I have been laying the track on my new layout and have been soldering track feeders and rail connectors and have used the Tix-Flux sold by Micro-Mark since it was under the electrical parts and soldering section. Now I find out it is not a rosin flux which is what you are supposed to use for electrical connections. I am nearly finished with the track (25' x 10' layout), and just wondering if I am going to run into electrical troubles down the road and what my options are. Any suggestions would be appreaciated.
Get yourself some rosin flux solder or some rosin flux soldering paste to use with the solder you have if it's not's not an acid type solder. For my own stuff I use Dutch Boy lead free rosin core solder along with a rosin soldering flux paste that I get from Radio Shack. Avoid any solder that has an acid core and don't use an acid paste. Those products are for use with plumbing, not electrical work.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
JTull,
Micro Mark has a technical helpline that you can call or email that may be able to tell you the type of flux. It's on the bottom of their customer testimony page, and is open from 1:00 to 5:00 PM Eastern time Monday through Friday. I would expect them to tell you what type of flux (rosin or acid are the most common) this is. I would suggest that you ask them to supply you with an MSDS sheet for their products as well. That will give you saftey and some chemical information on the Tix brand flux.
Good luck.
You should be fine. Just make sure you give the connections a good alcohol cleaning.
Springfield PA
Tix anti-flux is 30 percent zinc chloride. Zinc chloride paste is known to cause long term corrosion. This paste is like common hardware store paste for soldering copper pipe.
It is good if you build brass models that can be completely washed in water.
Around 1980 or so our club was using a zinc chloride paste because it worked well. Around 1997 we started having solder connections at track feeders come loose.
If you use this paste, clean very well with water. We thought we had cleaned our connections real well. Not so. Today we still have an occasional connection corrode and come loose. It can be a pain with fourteen blocks.
All we use now is rosin paste and we wire brush the track solder spot real well using a Micro Mark Scratch Brush.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
Hamltnblue You should be fine. Just make sure you give the connections a good alcohol cleaning.
I don't know about the "being fine" part, but you can wash the joints to minimize the corrosion that would form later. I would use three washes. First with plain water, the next with water with some baking soda added, and then plain water for a final rinse. Use an acid brush or tooth brush for each washing. This is the wash sequence that I used after soldering together an etched brass kit using Tix.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
Problem is what will the layout look like after doing that to all the joiners and feeds? I really wouldn't worry about it too much and if there are problems down the line I'd just deal with it. Part of the hobby.
The flux I used is called "Super Safe" and I got it from H&N Electronics. The web site looks like a mess but it's legit, the guy is a model railroader and RC plane guy, and this stuff works. Also grab their tip tinner while you're odering, it works great to keep the tip of your iron nice and shiny. The flux is water-based and non-corrosive. It can even be sent via US Mail - it's non-hazardous. Get the paste, I have paste and gel and never use the gel.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Thanks to all you guys that responded. At least I am finishing up the trackwork with a rosin flux.
I had been washing the solder joints lightly with alcohol as I went, so hopefully that has helped.
I still may go back and do a rewash a section at a time - I am just about ready to run the buss wires and work on the control panel, so I have some time before the trains are running - and I followed Sperandeo's advice and put feeder wires on each section of track so problems down the road should be easier to find.
Again, thanks for the help.
Enjoy your layout. It's not going to fall apart one night because you used the wrong kind of flux.
Now, Im worried about what Ive been using. I got some flux from Radio Shack, its jelly like and amber in color. Is this stuff OK for track/feeders ??
Santa Fe all the way!Now, Im worried about what Ive been using. I got some flux from Radio Shack, its jelly like and amber in color. Is this stuff OK for track/feeders ??
Yup don't worry. If you bought it from a plumbing supply house or home depot there would be a question. I doubt an electronic supply house would even offer anything that wasn't the right stuff.
This is probably what you have:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2049774
They are all correct - after my mess-up i went to Radio Shack and bought rosin flux and that is exactly what it looks like.
The nice thing is that the little 2-ounce can, used correctly (a leetle dab at a time) will last approximately forever. I have a similar-size can of Burnley's non-acid soldering paste that is still half full after thirty-plus years of moderately heavy use.
And, yes, it still performs as intended.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with LOTS of soldered joints)
Hi!
Thank you for writing and opening up the subject! I picked up Tix liquid flux from Sears Hardware and "assumed" it was ok for electrical work as it was in that area. I used it on some track joints, and found some foreign matter at some of the joints a few days later. I cleaned them off (brightboy/alcohol) and some returned in a few more days.
About halfway thru the layout I began to suspect the flux and picked up electrical flux from Radio Shack, which is paste. Obviously, you confirmed my suspicions.
Hopefully, the joints will be ok, and I hope the word gets out to other modelers so they don't have the same situation.
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Yep, thats the stuff I have too. Whew. What kept throwing me off was the word paste, I think of paste as like toothpaste and my stuff was like dark colored vasoline. Its nice to know I made the right choice on flux. It took me several tries and some $$ to get the right soldering iron, but thats another thread.