[TowerTalk] How To Remove Tarnish off Bare Copper Wires

[Richard Smith]

 Hi Rick,
Yes you made a good guess. Staybrite 8 has higher silver content. This provides a melting range rather than a single temperature melting point. The melting range makes it suitable for soldering connections with a wider clearance. 
Also a couple of other benefits of Stay-Brite 8 versus the original Stay-Brite that can be read here:
Stay Brite 8 (harrisproductsgroup.com)

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Stay Brite 8

Tin-silver lead-free solder with higher silver content provides a melting range while producing strong, ductile ...
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I think I would clean the copper wire before trying to solder it with any type of solder. The vinegar and salt solution seems to work well.
73, Rich
    On Monday, February 20, 2023 at 11:49:17 AM PST, Richard (Rick) Karlquist <richard at karlquist.com> wrote:  
 
 I am not familiar with Stay-Brite 8.  Might be 8% silver (WAG).  The 
original is 4%.  I'd probably go with whatever is cheaper.

Flux ... depends.  If the wire is coated with copper oxide, you
need to use acid flux.  Possibly Kester RA (activated rosin) might
work if not too severe.  You might ask the welding shop.

1.  The acid flux removes the copper oxide.
2.  The silver solder is immune from rotting in the rain like the leaded 
solders.

Possibly lead free plumbers solder might be OK.  I haven't tried it.

Rick N6RK

On 2/19/2023 9:11 PM, Richard Smith wrote:
>  Rick,
> It looks like there are two types made by J.W. Harris. They are "Stay-Brite" and "Stay-Brite 8". Which one have you been using?  It looks like it needs a bottle of flux that goes with it. No flux inside the solder.
> I plan to give it a try.
> 73, Rich, N6KT
>      On Sunday, February 19, 2023 at 07:17:42 AM PST, Richard (Rick) Karlquist <richard at karlquist.com> wrote:
>  
>  The "secret" to soldering wires together outside is to use "Stay-Brite"
> solder available at any welding supply shop.  It is something like 96%
> tin, 4% silver, and ZERO% lead.  It does have a melting point about
> 100 deg C higher than 63/37 so use a decent soldering iron/torch.  I
> have thousands of outdoor Stay-Brite joints that are going
> on 25 years old that are doing fine.
> 
> 73
> Rick N6RK
> 
> On 2/19/2023 4:06 AM, Rob Atkinson wrote:
>> I quit soldering copper wires together outside years ago.  Use a
>> copper split bolt instead.  Fast, easy, weather doesn't matter, works
>> FB for years and years, never had one fail.
>>
>> Rob
>> K5UJ
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