$2 for PCB Prototype(Any Color): jlcpcb.com/
1. Yellow Solder Paste: bit.ly/2Yhd9rg
2. Mechanic MCN-UV80: bit.ly/2XyaqwM
3. Pro'sKit 8S005: bit.ly/2J7FDO2
4. Weller F-SW21: bit.ly/2Yg0k0B
5. AG Termopasty TK83: bit.ly/2ZOnOdr
6. AG Termopasty LP-1: bit.ly/2J7H6UD
7. CIF F42202 Gel Flux: bit.ly/2Yk47de
8. MG Chemicals No Clean Gel: amzn.to/2IQ1j25
9. Best BST-223-UV80: bit.ly/2X4gbhe
10. Relife RL-421-OR: bit.ly/2XC6sDd
11. Relife RL-422-IM: bit.ly/2IRsU33
12. Topnik Zel Flux: bit.ly/2X8bUcV
13. KSS S800 Flux: bit.ly/2JdHlgT
14. Amtech NC-559-V2-TF: bit.ly/2XbakvI
15. Fake Amtech NC-559-ASM: bit.ly/2KGhL7u
16. Kester No Clean: bit.ly/2KDRA15
Equipment:
T12 Soldering Station: www.banggood.com/custlink/3KK...
AC Version: www.banggood.com/custlink/3GK...
T12 Iron Tips: www.banggood.com/custlink/3DG...
Daniu Tip Cleaner: bit.ly/31VHwWM
KSGER T12-BCM3 Tip: bit.ly/2xgYXCQ
Amscope Microscope Head (US): amzn.to/2YmZWNx
Amscope Trinocular Microscope (US): amzn.to/2YdBE8k
Amscope Trinocular Microscope (UK): amzn.to/2V8w9Gh
Swift SS41-WF20 Binocular Microscope US: amzn.to/2VLWEpb
Swift SS41-WF20 Binocular Microscope UK: amzn.to/2GYGYFV
Support the channel: / sdgelectronics
Visit my website: www.sdgelectronics.co.uk/ #ElectronicsCreators
I realize it's only been a little over a year, but you should do this same video again as a revisit with some same and some new brands. Since bait and switch happens so often in the parts world, would be interesting to see if the cheap stuff still holds up today.
Excellent suggestion.
Should throw kingbo in the mix
2 years now
I would like to second this ...
Thanks, this was a really useful video. Having all the links really helped me find the best product and the easiest for me to order.
Banggood yellow tub melts at (or below) 100C. I melted it and poured in syringes. Quite cheap and seems to work well. You get quite a few syringes out of a tub of that!
Point to point old radio oxidized joints. Need the test. Great job. Good to have you back. Hello from Romania.
thanks for sharing! As a hobbyist who only really has warmed my tip to soldering, it's refreshing to have such insightful videos
for me this is a wonderful channel. great tests, great video quality, great audio, great voice and speaking ability.
Thank you for this demonstration. Especially for showing the effect (or lack thereof) of not using flux at all!
SOIC is about the limit for using no flux, but I have a video coming shortly for SMD IC soldering 👍
Excellent comparison. Very helpful.
HUITA
I guess it might be a great idea to rerun the tests on a non-plated copper boards. That's a better way to test the flux's ability to deal with oxides.
In my experience, over many years, the amber flux paste is a great go to for best performance, no matter what label. Thank you for sharing that with us.
it was my gap to identify the flux and know how to apply them for my new business plan , now i begin my 1st step . many thanks ! lovely work .
Since watching this video when it was released I've been using CIF at work and it's helped a lot! thank you!
Your analogy on the fluid is spot on. As a part of the soldering I carried out at work, we looked at this and using the microscope could see the heat from the soldering iron directly burning off or evaporating the adjacent flux. I do have a concern with the thin consistency. Originally and at home, I use a thick paste and found, and in both cases, they last a very long time. With the thinner paste, it is tough to administer by hand, and because the density is lower gets used up very quickly. This may be my method, but there was a definite consumption at work between the two.
by the flux lasting long does it become so thick it’s unusable? i find after a few minutes the flux gets so dried and thick on the board i need it clean it off and reapply
Excellent video, I had been watching videos of solder paste all afternoon and this one is really worth watching.
Absolutely superb analysis. Many thanks for the work and effort that went into this video. Off to buy the CIF flux as recommended. Many thanks Steve
Thanks for such a nice demo, it's quite useful even after two years to understand the in-out of the usability of flux. I have tried a few cheap fluxes with bad results. for me, the liquid one turned out to be the best one. thanks again for your guidance. I was also expecting this to be tried on raw copper endpoints to see the effectiveness.
Excellent video! I am new to SMD soldering... so, I got a couple of soldering paste and flux - but they didn't perform as nicely as the best ones you've shown, BY FAR! I thought it was just my inexperience, my lack of technique, but your video showed quite some difference between them, I am purchasing the ones you recommended and then I can be sure what is my fault :) Thanks!
the great thing about tubs is being able to dip wires into them for wire tinning, etc.
Just wanted to say thank you for the very useful info and for your time spent on this video!! Subscribed to the channel in a nutshell after checking your other videos as well!!
Chip Quik SMD291 is great for soldering on ICs. It has a low viscosity, a greasy consistency. SMD4300TF10 is good for whatever else. Amtech does leave a sticky residue I don't like. When you heat the flux, it’s very transparent making it easy to see what you're doing. These are good for phones and small SMD work. I think rosin-based flux is fine for just about everything but can be harder to see for the small stuff with it's yellow coloring or becoming browner with heat. Rosin doesn't evaporate and smoke as quickly as Amtech. You can heat rosin to 500C, and it won't evaporate. It can turn darker as it heats up with use as you slide the solder iron around it more. Use what you like for whatever applications.
I'm just starting with SMD soldering (or planning to do so for long) and this was extremely useful information. The brand/price overlays over the different options and again on the results was brilliant. So easy to compare. Talking pace and speech clarity also spot on. Great work, thank you! Two things I would have liked to hear (or missed): 1) what type of solder was used, 2) is the shelf life of the flux jars longer than on the ones that come in a tube? With the little time I have, it might be weeks or a month between I solder anything requiring flux. It's quite frustrating as the manufacturers state the shelf life to be only months. I've seen tips of reactivating old flux with IPA (maybe it was also on your channel?) but I've yet to try it.
Yes, Italian's are goog engieers!
How is this related to my comment 3 years back? My questions are still valid btw. I've yet to have the time (or need) to get into SMD. 😬
@@ristomatti My apologies.
Man, your channel is incredible! So much great info 👍
Agreed, it's a goldmine of info!
Outstanding vid! Great layout, info and timing. Also excellent layout of links! I might suggest a couple things that might help. It could be handy to know the details of the solder you used and the temp (if you had a way to measure) and having video times next to the list in the description. Thanks so much, it really helped!
These fluxes were all tested on surface mount components, using PCBs with no vias. When heated, they all turn to liquid, and near by vias could drain it away. The liquid fluxes you can clearly see evaporating along the right edge at 6:20 and 6:50 respectively. They seems to have very limited uses. As someone else commented, I'm curious how the SRA No Clean Tacky Flux could handle those condtions. Also, I do a fair amount of through-hole soldering, and literally all of these fluxes are simply too thin for that. So I'm seeing a good case for another video. Boards with vias, the SRA flux, and something for the THT crowd (zinc chloride, as well as non-ZCl). Thanks!
Would be good to see this done after 12-18 month with a broader range of fluxes. Perhaps ask viewers to submit flux suggestions. And also to have a review panels of other engineers / friends score the solutions. Could show off the corrosion of the test boards done from a year before so we can access long term viability of solder.
Excellent video, I enjoyed the demonstration with each product. Kudos!
Thanks for the review. I ordered some of the Yellow Solder paste. It will probably take a couple weeks to get to me but the price was right.
Excellent video. I have been using MG Chemicals flux pen that is a liquid flux. This is the stuff Nintendo recommended to us about two decades ago. I never did like it much and it was constantly bridging, especially on the last few pins. If course, those ships had over 100 pins so the gap between the pins was smaller. I just ordered some MG No Clean solder paste before coming across your video. I am happy it performed well in your tests. I would love to see some examples of how to resolder a BGA chip using this flux.
Excellent work, thanks, its always been the source of dilemma: "Which flux is best", heard across You Tube repair channels, so this is some really excellent advice, many thanks....
My testing is probably in no way authoritative, but hopefully it gives some reference for anyone unsure. Thanks
@@sdgelectronics Can we get a test of how fast does the flux get boiled off?
@@johnyang799 yes, coming soon
Love this video, thanks so much! I do would like more emphasis on environmental impact of the different fluxes.
Although an old video, it is really useful. I used to use the amtech fake flux for years and recently tried the CIF. The CIF leaves a sticky residue that in my opinion needs to be cleaned. Fortunately it is easy to clean.
The yellow tub of Bangood flux is really nice, and can ship from USA. The only down side to it, is that a brand new one weighs 113 grams including the container. So it's maybe 100g, not the 150g they sell it as.
You are a very good analyst. Very good video. Hats off.
This was a great & well done video! Thank you for the great reviews & results breakdown
Watching this again it's interesting how the solder climbs the component leg on some but not other fluxes, even if the flux did well with no bridges.
One of best videos ever, best explanation. Thanks, subscribed
Thanks, Steve.
very informative and satisfying to watch. thank you for doing this.
Very helpfull for a beginner like me and a nice demo of soldering technique for those components. Thanks!
OMFG, i'm in love with your channel already. I was thinking about using Amtech NC-559 as well, great you have a comparison. I'm a new subscriber. Thanks and keep up the great work!
Very nice comparison! Thanks for sharing!
I used to use some other liquid flux, but can't remember which brand it was. It had same properties as the ones you tested: More flux was needed for larger IC's. It either boiled away or spread so much, there wasn't enough flux around the last pins. Practice will make it better, but main cause is the properties of the flux. In my opinion liquid flux is very easy and quick to apply. I'll add TK83 to my shopping list, thanks to your video! Well done with the comparison!
I think the liquid fluxes just aren't as suited to this particular style of soldering. It would be great for BGA style work as the liquid is drawn into gaps easily. It also cleaned off very easily. Thanks
Glad I found the video. This reminds me of "Project Farm" but for electronics. Just an honest review of products.
Nice comparison. It would be great if you could make v2 with other comparisons mentioned in the comments. You already have all those fluxes, so it would not take much effort.
Informative. Professionally made.Good.
One of the best flux comparison I've ever seen! What do you use to clean the flux residue?
Isopropyl alcohol
@@sombatone 99% ISP
Just ordered some of the banggood yellow flux paste because of this video
IMHO the genuine Amtech really shine when used with an hot air gun. It really make the difference, it stays there active for a long time but you really need good ventilation or a real fume extractor, it is very smoky. The fake Amtech's residue are much harder to remove and they spread wider on the board. It is cheap but i won't buy it again. For general soldering i like to use the liquid TOPNIK RF800 in a squeeze bottle with a fine gauge needle. I work mostly with beefy through hole components. RF800's residue are really easy to remove with IPA and the flux works very well and it is not very smoky. Liquid flux are good just with a soldering iron. With hot air you need a gel flux, and the Amtech is the the best flux i've ever used. Just my two cents.
I'm going to do a test with hot air shortly - firstly with the PCB used in this video, but it sounds like it would be worth getting another test board with some large ICs and a ground plane on it. Thanks
Louis Rossmann swears by genuine Amtech flux for all the work he does. In fact, he buys and re-sells them because he trusts them that much and wants others to be able to reliably source the genuine parts.
@@Slavolko It's fair to promote it as it's genuinely great for its appropriate usecases. But its also really expensive, at least for those who do not generate any revenue on soldering work. And for many of those without a national/regional distributor, as international shipping and potential import taxes can make the total price really brutal. I need to point out that the sentiment pushed by Louis about the _process of buying_ Amtech flux is a horrible ordeal involving faxing orders etc, is either false or long outdated. You can just order it online from Amtechdirect.com . They're one of the few official distributors for Iventec (Amtech is a product lineup, Iventec is the company), and as such they keep shipment-ready stock of pretty much the whole Amtech lineup. So if you need _anything else_ from the Amtech lineup, these guys are great to have around, as you don't need to worry about getting fake products. That said - unless you want 10cc quanitites, or large tubs, buying no clean 559V2 tacky flux from Rossmanngroup is not a bad idea at all if the shipping etc works for you. Because the 30cc units Rossmann Group sell, are $16. From Amtechdirect they're $27.
Good to see RF800 being recommended as I have a 100ml and 2x50ml bottles + some other stuff coming my way from Poland this week.
@@pr0xZen $34.99
Yes, it is very useful, thanks for this tutorial
Many thanks for the extensive test! Bought 10pcs of fake Amtech NC-223-ASM based on Your test, and regret nothing. Much better than liquid fluxes and rosin I used before.
Thanks! Glad it works for you
Thanks Steve! Here lately I have been using Chip Quik SMD291 No Clean Tack Flux for SMD work. It seems to work great.
I used that too, I loved it but Farnell took it out of their assortment. Now I use the Topnik TK83 (after trying several others). It is not as good as the Chip Quik but good enough. I liked the tacky stuff because it holds the component on its place (i use it professional for repair work)
I used to use several different Chip Quik fluxes, but I noticed Farnell have dropped many of their lines, so it's not as easily available.
@@sdgelectronics OK, you are right, it does not make sense to test it, if it is hard to get. I hated that I needed to find a replacement because the stuff is not cheap and I did not like the most I tested. The same goes for solder. Thanks, this was very interesting video.
pa4tim I am just a hobbyist but I am starting to get pretty good at microsoldering and using my rework station. I also try to always use my board preheater. The preheater makes rework easier for me.
SDG Electronics Hmm, sounds like Chip Quik needs to get on the ball! They are losing money!
Very useful video. I've been using a liquid MG rosin flux for the last 5+ years and It's worked well but leaves a horrible residue which I have to laboriously clean with alcohol. Was looking for a newer style flux and your review has been very helpful. Just ordered through one of your links. Thanks.
CHANGE TO OA FLUX! You'll never look back.
@@allanknox8216 what is OA flux?
@@nerijusk9598 OA flux stands for "Organic acid" it has stuff like citric and phosphoric acids - all water soluble. It's pretty aggressive and completely cleaned with warm water - no solvents. I only switched because every CM I worked with was already using it. Rosin flux has been out of favor for a long time. Chine uses no-clean to save money.
Do you have or plan to make an updated video with more different fluxes?
Thank you for making this video, you have a great channel!
What a great video. I would have never guessed that is how it is done.
Hi, awesome video! I'm from Latin America and I've seen many weird fluxes. Some can ruin a board, like when liquid amber flux dripped on a hard drive and dissolved the copper. Sadly, I didn't see it for a month or two, so it was too late. I suggest trying a good board and switching pads between isolated and connected ones. This can act as a heatsink, change the performance, and show more differences between the fluxes.
Excellent presentation form and content! Thank you!
Very great review and explanation!
I often use a flux pen, it looks like a felt tip.... you push down on the tip and it soaks the tip....then it's applied to the joint to be soldered, however, for me it doesn't seem to work as well as the paste type fluxes, but it does the job....the syringe type fluxes can be tricky since they tend to glob it out per sae. But, IMO....most fluxes work just as well as the next, alot has to do with soldering techniques as well. Thank you for all the technical video's that you put together, they are alot of work for you tubers...but are very informative.!
Nice! Thanks for the video, been looking for a breakdown of the different fluxes. That third paste was real bad haha, looked like it bridged the last like 4 pins as well
even though its been 26 years since my dad did soldering, i can still smell the flux
Very good video. My (genuine) Amtech NC-559-V2-TF comes out a little more tacky then the one in the video though, which I found interesting.
Great review, thanks for the effort 👍
thANKS, i was looking for this video.
Thanks for doing this comparison.
I would be interested in how good these fluxes perform when using hot air soldering.
Yeah, this is when the liquid fluxes should come into their own
Great video. Really helpful!
Much needed comparison. Thanks you very much.
I got some of the Chinese flux, which is very sticky and seems to be based on a type of paraffin wax. I mixed it with some (15% ish) mineral oil (corn oil in my case) and achieved a soft butter-like consistency that allows it to be loaded into a syringe, It performed the same as in the video however it was much easier to handle coming from a syringe. I used a 1mm metal tip on the syringe. Cost for 10 cc was approx $0.85 (115cc of flux cost $11 inc delivery). I am sure other types of mineral oil will produce similar results.
Love this video thanks for making it.
great information and many products displayed
Really detailed. Hats off
Thank You for doing this comparison
I use SRA Rosin Paste Flux #135. Kind of thick for SMD, but it's really tacky which I like.
In one placed I worked at, I used a Flux pen with long bristles, it was like clear jelly and was fantastic on surface mount ic's with the solder pads underneath, did not evaporate and easy to clean, I don't remember the name of it
Fantastic - thanks for sharing!
I'm really impressed by that big tub of banggood flux, might order some!
I bought like 4 or 5 tubs. I am not sure what is in it but it seems to me to be nothing more than some kind of wax? It doesn't smell bad, smells mildly like candle wax and leaves an oily coating. I wonder if it mostly just a heat transfer medium, not really am oxide remover.
Great video. Quick question, is there a way to turn a paste flux softer to put it in a tube/syringe? I just started to with electronics repair and purchased basic tools which got to me this flux as it was the cheapest but its so hard to apply.
Thanks this is amazing comparison 👍
I think this is the best I have ever met. ENGINEER ZC-70 Flux For Soldering 50ml - Japan
Ummm... the Weller flux says right on the tub that it contains zinc chloride, meaning it’s an acid based plumbing flux.
Yes it is IPA make this clumbi
That was so informative. You should do the same comparison with solder pastes!
Great informative video!! Thanks!
Thank you for the very comprehensive test, good to know that the fake Amtech is usable.
Though one of two or three worst fluxes here so no point in using imo. proskit and mechanic far better and still cheaper and are from china same as fake amtech
Relife 422 im halogen free is good flux. You know that?
That was an excellent and really useful video. Thank you.
It would be interesting to know how they perform well past expiration.
Nice video. It's satisfying to see the solder flow. I did not see you mentioning which Solder you used for this. By the way it flowed it felt like Leaded, any chance it is unleaded?
I started using Amtec - 559 -ASM - TF Expiry date June 8, 2023. I ordered it and it arrived 13 April 2023. I paid 79.91 AUD which to me was insane. Now its $198.12 which is really insane. 😂 I might get the CIF next. Thanks for the review.
Thanks, very useful. I would like to see same about solder paste for SMD. (the grey one). Which one is good? I have one from Aliexpress but its drying out and its unusable.
Thanks! This was very helpful!
that cheap "NT" branded soldering paste was surprisingly good, around 2 dollars for 50g here in malaysia
Best demonstration ever seen!😘😘😎😎😍😘
Love the video bro really helpful💯
Good video and very informative.
Great comparison.
Thank you very much for this very informative video. I have an additional question, is there a UV curing soldering mask ink you would recommend ? I tried one but either the UV_light did not do well (sunlight did not help) or the ink is not ok. Maybe I should have thoroughly shaken the capsule before use ? I tried to repair some minute traces and pads with it, without much success Yhank you very much for all te informative videos
Brilliant review
Thank you for this video, it was of great help.
There was a problem when soldering with TK83 because the maximum application temperature is 280 degrees Celsius I suspect that you overheated it and began to boil, after adding another portion of flux, it just cooled down and soldering went fantastic again. Because I am Polish and TK83 and LP-1 are Polish fluxes, I know a bit more about them, if I remember correctly, we used the AG-5 flux for soldering at higher temperatures (up to 400). We have used them for many years and in general AG TermoPasty products are very popular in our country (they are cheap but very good). By the way, the Polish word "Topnik" means Flux from the Polish word Topić - melt. I forgot to write, people start reading the manuals, there is all the information about the products you want to use. Thank you for this movie is very cool.
Hi; what do you know about rf800. I couldn't find the application temperature about it ?
I would really love to try that cif flux, but I can't get it here in America.