Solder Wire Expiry Dates

Many solder wire suppliers put a on rolls of solder wire either a: * "Date of manufacture" stamp and then specify a shelf life in their product documentation ... OR * "Date of expiration."

J-STD-005, 6.2, 6.3, and Table 4, where it states "If the stated shelf life on a product is expired, but it meets the performance test, it may be used. If the material is requalified, the new shelf life shall be considered to be half the stated shelf life." Also, this section recommends shelf life extension testing methods.

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Some print expiry date on reels and some specify a shelf life on data sheets. Two main reasons are that the flux in the wire is a mix of chemicals and over time in storage these can react so soldering performance can be changed. Although I have to say all flux chemistries are different so will react different. Secondly, some solder manufactures have Product Liability Insurance whereby they guarantee the performance of their materials and within these policies there has to be a guaranteed time period for each product covered. In most cases you are very unlikely to notice any difference in the soldering performance of a wire that has passed its shelf life.

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We started to use wire from Metallic Resources because they have no expiration date for "properly stored" product.

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