Should I discard my leaded resin core solder

[Bill Jobe]

The nice thing about pex is that you can start from anywhere and replace pipes using the pex fittings and valves. A 3/4 pex will snap onto a 3/4 copper or 3/4 pex.
It is more expensive, but a real pleasure to use. I have a single pex shutoff valve on every line in my house, all in one room. It's hard to beat.
The idea of Flux getting into, say, the water heater has always concerned me. Not anymore.

[Roger Feeley]

I think I bought a pound of .031" solder 30 years ago and I still have a third of it so I'm not terribly worried. Somebody posted that it's unlikely that there's much lead in the fumes so I'm even less worried.
Still, I might invest in the little fan just to get the smoke out of my eyes which has always bugged me. When I solder, I can't help but think about Murphy's law and campfire smoke that always seems to come towards me.

[Pat Barry]

I think I bought a pound of .031" solder 30 years ago and I still have a third of it so I'm not terribly worried. Somebody posted that it's unlikely that there's much lead in the fumes so I'm even less worried.
Still, I might invest in the little fan just to get the smoke out of my eyes which has always bugged me. When I solder, I can't help but think about Murphy's law and campfire smoke that always seems to come towards me.

The melting point of lead is 363 deg F. Tin Lead solder melts at a much lower temperature due to its alloy properties. Lead boils at a much higher temperature (3000 + deg F). I don't think you need to worry about lead fumes during typical soldering processes although if you took a torch to it long enough I suppose that could happen. The more nasty effect is the flux burnoff that happens during soldering - for that it is wise to have a gentle fan blowing to keep from inhaling those fumes. Who knows whats in the flux / flux vapor.