Hello everyone,

I recently received a Kester 951 flux pen that I ordered for my soldering work. However, I noticed that the pen I received has a white tip, while the product image and description from where I purchased showed it with a yellow tip. The model is the Kester 951 10ml, 13cm.

I've attached two photos for comparison - the first one is of the pen I received:.




and the second one is from the product description: ( I bought it from here [Aliexpress] )


I just wanted to check if this is normal and if it would affect the functionality of the pen in any way. Has anyone else experienced this?

Is there a way to determine if it's a defective product? I'm interested in any methods to test if it could potentially be a substandard item.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

Kester 951 is a clear liquid so the tip color is simply that, a colored tip material.

 

Funny, but your Kester pen says "York" on it. They may have sent a substitute.

 

Kester 951 is a clear liquid so the tip color is simply that, a colored tip material.

Thank you for your answer.
Are you implying that even if the tip color of the Kester 951 flux pen I received isn't yellow as depicted in the product photo, it's still completely normal and shouldn't affect the functionality?

 

Funny, but your Kester pen says "York" on it. They may have sent a substitute.

Thank you for your observation. Would you happen to know if there's a method to verify if the content of the pen is indeed flux and not a non-functional substitute? Your insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

No. The new flux pen is very likely to be functional and usable. One way to know is to try it!

Your Kester 951 has a set specifications that would be difficult for somebody like you are me at home to verify. My advice: try it, if it works then its flux. No problem.

 

Is the flux regular rosin flux or is it no-clean or water wash flux? Water wash flux is corrosive if left on a PC board. If you are not expecting it to be water wash, you should check it when you follow DickCappels advice. If it washes off with water then you'll know for sure.

 

Is the flux regular rosin flux or is it no-clean or water wash flux? Water wash flux is corrosive if left on a PC board. If you are not expecting it to be water wash, you should check it when you follow DickCappels advice. If it washes off with water then you'll know for sure.

The product in question is indeed a no-clean flux, so we wouldn't need to worry about corrosion in this instance, would we?

 

The product in question is indeed a no-clean flux, so we wouldn't need to worry about corrosion in this instance, would we?

No. No-clean is designed to be left on the PC board after manufacture.

You should still inspect the boards for contaminants that may or may not be conductive. Generally this isn't a problem for mass manufacture, it's more of an issue with hand soldering. When hand soldering it's all too easy to use too much flux with some of it breaking down or picking up small amounts of solder.