't beat the price!!! If the composition ends up being close to 63/37 I'll have to get some trading or selling going as I run primarily pure in my front stuffers, 20:1 in rifles, and WW in handguns. Did you ever have yours analyzed?

[JMax]

A company that I worked for still ships me their dross scrap out of a 60/40 wave solder machine at about 300# at a time and I am expecting another shipment soon

I have traded some of it for Pb and alloy 10:1 for my rifle bullets with a bit to Sb. No leading up to 1900 ft/sec but I gas check those bullets.

[John Boy]

Although I'm gonna need to up my pure lead game that's for Sure.

Scrap sheet lead at the scrap yard = 99% Pb