Homebrew PCBs

I believe that one way to solve this problem is to preheat the board before the soldering. You don't need to buy an expensive preheater, a 50W halogen light bulb or an infrared bulb placed few centimeters from the board would do the job. I am using this technique even for desoldering SMD components, so it is capable of providing a good amount of heat.
If you want to limit the preheating to a smaller area, you can mask off the parts you want to shield from the heat using a kitchen aluminium foil.

Regards,

Jan 

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Steve Maroney" <steve@...> wrote:
>
> Dear Gang,
> 
>  
> 
> I'm having quite a bit of trouble when I solder a component lead (or
> jumper wire) to a through-hole pad that is connected to a ground plane.
> When I heat the component lead/pad and begin to apply solder, the solder
> flows outwards over the plane around the pad but not to the lead and/or
> pad itself. The more solder I continue to feed in just continues to
> build up outside of the pad.  Every now and then , I'll get a pad that
> the solder will stay within, but most wont.  
> 
>  
> 
> I do NOT have a single problem soldering through hole pads NOT connected
> to a plane.   Anyone else have this problem and/or know what the
> solution is or what Im doing wrong ?
> 
>  
> 
> Love this list and thanks in advance. 
> 
>  
> 
> Best Regards,
> 
> Steve Maroney
> 
>  
> 
> Business Computer Support, LLC
> 
> Mobile Phone:504-914-4704
> 
> Office Phone: 504-904-0266
> 
> Fax: 866-871-7797
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> From: Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com
> [mailto:Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Russell Shaw
> Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2010 8:14 PM
> To: Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Precipitate in ferric chloride storage
> bottle
> 
>  
> 
>   
> 
> Philip Pemberton wrote:
> > Hi guys.
> > 
> > I just dumped the contents of my 2-litre concertina bottle of FeCl3
> into 
> > my etching tank, and about half way through I was treated to a loud 
> > HISSSSS as this lot got dumped in the funnel:
> > 
> >
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs/photos/album/338698001/pic/1
> 053817307/view
> > 
> > Basically, it's a dark brown precipitate that's formed into round
> loops, 
> > not unlike dead leaves in autumn. I now have the unenviable job of 
> > dismantling the tank and cleaning out the base and the air bubbler.
> One 
> > of these days I'll rig up a proper circulation pump and filter system 
> > (not unlike those on photo-lab machines if you've ever seen inside one
> 
> > of those)...
> > 
> > But anyway, back to the subject of my question. Does anyone know what 
> > this stuff is? My FeCl3 is a somewhat greenish brown at this point,
> but 
> > I've got a 5-litre bottle of "hyper-activated" FeCl3 in the garage. 
> > Would there be any benefit to adding a bit more concentrate to the 
> > working tank?
> > 
> > And the final question: how the hell do I get rid of this stuff? Flush
> 
> > it down the loo? Double-bag it and chuck it in the bin? Call a local 
> > haz-chem company who won't touch it until I've got some arbitrary
> number 
> > of litres of the stuff and am willing to pay several hundred quid in 
> > disposal fees?
> 
> See if HCl dissolves it. If so, you can keep using it as etchant.
> If you have a bubbler to agitate the tank when etching, things will
> get much easier.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>