solder causing oxidation? (1 Viewer)

[Brian.R]

I purchased banana plugs from Monoprice because I read they could be used either as screw-on or solder-on. First, I don't see how anyone is able to get them to work as screw-on because the internal collar where you fold over the wires does not seat into the "cap". When I did this the wire didn't pull out (because of the fold in the wire) but was obviously loose as it moved along the length of the plug.

Anyway, I decided to solder them. It's been about a week and I've noticed green oxidation inside the speaker wire jacket. It's goes from the plug up about 1/2 inch.

Should I be worried about this? I can cut off the ends and redo it ... can someone tell me how the heck to just use these as screw-on because that's faaaarrr easier than soldering into the center hole of the plug.

Thanks!
Brian

 

[Chu Gai]

The green color is a result of the insulation of the wire, PVC (PolyVinylChloride) breaking down and reacting with the copper to form Copper Chloride, a green compound. While unsightly, it's typically a surface phenomenon and doesn't affect the signal. What probably happened is that as you soldered, you caused the temperature of the PVC to rise sufficiently so that it broke down releasing HCl (Hydrogen Chloride) which then reacted with the copper.