How to solder EL wire

[20spray]

0:24 STRIPPERS?

oh wait, no, wire strippers nvm then

[robertcruickshank]

@20spray If you can convince them to help, you can use other sorts of strippers too.

[HiddeHeitbrink]

cant you burn off the phosfor stuff?

[robertcruickshank]

@HiddeHeitbrink I've heard that you can, but it could be toxic. Never actually tried it.

[HiddeHeitbrink]

@robertcruickshank

i just recieved 2.2 metres of EL wire for under my keyboard, but what i want to know is. can i cut off the usb wire TO the transformer and solder it in parralel to the little connector in the keyboard. so the el wire is powered by the usb that is running to the keyboard.

[robertcruickshank]

@HiddeHeitbrink As long as the transformer is made to run on 5V (if it originally comes with a USB plug, it should) you should have no problems. Make sure you connect to the power pins of the USB, and you have the polarity right, and you should be fine.

[gavdownes100]

Nice, simple an clear tutorial.. thanks

[jrodriguez7531]

i want to learn how to do the same thing but with EL tape...

[Diodeus]

Rob! Holy crap! I want to move to Creatron! Thank you!010011!!

[robertcruickshank]

@Diodeus Ha! Yeah, Lawrence and Mary are awesome, eh? I've been thinking ouf doing some EL wire demos at InterAccess some open studio night- you should come by and say hi! O/S is every Wed night, 7-10, I'm there most times.

[Blowitupnow]

you didn't have an inverter did u? u just hooked it straight to the battery? that's not working for me... do u have a different type of EL wire?

[robertcruickshank]

@Blowitupnow No it needs an inverter. EL wire needs abut 200 volts or so (at very low current ) to operate.

[THXn11]

@robertcruickshank i probably missed it but which is the positive and negative connections from the plug to the el wire?

[robertcruickshank]

@THXn11 the voltage to the EL wire is AC so the polarity doesn't matter. The battery connection to the inverter needs to be correct, though:positive to red, black to negative.

[THXn11]

@robertcruickshank oh ok thanx mate. very helpful vid. i purchased some of this that was supposed to be wired up for me by the supplier but when it arrived it never worked, i mailed them they practically called me a liar and that i ruined it myself. so after close inspection i found the wire snapped so i will fix it myself. you know the saying, u want a job done, do it yourself, lol. thank you for the vid and fast reply. tc :)

[robertcruickshank]

@THXn11 You're welcome! Have fun!

[Diodeus]

Hey Rob - James MacFarlane here. Where can you but this stuff in Toronto?

[robertcruickshank]

@Diodeus Hey James! You can get it at Creatron, 255 College street. I just heard that Active Surplus has some at the moment, but I haven't confirmed this.

[Blowitupnow]

I need to know... if u solder copper wire to the copper strip and the metal until the phosphor then to the wires which plug into the battery pack, could u extend the length of the connection? or connect multiple el wire segments to one battery pack?

[robertcruickshank]

@Blowitupnow Yes, you can extent the connection, or add more segments of EL wire, sure. The nice thing is that you can add extra connections at either end of the EL wire segment in either series or parallel

[Blowitupnow]

@robertcruickshank oh i never even though of that, that helps so bloody much haha

[kittie500]

How do you solder 2 pieces of EL wire together if you even can to add more length if needed..

Thanks

[robertcruickshank]

@kittie500 You can splice two pieces of EL wire together by preparing the ends, as shown in this video, then soldering the centre wires together. Then you must take a short piece of insulated wire to connect the two copper tapes together. Insulate everything with heat shrink after that. You can use clear heatshrink to minimize the dark spot, but there's always be a bit of a gap, so plan your design accordingly. I keep promising to make a video showing how to do this. I will, soon.

[TirantVirus]

Can I use aluminum instead of copper?

[robertcruickshank]

@TirantVirus You can't solder to aluminum, so the only way to do it would be to use some sort of conductive epoxy, which would get expensive and tricky. You'd want a really good reason to do this, such as integrating EL wire into an aluminum sculpture, for instance.

[RandomAccountHolder]

Only thing I would change is check your connections BEFORE and AFTER doing your heat shrink.

[OE4040]

Success! Thanks so much for the video and simple technique that actually works. If anyone is having a hard time finding copper tape, you can try the pesticide department of your local nursery or garden center and ask for copper foil tape for snails and slugs. Actually use copper foil tape at the bottom of your plants to stop snails and slugs from climbing up them. Learn many things everyday. DIY EL wire was on my to-do list for quite some time. Again, thanks!

[robertcruickshank]

@OE4040 Glad I could help!

[6o9tenstars]

Can EL wire be used to transfer a current, IE: can you use it to replace regular copper solid wire in a button etc for signal? Or is the sole purpose of this to just light up.

[robertcruickshank]

@6o9tenstars Hmm- never thought about that. It is copper wire, so the simple answer is yes, but of course you want to have it light up, AND transfer the signal. The output from the inverter is AC so you could have your signal as a DC voltage on top of that, but that would involve a lot of careful design. What I did once was use a touch switch, which was controlled by an electrode at the end of the EL wire- the signal from the electrode was carried by a very fine wire run along the EL wire.

[chaderotti]

heat shrink gun?

$1 cigarette lighter never let me down

[KaiKudo]

how i wish i have a soldering tool and know how to solder ):

if electric duck tape works that would make my life so much easier.

any way awesome video is very easy to understand even for a beginner like me :D

[Morndenkainen]

Excellent video, very informative even for a novice and you definitely didn't do a hack job with the soldering and heat shrink and showed how to do it the right way.

I was kinda waiting for you to cut your finger with that razor though. :P

[robertcruickshank]

@Morndenkainen Thanks!  (the razor is pretty dull, actually )

[Morndenkainen]

@robertcruickshank That just means it hurts more. :P

[drumkid330]

How long does it take for the soldering iron to heat up like that?

[robertcruickshank]

@drumkid330 I have a soldering station, which heats up in about 30 seconds. Inexpensive irons can tke several minutes for the temperature to stabilize. You want about a 35 watt iron for this sort of thing.

[digsafe10]

So what happens at the OTHER end of the EL wire??? Do the corona wires need to connect to the main copper wire to complete the circuit?

[robertcruickshank]

@digsafe10 The other end can be left free- in fact, if you were to connect the corona wires to the main copper wire, it would short out. Electrically, the EL wire looks like a capacitive load to the power supply.

You could also slice another length of EL wire to the free end.

[mjindustry75]

where do you get the copper tape? Radio Shack maybe?

[robertcruickshank]

@mjindustry75 not sure- we no longer have Radio Shack in Canada, but I get the tape from Cool Neon, they throw it in for free when you buy the EL wire from them. You might check craft stores too, as it's used to make fake satined glass, and also garden stores, as it apparently repels slugs and snails..

[CursedJoker]

Very Smooth tutorial. Thank you.

[robertcruickshank]

@CursedJoker Thanks!

[killakam1995]

can you just use a blow dryer for the heat shrinker?

[robertcruickshank]

@killakam1995 Nope. Not hot enough.

[iamtehownage1337]

@robertcruickshank cant u just use a lighter?

[robertcruickshank]

@iamtehownage1337 sure, that works.

[mtnbikerET]

@iamtehownage1337 Hair driers can shrink heat shrink. I used to do it all the time when I was a kid. But seriously, a nice hot air gun is a good investment.

[kmjsocket]

does the polarity matter?

[robertcruickshank]

@kmjsocket no, the voltage from the river is AC, so it can go either way.

[killakam1995]

@robertcruickshank just like my friends mom.

[Delta8559272]

the "lap joint" with wires is called a "western union" because it was the joint style they used on telegraph lines

[robertcruickshank]

@Delta8559272 Actually, I seem to remember that the Western Union splice had twisted ends, sort of like barbed wire. It works a bit like a fisherman's knot.

[madamerotten]

@robertcruickshank You are correct. Western Union splices involve two different pitches of twisting for junctions that have to endure large lateral tensions. (Lap joints are fine, here.) Great video!

[kwebber1234]

do i HAVE to solder the 2 wres to the copper tape?

[robertcruickshank]

@kwebber1234 Only if you want it to work.

[charlie2face]

nice job i plan 2 to make my one of my jackets light up with el wire.. just one question can u go from 1 el wire 'wire' to cut it and then solder to another el wire..and can u go 2 to 1 on the wiring? ..thnx

[robertcruickshank]

@charlie2face Yes, you can do that- you might want to splice a short section of wire between the two EL wires

and yes, you can make a Y connection if you want. The nice thing is that you can hook EL wire up in series or parallel, and it doesn't really matter.

[cwtrain]

You're a confident one. I'd never heatshrink without testing my connections first. :P

[CalicoatMaker]

I use three pieces of shring tubing, so when one burns up from too much heat/me being impatient, I have another there to use without resoldering.

Your heat gun is WAY too close

[robertcruickshank]

@CalicoatMaker sounds like *your* heatgun is way too close if you have burning heat shrink. :) 

[iToasterman]

isnt the phospherus bad for ur health?

[robertcruickshank]

@iToasterman I would be careful not to inhale the dust or fumes from it.

[iToasterman]

@robertcruickshank now, ima not work with el wire... ever....

[robertcruickshank]

@iToasterman that said, I think it's reasonably safe. I've never heard of any health problems. Just take the usual precautions you should when soldering anything.

[iToasterman]

@robertcruickshank your making it sound worse!

[antixs092]

Would this apply to el panels, or el tape?

[robertcruickshank]

@antixs092 The panels and tape I've seen have solder terminals attached already, so they are easier to terminate. There's no way that I know of to easily cut a panel or tape to size, however.

[sergiuung]

heat shrink gun? doesn't a hair drier do the job just as well :D ?

[robertcruickshank]

@sergiuung No. This is a common misconception. If a hair drier was hot enough to shrink heat-shrink, it would cook your scalp. You can use a cigarette lighter, though, if you don't have a heat gun.

[mikajmd]

So can I do this to extend the wires to make it longer and still use the same converter?

[robertcruickshank]

@mikajmd yes, although you will get a dark spot at the splice.

[jwish29]

so if i had 10Ft of el wire and used 4FT then cut and added 3Ft of regular wire then reattached the 6Ft el wire it will still work? i need 10Ft of visible el wire but design follows about 15Ft of wire.

[robertcruickshank]

@jwish29 Yes, that will work.

[TZASkip]

Excellent video! Much more informative than the one I watched before. Just assembled my EL wire kit and it works a treat! Thanks very much!

[wakelax]

what kind of solder should u use? i used some lead free solder and it made a terrible connection, the light was all dimm :(

[robertcruickshank]

@wakelax I've never tried lead-free solder for this, but it should work. Just be aware that the melting temperature is higher, so your iron will have to be hotter to make a good connaction- and that will make it harder not to melt the plastic jacket.

[gdl314]

Didn't work. I must have done something wrong or I have the wrong inverter. What kind of inverter would I need for 10 feet of high bright 2.5mm el wire?

[robertcruickshank]

@gdl314 pretty much any small inverter should work. Check your connections, and make sur eht battery is connected properly. You should at least be able to see some glow, even with the smallest inverter. I usully get the "fish" drivers from Cool Neon

[conundrum2007]

obtain some clear heatshrink and then cut two pieces to about 15mm and 35mm.

install heatshrink onto prepared cut wire end then move it along to stop it shrinking.

then solder the inner ends together (best to use no wash flux solder)

Install smaller heatshrink piece onto the splice (making sure there is 3mm of clearance on each side with phosphor)

then twist the outer cores around the wire and inner heatshrink, solder together and cover with the clear heatshrink + uv setting glue and shrink.

[conundrum2007]

another idea, get some clear heatshrink (not that expensive) and slide two pieces of different length onto the wire end, then solder the two inner cores together and install the smaller piece and shrink. Then (ensuring that there is enough wire length) twist the two outer wires around the heatshrink and solder in the middle and heatshrink the splice.

I'd also use some hotmelt glue or similar to make sure the splice is waterproof.

voila, multicolour EL wire :-)

[leel17]

beauty, well done

[leel17]

HEY... I LIKE STRIPPERS

[Emery098]

i just did this and it was THE HARDEST thing ive ever had to solder, stripping the corona wires is SO HARD on my 2.5 mm EL wire. took at least 30-45 minutes to solder a wire cut in half... should i have not used my teeth to strip the magnesium xD

[Ryantron9000]

best to twist your wires together for a stronger connection.

[DawGy376]

Um how would you solder EL wire to another piece of EL wire so it branches off? XD

[robertcruickshank]

@DawGy376 The best way would be to do a 3-way splice- so prepare the 3 ends as shown in this video, then solder the 3 main phosphor wires together, then join the copper tapes together with short pieces of wire, then heatshrink everything. It's a bit tricky, and you get a dark spot where they meet, but it's do-able.

[mickycheese27]

Do have to use an inverter? Can you directly use a set of AA batteries or one 9 volt batt.?

[robertcruickshank]

@mickycheese27

The wire requires a high voltage to work, on the order of 200 volts or so, which is provded by the inverters. So no, it won't wok without one.

[TheFallenFilms]

can you cut EL wire?

[TheFallenFilms]

can you cut EL wire?

[robertcruickshank]

@TheFallenFilms

Of course! Just make sure that when it's cut, the inner spiral wires don't short to the main wire.

[twmbatracer]

great video mate. good info. oh and also to shrink heat shrink you can use a cigarette lighter lol. thats my fave cos it works so quick.

[Redrum4409]

great vid thanks for the info!

[Redrum4409]

great vid thanks for the info!

[Redrum4409]

great vid thanks for the info!

[SgtMik]

i love heat shrink. it gives a nice touch

[dpiden1]

Thank you SO much for this video. I have all the parts ready to go in the car for the ABL and you've just answered 3 VERY important questions I had regarding the soldering which will now allow me get this DONE! THANK YOU!

[spartain543]

i go to (thats cool wire . com) its easy to find what you need.

[choi4816]

If you have one of those nicer spring loaded wire strippers which do a really good job of stripping off the plastic jacket, they can also be used to very cleanly strip off the phosphorous, one pull and it all comes off!

[teeoff123456]

Where do you buy your EL wires and inverters from, also great vid it'll help me alot

[robertcruickshank]

I get my supplies from Cool Neon- they've been quite helpful.

I'm also told that Light 'n wire is good, but I've not dealt with them personally.

[JediMasterRick]

does it matter witch is positif and witch is negatife?

[robertcruickshank]

No, the output of the inverter is alternating current (AC) so it doesn't matter. The side of the inverter which connects to the battery does require correct polarity- the red wire is positive, and the black wire is negative.

[phazerave]

where did you get that clippy thing? that would be incredibly handy

[makyla2]

outstanding how-to video, thanks!

[herbivore247]

why don't you use emery paper to clean off the phosporous?

[robertcruickshank]

It's pretty tough stuff- you could uses a coarse abrasive to get most of it off, then polish with a fine emery cloth, sure.

[Nimnoms]

Right, so I guess I'll hire someone to do it then.

[sonicoliver]

cheers! helped a lot :)

[Erocker5]

Ah, copper tape! I was trying to figure out how to go about soldering the corona wires. Precisely what I needed to know before I embark on building this EL wire outfit.

Thanks!

[Dshaws90fordf150]

Wow. You make it look so easy. I'm trying to solder two headset wires. So frigging hard specially since I never soldered before.

[robertcruickshank]

Be aware that headset wires are often made of a weird tinsel material that it almost impossible to solder. It can drive you crazy trying. You might be better than you think!

[Dshaws90fordf150]

Yea I did it. It was pretty hard. Got it to hold but I thought of getting a bigger wire and putting it around it and twist it. Then I soldered that. It worked pretty good. Only thing my Soldering gun metal. The bottom got stuck on. Good work on the video by the way.

[khaos12a]

he he- take strippers

[buzzingb]

Nice tutorial. Cool Neon wire is COOL!

[ibanezrg320fm]

Why is it that when I solder two wires, the solder turns into a ball and rolls onto the floor? I know when I would solder at work, we would solder brass together but we used a liquid to clean the surfaces called stodder i believe. Your solder molded together beautifully. Mine doesn't. ???

[robertcruickshank]

Electronic solder has the flux embedded in a core in the solder- make sure you are using electronics solder. Other possibilities are that you are not getting the wires hot enough, or that you are not cleaning off any surface oxidiation properly.

[myjeepcj5]

what is el wire??? ive never heard of it?

[elifero]

can i solder 2 neon wires together

[robertcruickshank]

Yes, see the answer a few comments back, it's very similar.

[elifero]

can i use a hair blower

[robertcruickshank]

No, they are not hot enough. If they're hot enough to shrink the tubing, they're hot enough to burn skin.

As the previous commenter noted you can use a match or lighter in a pinch. Practice first!

[themaxdog]

you can use a match too if you dont have the heat pistol.

[mafoo17]

just wanted to thank you for the helpful video.

i didnt solder on a connecter, i had a bad wire so i cut a section out and resoldered it to the handheld power pack. (toy) and it works! thanks :]

[johnnyrinsma]

Hello,

How about soldering 2 neon wires together,.. that goes the same way as this?

Hoping for your reply,

Regards Johnny from holland

[robertcruickshank]

Yes, pretty much.

What I do is prepare the ends, just as shown here, then solder the two centre condutors together, and slide some small heat-shrink over the connection. Then I take a small piece of 24 gauge solid wire, and solder one end of it to each of the copper tapes on the twopieces of EL wire, to connect them. Make sure it can't short out to the centre connection, then heat shrink over everything.

[Penfold8]

You said that the solder joint is supposed to be shiny, but that I would say really only applies to leaded solder. If you are using lead free solder the joint will look kind of grainy and dull.

[robertcruickshank]

Yes, that's absolutely correct.

[robertcruickshank]

Oh, I'm supposed to pronounce the "L", like in "troll?"

And who says I'm American?

[salabadyukan]

help me, how to heat joints?

[robertcruickshank]

I'm not sure what you mean- it's exactly like ordinary electronic soldering-use a fine tip soldering iron of 25 to 40 watts or so.

[kalpoider]

SODDER.. The word is spelt and SOLDER and should be pronounced SOLDER...No silent "L" .....

Come on people..Its not that hard..Or is the American vocabulary/education system that messed up..?

[mykatamari]

Where can get some of that copper tape / copper foil? I called a few plumbing places and homedepot. They don't sell it.

[robertcruickshank]

Odd- I remember replying to this and don't see the reply.

You can sometimes get it at craft stores, it's used in making stained glass.

[mykatamari]

I also found out that it is used to put around your plant pots to keep snails and other things out too. I found it on e-bay, but its sold for more than what I want.

[mockhazzard]

Thank you very much for the video. really helpful

[Penfold8]

I wonder would a scotch-brite pad be better at stripping the phosphorous on the wire?

[RoboticShowOff]

I want to add EL wire to my Daft Punk helmet, but no now since I'm making the Guy-Man helmet! :)

[zakkmiester]

hopefully gonna make a holloween costume outa this stuff (friend is having a cyberpunk party xp)

[Anapwntian]

Good video Mate, Ty.

[xteaopia]

WOW, dude, this is the best vid on soldering with heat shrinks. I am going to use thsi idea on my custom p.c (high spec) It will look cool as well now!!! THANKS!

[robertcruickshank]

You're welcome! Good luck!

[xteaopia]

LOL, first lets take some strippers  "oh yer, WIRE STRIPPERS"

[juanoporras]

Hello, What is the name of the thing with clippers in the video that holds the wires?

Thanks a lot

[ABlackKaq]

lol, helping hands,

Radioshack sells em.

[Lunartool]

Perfect!  Thanks!

[Glendale1901]

OMG, that scares me how you hold that blade hehe.

[TimReed22222]

For the stripping step, some folks use heat to soften the casing until it can be pulled off - thus avoiding the frustration of accidentally cutting the corona wires. I find a lighter, held 1-2 sec under the spot where you'd use the cutter, works well with a little practice.

[BryTee]

I usually test it works BEFORE doing the heatshrinking part.

[robertcruickshank]

Yep, that would be the way to do it. Good point.

[petike555]

Thanks alot. Very informative. Now I can make a lot more and pay less than for done ones.

[ClanHanna]

This is so much more helpful than I had dreamed of finding. Thanks!

[davechatting]

Great - really clear - thanks a lot!

[GrandadSue]

Good instructive video clip ,. but , What is "Sarder" ? I can't understand why you say Sarder or Sawder when it should be pronounced Solder . ie , the L and the D should be clearly heard.

[robertcruickshank]

It's a north american thing, I think. I'm in Canada, and our pronunciations tend to be somewhere between British and American English.

[rmosher315]

I can't understand why people nit-pick over things like this. EVERYONE knows what he's talking about regardless of how he pronounces it. You really need to get a life.

[carpenns]

awesome, I noticed those two little wires when I thought to attempt such a thing, now you've shown how, currently sewing el wire into a jacket for the black rock city get down 2007. Anyone have tips on sewing el wire? It seems to take some time.

[wesc23]

Avoid the annoying scraping by burning the phosphor off with a lighter.  It then easily scrapes off with your thumbnails. Avoid breathing the vapors, probably toxic.

[sporadic1]

Sweet, finally a video to help explain this process. Good job rob.

[treborrrrr]

I guess I'm just a wee bit late but I have to say thanks for providing an excellent guide.

[robertcruickshank]

Yes, I'm hoping do do more, on various topics.

[Iride88s]

really really nice guide, i liked it, anymore to come

[Sno0py87]

Cool, this was useful.

[kasprzak]

this is awesome, Rob. great resource.