SMD & reflow rework flux recommendations

@cecil I have been using the 2oz plastic squeeze bottles and syringe tips for a while now. I have quite a bit of success with that, although the tip is too big so I get too much liquid after a while.

I have watched some pros doing board repairs or unsoldering and they ALWAYS use a LOT of something that appears to be almost clear and the viscosity of mustard or ketchup.

The soldering paste I can understand and find suitable products on Amazon. It's identifying the specific flux I am seeing. Someone posted a video of a bunch of different flux and the one the reviewer liked the most was the almost clear jell type but I  can't find a source for it in Canada at any kind of price that makes sense.

@cecil I do not know what IPA is. In any case, I am very old and in poor health, so saving a couple of bucks by making a highly technical product seems pointless to me.

Posted by: @zander

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I do not know what IPA is.

IPA = Isopropyl alcohol

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isopropyl_alcohol

@will Ok, I only ever heard of IPA in connection with a Beer so I was quite confused. Thanks for the clarification.

@zander Sorry for the confusing abbreviation.  Your instinct is correct; Pale Ale won't work.  I don't pretend to know what is best.  I just stated simple things that work for me.

If you don't have a selection of syringe tips you could peen the tip you have until the size gives you more control.

If you don't have access to an industrial electronics outlet you might try a welding shop.  Some of those guys will have familarity with a wide variety of products from flux manufacturers including the active rosin used in electronics.

@cecil I have various tips and a source for more if I need smaller ones. I have mo stores closer than a 2.5-hour one-way trip away. I do have Amazon.ca but the other online resources are 99% based in the USA, with generally outrageous shipping and most likely nasty cross-border fees. Whatever happened to free trade?

@zander I guess I'm lucky that a simple rosin and IPA mix and grease baseed fluxes from AliExpress satisfy my needs.  I can sympathize with your frustration satisfying more exacting demands.  But certainly it is partly balanced with the freedom and independence you gain by living in a remote place.  I hope declining health doesn't keep you from enjoying the wild.

For decades I spent weekends at the wilderness areas and mountaint tops near my home.  i was continuously amazed at the psychological benefits of a couple days away from civilization.  I wish I still had the stamina to get there.

@cecil They may well meet mine as well, but I will stick with the store-bought solution. That way I can't blame a bad job on my homemade product. LOL.

Where I live has nothing to do with freedom, it's a given in Canada everywhere, and we seldom talk or think about it. We are a very different country, more like Europe than the USA.

I am totally mystified by your mention of independence. I don't know what you mean.

It might seem remote to someone from your part of the world, but I will say that in most of Canada when someone asks how far away someplace is, the answer is generally a number of hours. We are 1/10 your population in a country as wide as yours and 2nd only to Russia in total area, so we are thinly spread out over the land with only a few big cities, but Toronto is the 4th biggest city in North America (Mexico City, NYC, LA, TO)

So far, my health is holding but at a low level until I see my Dr in a couple of weeks, then I will start the journey to recovery from my #1 health issue. After that, I have a couple more, but they are less important.

I have been to the Silicon Valley area and understand the outdoor beauty you allude to. I hope you can find the energy to get out and enjoy it, it is truly invigorating.

I did have plans to tour the southern part of California, but 5 figure health insurance was too much to absorb so I returned from the west coast of Canada to the mid-north.

@zander By independent I was thinking that rural settings offer fewer services; rural citizens are more self-reliant and therefore more independent.

I have a friend of 25 years who splits time between here and Kelowna.  His dad quit an aerospace job in San Diego and immigrated to BC when my friend was 16.  He grew up farming his family's homestead and hiring himself out to neighboring farms.  He describes it as rough.  His wife is Canadian, his kids dual citizens and he now travels for SAP software.  He can entertain for hours with stories from his boyhood.  That informs my concept of an independent Canadian.

@cecil Ok, now I understand what you meant. I don't feel like I am all that rural, but I guess it depends on the person to some degree and your frame of reference. For someone from LA then my city will be very tiny and maybe rural since it is 2+ hours from a 'big' city of 163,000.

Kelowna is the 20th largest metropolitan area in Canada with a population of 157,000. It is the heart of the Okanogan Valley, which is world-famous as a fruit-growing area and a wine region of international ranking.

Maybe your friend can tell you how big Kelowna was when he first went there, I suspect it has experienced incredible growth as Canadians discovered the west.

Also, in the summer the Okanagan valley is a huge tourist destination with Kelowna at the center of it.