So as most if you know, solder paste from shoddy chinese outfits (you can't get the alloys I want from the West at sane prices) is available in two kinds of packaging:
Often inaccurately labeled jars containing 35-50g
Often inaccurately labeled syringes containing 20-35g.
The price per gram is naturally markedly higher in the syringes. I'd be willing to pay that premium... except for one issue: The good paste is only available in jars.
You want 158C intermediate temperature solder? Only Mechanic sells it in a syringe, and it appears to be 43:43:14 SnPbBi, not the ROHS stuff. Why would I be using wacky alloys like that if I wanted leaded solder?
Or the best of the Sn65Bi35+a touch of silver?
Or the good brand of leaded silver bearing solder?
Or anything in larger quantities? Jars only!
Has anyone transferred solder paste from jars to syringes successfully? Any advice?
Same goes for flux. I've got a big tub of that lovely UG78 flux coming (it's nice because cleans up better than most brands, see - though to be clear Kester makes sigificantly better flux, it's just a mess to remove) - but you really would like it in a syringe. Syringes are cheap, but how to transfer?
The only way my ex-company bought solder paste was in jars. AND the jars were freshly filled and shipped in insulated boxed with ice packs. They were immediately put in a refrigerator. Half hour warmup before using. Mostly for stencil on circuit boards.
We did a small amount of hand building using solder paste in a syringe that was then connected to an air powered dispensing device using a foot pedal. IT dispensed and then retracted to control the drool. I am not sure about how the syringe was filled. We would never have used one of the one-off syringes of paste.
