Brazing & Soldering Products

Alloy Selection Guide

Product Support

	Alloy Selection Guide
	Safety Data Sheets
	'How To' Information
	Frequently Asked Questions

Brazing is essentially a high-temperature form of soldering that, when properly done, provides extremely strong, leak-tight, corrosion resistant joints. Most of the common (and easy to use) brazing alloys contain silver and the amount of silver in the alloy can affect how that material melts and flows. When brazing (and soldering), the metals being joined are not melted, but a filler metal is used to metallurgically bond the materials being joined. A separate flux is sometimes necessary to help maintain a clean, oxide-free joint surface.

We offer a wide variety of brazing and soldering alloys for joining most applications encountered in the field. The purpose of this technical information is to assist you in determining the proper alloy and flux to use, given the base metals you're looking to join. Our Sil-Fos family is recommended for joining copper-based materials, and our Braze and Easy-Flo Alloys will join both non-ferrous (copper) and ferrous (steels) metals. Our Clean 'n Brite solders are general-purpose lead-free solders while our Solderite alloys contain lead. We recommend Flux Cored Al 802 for soldering aluminum.

Base Metals to be Joined	Filler Metal to be Used	Proper Flux Selection	Comments
Copper or Brass TO Copper or Brass	SOLDER Clean ‘n Brite 6 Clean ‘n Brite Clean ‘n Brite No Lead Solderite 50/50 BRAZE WITH: SIL-FOS 15 SIL-FOS 6i SIL-FOS 6M SIL-FOS 5 SIL-FOS 2 FOS-FLO 7 (0%Ag)	Clean ‘n Brite Flux or TEC Flux These alloys are self-fluxing on copper, but Handy Flux is needed for brass.	Clean 'n Brite 6 is alloy of choice.It is lead free,contains 6%silver and can be made to exhibit either fluid or sluggish characteristics. SIL-FOS 15 is the #1 choice by contractors,due to its greater ductility and ability absorb vibration stresses, etc. Due to potential for brittle iron-phosphide formation, these alloys are not recommended for brazing steel or other ferrous alloys.
Copper or Brass TO Steel	SOLDER WITH: Clean ‘n Brite 6 Clean ‘n Brite BRAZE WITH: Braze 560 Braze 401 Braze 505	TEC Flux TEC Flux Handy Flux Handy Flux Handy Flux	Clean ‘n Brite 6 used with the more aggressive TEC liquid Flux is the recommended choice. Braze 505 is fast becoming the alloy of choice because it offers higher strength, better corrosion resistance and better "wetting" to steel and stainless steel especially.
	Braze 560 Flux Coated or Flux Cored Braze 401 Flux Coated or Flux Cored Braze 505 Flux Coated or Flux Cored
Copper,Brass or Steel TO Stainless Steel	SOLDER WITH: Clean ‘n Brite 6 Clean ‘n Brite BRAZE WITH: Braze 505	TEC Flux TEC Flux Handy Flux	Clean 'n Brite 6 used with the more aggressive TEC liquid Flux is the recommended choice. We always advise using a nickel-bearing alloy to eliminate corrosion. Braze 505 is an excellent choice.
	Braze 505 Flux Coated or Flux Cored
Aluminum TO Aluminum or Copper	Al 802 Flux Cored Aluminum		High strength,low temperature solder for joining aluminum to aluminum and aluminum to copper. Easy to use, contains a non-corrosive flux.

Additional Technical Information on Particular Products

Alloy Name	AWS Spec	Alloy Composition Percentage						Solidus °F Melting	Liquidus °F Flowing
		Ag	Cu	Zn	Sn	P	Other
		Silver	Copper	Zinc	Tin	Phos- phorus
Sil-Fos 15 Highly recommended for joining copper applications where ductility is important and close fit-ups cannot be maintained. Slow alloy flow.	BCuP-5	15	80			5		1190	1475
Sil-Fos 6i A fluid filler metal that offers intermediate flow characteristics. An acceptable alternative to Sil-Fos 15 where vibration and thermal cycling stresses are not severe.		6	87.5			6.5		1190	1425
Sil-Fos 6M Also recommended for use where close fit-ups cannot be maintained. Has the ability to fill gaps and form fillets without affecting joint strength. Slow Flow.		6	88			6		1190	1460
Sil-Fos 5 A more economical alloy which has the ability to fill gaps and form fillets without adversely affecting joint strength. Slow Flow.	BCuP-3	5	89			6		1190	1495
Sil-Fos 2 A lower cost filler metal with characteristics similar to Fos Flo 7 - though not so fluid. Medium Flow.	BCuP-6	2	91			7		1190	1475
Fos Flo 7 An economical, 0% silver filler metal that is very fluid. Withstands moderate vibration but without the ductility of Sil-Fos 15. Fast Flow.	BCuP-2		92.8			7.2		1310	1460
Braze 380 A free flowing cadmium-free filler metal that joins both ferrous and non-ferrous metals.	BAg-34	38	32	28	2			1200	1330
Braze 401 A low temperature alloy that exhibits fairly fluid melt and flow characteristics. Joins ferrous and non-ferrous metals.		40	30	30				1245	1340
Braze 450 Low temperature filler metal for joining ferrous, non-ferrous and dissimilar metals with large joint clearances.	BAg-5	45	30	25				1225	1370
Braze 505 Highly recommended alloy - joins most common metals including stainless steel and carbides.	BAg-24	50	20	28			2 Ni	1220	1305
Braze 560 Lowest temperature cadmium-free filler metal. Excellent general purpose alloy for close joint fit-ups.	BAg-7	56	22	17	5			1145	1205
Easy-Flo 45 A very ductile, Cd-bearing alloy with very low melting temperature. High strength alloy with good flow properties. Caution - contains cadmium.	BAg-1	45	15	16			24 Cd	1125	1145
Clean ‘n Brite Lead-free, silver-bearing high strength solder used for applications requiring large joint clearances.		3.5			96.5			431	431
Clean ‘n Brite 6 General purpose lead-free silver-bearing solder. Best choice for applications with large and small gaps.		6			94			431	535
Clean ‘n Brite 95/5 General purpose Tin /Antimony solder. Not for use on brass alloys.					95		5 Sb	450	460
Clean ‘n Brite No Lead Silver-bearing solder with good strength used in potable water system applications requiring no lead.		0.5	4		95.5			428	446
Solderite 50/50 Standard general purpose tin/lead solder for moderate joint clearances. Available as solid, acid or rosin core.					50		50 Pb	361	414
Aluminum Solder Low temperature flux cored solder for joining aluminum to aluminum or copper. Non-corrosive.				98			2 Al	710	725
Handy Flux All-purpose, low temperature flux for brazing both ferrous and non-ferrous metals and alloys. Temperature protection up to 1600° F.	FB3A
Handy Flux Type TEC	Widely used soldering flux provides excellent performance for applications in the 400° - 800° F range. Recommended for soldering stainless.
Clean ‘n Brite Flux	General purpose solder flux provides temperature protection up to 550° F.