Review on Aven 17100 150 Lead Free Solder by Andrew Cramer

Our first attempts at using this failed. The solder didn't stick to the wire, stuck together, even holding the wire for a few seconds didn't help, it just melted the insulation. I thought it might be the wire we used. However, it finally occurred to me that we need to use a stream. We bought a tube of cheap flux from the hardware store, first dipped the wire in the flux, then in the solder pot, and voila! It worked magically. Well, it worked better, but still not very well. I had a laser temperature sensor and knew my soldering iron worked best at 800°F for 16ga wire, but the soldering temperature didn't exceed 620°F. Let's go back to the hardware store. I found a piece of metal that would cover the pot. I put the lid on, let it warm up, and then it went above 800°F (which is the max for a laser temp sensor), after which it worked pretty well. With flux and a lid (to keep warm when not submerged) this now works very well. I would rather have it with flux and a lid then I would give it 5 stars.