Silver is actually the most electrically conductive metal. More conductive than gold, It’s not prone to corrosion and even when it does come in contact with sulfur it forms a layer of silver sulfide that actually protects the rest of the silver.
I wantto thank 18sixfifty for informing us about this. I don't get the negativity towards it in the least. Fact is silver conducts better than copper and takes longer to tarnish. Silver Plated copper braid can only be better than plain copper solder wick most are already using. I don't get the unappreciative vibe in this thread.
I think it’s mostly because we’re so used to hearing about / seeing silver tarnish. That was certainly my first thought! “Why would I switch from one thing that oxidizes to silver which will tarnish?”
It sounds like I might have been (happily) wrong to think that. From the discussion so far it sounds like the tarnishing probably happens much more slowly than copper would oxidize…
That said, I’m still not sure I see the problem we are trying to solve. Surface oxidization doesn’t matter along the length of the conductor. Contact areas should stay clear through friction or be easy to clean… am I wrong?
Either way I’m glad to see info like this posted. Thanks 18sixfifty.
I’ve used nickel coated copper braid in the past, along with uncoated. Personally, I have no preference to either because I haven’t witnessed corrosion. What is a problem for me with braiding is it’s tendency to fray and eventually break. This is why I (like C_K) only use 22awg silicone wire. I haven’t had any spring mods fail since I made the switch. (no pun intended)
Cool trick, 18sixfifty! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks
If my statement that Silver tarnishes or oxidizes was a slam, then my apologies. It was meant just as a statement of fact. I don't know if any of you have any real silver in the house, like a Silver punch bowl or something, but I know in my grandma's day many wealthy people did and keeping it shiny meant constant polishing, as the air would turn it dark fairly quickly, or am I wrong here? I am sure it would be better than plain copper, as copper tarnishes and oxidizes very rapidly, but since DC current basically travels evenly throughout a conductor, then the primary passage, percentage wise, is inside the conductor, so any type of plating, such as silver or gold really would not have a huge effect on conductivity. At least, that is my understanding, but I have been known to be all wet before and probably will be again. Probably within this thread...
I put the link up for ebay, because it looked like a good price for 50' of the stuff, not as a slam.
I should have just said thanks and left it at that, but I never do for some reason. Just my antagonistic personality I guess.
No problem OL and thanks for the link.
Thanks for sharing 18sixfifty.
Thanks for posting, I use this for building battery packs out of individual cells
It’s worth mentioning though that I’ve still had some of the joints corrode over time, though not as bad as on copper braid
It’s more to do with the flux ( as someone already mentioned) if you use a old fashioned non self cleaning flux and non fluxed core solder it doesn’t happen, although it’s harder to use as your joints need to be super clean or the solder won’t flow well and just balls up
Take a look at a soldered joint in your house that a plumber hasn’t cleaned the flux residue off properly, the flux residue makes the joints go all green, just like your spring braid solder joint
Obviously it’s hard to clean the residue off of braid on your tail cap spring, so use traditional flux if you don’t want it going green
Good points thanks. I use “alpha” flux it’s a hydrochloric acid based flux that isn’t supposed to have a strong corrosive residue and generally when I’m using my solder for springs I put the solder on the iron and let the flux burn off. You can actually watch as the flux beads up and melts away. I’ll take your advice though and get some regular solder with a non-luxed core to use too. Every little bit helps.
My biggest thing is that I want my builds to last for years and years and after seeing the green popping up on my older mods I knew there had to be a better way of doing it.
Is the copper most people are using the flux infused solder wick? Any residual flux is a bad thing.
Silver does oxidize but the beauty is that silver oxide is conductive. However, if the corrosion is from solder flux, all bets are off.
Braided wire mesh is probably the hardest thing to clean flux from. It takes something a little more aggressive than alcohol. And don’t believe it when they say “no-clean”. Always clean thoroughly after soldering!
A lot of high-end electrical connectors are silver plated. Even if they tarnish, they still conduct electricity quite well. Some reading material:
http://www.te.com/documentation/whitepapers/pdf/Ag_use_connectors_503-1016.pdf
Thanks, great info.