95/5 solder for a tractor radiator?

/ 95/5 solder for a tractor radiator? #1  

grossgary

Silver Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2008
Messages
237
Location
midatlantic
Tractor
1994 Kubota B7100 HST 4WD
kubota radiator has a seam that needs soldered and my buddy who's a licensed plumber, has done lots of soldering/repairing tractors before is going to fix it today.

he said he only has 95/5 solder on hand - is that okay to use?

internet is really slow so searching isn't going well.
 
/ 95/5 solder for a tractor radiator? #2  
I think 95/5 solder would be ideal for your application. That solder is not going to melt at 365 degrees F like normal electrical solder. 95/5 melts at just over 460 degrees F. However, to get good wetting to copper in the radiator, the joint should be heated to around 525 degrees F. If you don't get the repair area that hot, you'll have a cold solder joint. Solder has to not only melt but also dissolve the base material you are soldering to. Using plenty of flux to prevent oxidation and aid in the wetting process is mandatory. After your repair is complete, clean the area well with isopropyl alcohol and then water to deactivate the flux. If you don't clean off the flux, you'll get corrosion and failure at a later time.

BTW: In aircraft, high temperature electrical solder joints are often a solder called Sb5. It's 95% tin and 5% antimony. The small bit of antimony keeps the tin from crumbling due to wide range temperature cycles like extreme cold at high altitude vs ground altitude. When tin crumbles this way it's call tin "pesting" and is NOT something you want in electrical wiring harnesses on an airplane.
 
/ 95/5 solder for a tractor radiator? #3  
As the other poster said the 95-5 has to get hotter that 50/50. The only issue would be if the rest of the existing seam is 50/50. It would melt out in other places before you got the leak repair to take. Just keep that in mind while doing the repair. I have went so far as to melt out the whole seam and clean it all and start over from scratch, so as to be sure the whole seam gets a good repair. You just want to be sure you don't melt out any of the tubes.
 
/ 95/5 solder for a tractor radiator? #4  
The other option would be Harris Stay-Brite. Has 4% Silver in it and is liquidous at 430 degrees. No need to get above that temp but does use a nasty flux that would require a water wash afterward. My favorite low temp solder. Also Stay-Brite 8 8% silver tough stuff that melts at 520 degrees. Either way..
 
 
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