Originally Posted by
RoyRogers
Don't confuse Tagamet "Sterling' plumbing solder with silver solder - totally different animal.
Here is a chart composistion of fairly typical silver solder alloys:
80Ag, 20Cu
80Ag, 13Cu, 6.8Zn Silver solder, hard
70-5Ag, 20-3Cu, 5-7.5Zn Silver solder, medium
66Ag, 23Cu, 10Zn Silver solder, French
63Ag, 30Cu, 7.5Zn Silver solder, common
55Ag, 29Cu, 12Au, 5.5Zn Gold solder, very easy melt
70Ag, 25Pd, 5Co Platinum substitute (Cooper's)
73Ag, 27Pt Platinum solder
70 Ag, 25Pt, 5Ni Platinum substitute (Cooper's)
66.7Ag, 33.3Pt Platinum silver
40Ag, 40Sn, 14Cu, 6Zn Silver solder, Bu.
A couple of common names of popular silver solders used in HVAC, medical gasses, etc, are Sil-Fos & Silvaloy
Some plumbing solders have 'silver' sounding trade names but are not to be confused with true silver solders as the amount of actual silver they contain is quite small. They also melt at much lower temps than conventional silver solders.