premmington
Member
- Messages
- 5,228
- Location
- Norfolk
An old fairy liquid bottle is handy to keep and dispense water
Other brands are available
The above made an old man laugh - LOL
Back to the subject:
I am a Auto Electrician - I do allot of soldering in awkward positions. Its OK with copper wires and older type solder - but new ALU strand wire and solder - you need plenty of heat/flux. You also need to get the connections you are soldering in the right "plane" - as ALU drips/runs.
Someone metioned above ALU does not have a "tinning effect" - it does - but it is harder to achieve (or impossible sometimes). Mild acid cleaning helps - (the mild acid in question is strong wheel cleaning acid to me and you). I have this acid in a small tub and apply in with a artists paintbrush - dry off with an airline - five litre can of wheel cleaning acid will last me ten+ lifetimes - one drip at a time.
ALU wires and components oxidise over time - it is this oxide that is the problem.
There is a lot on the internet - mostly from the USA - about ALU metal content repair soldering.