As an electronics nerd, and amateur guitar pedal builder, solder is one of the most important things to have on hand at all times. I'm always going through it, and I can always use more. Throughout the years I've been trying to find the best deal on the best solder, and along that journey I've found some really good stuff, and some really horrible stuff. Ideally I'm 60/40 rosin core, but even if that's how the spool is marked, that doesn't always mean that's what you're actually getting. Back when RadioShack was an actual place I bought a spool of their stuff and it was great. Smooth flow, great adhesion, and the finished product was nice and shiny. The only problem was, back then I didn't know what diameter to buy and it was way too big. What would have been perfectly fine for large jobs, or maybe even plumbing, was cumbersome for soldering a wire back in an NES controller.
Once that spool ran out I turned to Amazon, and found Kester. Kester is just as good as the RadioShack spool, but in a diameter that I could actually use on the smaller projects I had. In fact, Kester may have been the brand who would OEM for RadioShack, who knows. I used Kester 83-3000-0000, 83-4000-0000, and 83-6337-0027. I'm not sure what the differences in the numbers mean, but I do remember them all being really, really good solder. I think I event tried some 63/37 and didn't notice any differences. Kester just makes really good quality solder.
As solder became far more important, by way of building a ton of guitar pedal circuits each year, I decided to try some cheaper, wacky named solders from Amazon and even Aliexpress. These were 100g spools for a few bucks, and they all flowed like milk left out in the sun for a week, and their finishes were just as lackluster too. I found out they were lead-free, even though they claimed to be 60/40, tin and lead alloy. I tried to avoid using them, but I couldn't afford to keep buying Kester, so eventually I had to make them work. I found they flow best when I turned my soldering iron up to 700f (371c). Sure they would flow and adhere better, but they cooled as shiny as a lump of charcoal. Long story short; they're not very good.
Then I found what I consider to be the best middle ground solder. It flows like Kester, it cools like Kester, but a 100g spool doesn't carry the Kester price. At first the name had me worried it was just like the other bad stuff, but Yi Lin solder, I found, is the best inexpensive spool of solder I've used. I purchase the 100g spool, then I spiral it around a Sharpie and put it into the little personal Kester dispenser tubes. It usually fills 4 or 5 of the Kester tubes, which usually builds quite a few guitar pedal circuits.
If you're happy with your current brand of solder, that's perfectly fine. If you're looking for a cheaper alternative, try Yi Lin. At least as of the time I'm writing this, it's been the best quality solder I've used. I'm hoping it stays that way. Below I have a link to my wishlist where, if you're feeling generous, you can purchase a spool of solder for all of my future soldering needs. I can always use solder, and I'll greatly appreciate it. While you're at it, buy yourself some too!
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