Help to choose EL Wire

If EL Wire is the right material for your project then you are in the right place
in this store we proudly offer the worlds finest selections of EL Wire and accessories

Below you will find details of premier quality and specialist EL Wires as well as choices to suit every budget

* Please note we only supply EL Wire that already has a connector attached to it*

this means there should be no need for you to get involved with a soldering iron (unless of course you want to) and everything is simply 'plug and play'

for that reason we generally stick to having these lengths of EL Wire in Stock:

10cm, 50cm, 1metre, 3metre, 5metre, 10m, 15m, 25m, 50m and 100metre

all with a connector already soldered in place ready for the EL Wire to be plugged into a splitter or EL Driver

(Other custom lengths can be arranged for you but it is unlikely they will be sent out the same day.)

The standard El Wire comes in 4 diameters (1.3mm, 2.3mm, 3.2mm, 5mm)
these EL Wires are a different thickness but it is worth remembering that the core running through the middle is exactly the same in all these - it is just the sleeve that is thicker
(this can effect the brightness with 1.3mm being the brightest and 5mm being least bright)

Types of EL Wire

1.3mm EL Wire

is £4 per metre
This is often called ‘Angel Hair’ and is useful for weaving into tight shapes
this wire and the ULTRA EL Wire are the only ones that hold their shape rigidly when bent
it is £4 per metre and available in these lengths:

(10cm, 50cm, 1m, 3m, 5m, 10m, 15m and 30m)

2.3mm EL Wire

is £2.50 per metre
This is the cheapest mass produced standard EL wire
and is the type of wire you would get in cheap ebay blister packs
we always source it from a decent manufacturer so it is not so prone to bending fatigue as other 2.3mm el wire you may find for sale
(1m, 3m, 5m, 15m and 100m)

3.2mm EL Wire

is £3 per metre
This high quality wire is good for most applications,
it is strong, durable and still about as bright as the 3.2mm el wire
having a thicker sleeve offers support for the copper core, helping to prevent failing because of continual bending
This is called bending fatigue and unfortunately the copper in the core of the wire is prone to this stress
the sleeve on this wire can only go so far to prevent this wearing away,

users of EL Wire should remember not to place the wire where this type of bending will occur (eg elbows and knees)

(50cm, 1m, 3m, 5m, 10m, 25m and 50m)

5mm wire EL Wire

is the thickest sleeve we offer
there are some projects that demand a thicker wire

If you want the EL Wire chunky look, then this is the one is for you
(10cm, 1m, 3m, 5m, and 10m)

Speciality EL Wires

Ultra EL Wire (2.6mm)

is £6 per metre
this is the next generation of EL Wire
It is the brightest available EL Wire with a thicker glowing core than the standard EL Wire
The thick copper core also means this wire rigidly holds its shape when bent
It is important to note that The Ultra wire needs more power than standard EL Wire to make it glow
It uses standard EL Wire Drivers but you have to double the amount of EL Wire to reach the correct rating
eg 10m of Ultra EL Wire needs a driver that is designed for 20m of standard EL Wire

If it is premium quality wire you need then Ultra EL Wire is the one for you
We supply it in 2.6mm but it is also available in 5mm upon request
(50cm, 1m, 2m, 3m, 5m, 10m, 25m)

Sewable Piping EL Wire (2.3mm)

- £3.50 per metre
This wire has a tag running alongside it that means it can be easily sewn into the seams,not only in cars but as piping along the seams inside vehicles
(50cm, 1m, 3m, 5m, 15m)

Standard Chasing EL Wire (2.3mm)

- £5 per metre
Chasing EL Wire has to be seen to be believed
it requires its own type of Chasing Driver that is different than the standard EL Wires Driver
(50cm, 1m, 3m, 5m, 10m, 20m)

ULTRA Chasing EL Wire (3.2mm)

£12 per metre
This is made using 3 strands of Ultra EL Wire, and therefore is much brighter than the standard Chasing EL Wire
it needs a dedicated Chasing Driver to make it glow and like the Ultra wire it also requires more power to maintain this brightness
for the Ultra Chasing EL Wire you need to Double the length of the wire to reach the rating for the driver
eg

5m of Ultra Chasing EL Wire needs a driver rated for 10m of Standard Chasing EL Wire
(33cm, 1m, 3m, 5m)

Multicoloured EL Wire (5mm)

£6 per metre

This a 5mm EL Wire with a multicoloured coating over the top

(1m, 5m, 15m, 25m)

(3m is sold out and we do not plan to restock since we have to order 3km at a time!)

Double Core EL Wire (3.2mm)

- £5 per metre
Double Core Wire is now in the bargain bucket and is being discontinued as the Ultra EL Wire is now easily the brightest and our premier EL Wire
this wire does have two EL Wires running through the inside of the sleeve so you will have to remember you are running twice as much EL Wire and use the correct Driver
Double core is clearly brighter than standard wire, but it is not as bright as the Ultra EL Wire
(3m, 5m, 10m, 20m)

EL Driver

it is not only the EL Wire that must be selected carefully but also the EL Driver
the higher amount of EL Wire the EL Driver is rated for, the brighter it will make the EL Wire glow

Choosing the right EL Driver / Inverter to power your EL Wire or EL Tape

This has got to be quite a large how-to and is now divided into sections

Click the link below to jump down the page to the section you need:

Info about EL Driver / Inverters

Choosing your EL Driver

Dimensions and weight of our EL Drivers

Info about EL Driver / Inverters

First thing to say is that an EL Driver and EL Inverter are exactly the same thing - I prefer to call them EL Drivers but technically the 'Invert' the DC current from the batteries to the AC current that makes the phosphor in the electroluminescent wire glow

The next most important thing to know about EL Drivers is that the brightness of the EL Wire has more to do with the power of the driver than the EL Wire

For example:

On this site you can find the 2xAA Drivers for 5m of EL Wire - theyre the most common EL Drivers as they are small and portable

So these 2xAA Drivers (£4) will power 1 metre of EL Wire LESS BRIGHTLY than the 8XAA Driver (£9) will drive 15 metres of EL Wire

(Unfortunately the 8XAA Driver should only be used to drive between 5 and 15 metres of wire)

This is also true for even more powerful inverters - the Inverter for 30-75 metres of wire will run that 75metres brighter than the 8XAA drives 5metres of wire

UNDERPOWERING OR OVERPOWERING EL DRIVERS

By overpowering or underpowering the EL Wire you risk damaging both the EL Wire and the Driver

eg if you are using a driver for 5 - 15 metres of wire then those lengths are recommended for a reason!

Underpowering:

By running less than 5 metres of EL Wire you risk burning out the wire and stressing the driver

Overpowering:

By running more than 15 metres of EL Wire you will be drawing too much current through the driver and this will make it heat up and possibly even catch fire

Ive never seen one catch fire but apparently it is possible

Overpowering:

Another dangerous way to overpower an inverter is by using the wrong input voltage on the Driver - say, like putting a 12v battery onto a driver designed for 6volts

Doing this makes the wire glow super bright but you can feel the driver heat up v quickly and again theres risk of a fire - just think how dangerous that is if you are wearing it!

EL Wire is an amazing material that, with the right driver can make lots of wire glow really brightly so don't push it further than it should

CHOOSING YOUR EL DRIVER

This really should be simple process

1) Decide where you are going to use the EL Wire - on clothes, in a car, in the house, near a computer? - this will tell you if you will need a portable driver, one with a car lighter attachment, a mains powered driver or a USB Driver -

A bigger selection can be found here

2) Measure out the size of the project and how much wire you will need to run off each driver

any driver can run several pieces of EL Wire using splitters

Dimensions and weight of our EL Drivers

Choosing the right EL Driver / Inverter to power your EL Wire or EL Tape

This has got to be quite a large how-to and is now divided into sections

Click the link below to jump down the page to the section you need:

Info about EL Driver / Inverters

Choosing your EL Driver

Dimensions and weight of our EL Drivers

Info about EL Driver / Inverters

The next most important thing to know about EL Drivers is that the brightness of the EL Wire has more to do with the power of the driver than the EL Wire

For example:

On this site you can find the 2xAA Drivers for 5m of EL Wire - theyre the most common EL Drivers as they are small and portable

So these 2xAA Drivers (£4) will power 1 metre of EL Wire LESS BRIGHTLY than the 8XAA Driver (£9) will drive 15 metres of EL Wire

(Unfortunately the 8XAA Driver should only be used to drive between 5 and 15 metres of wire)

This is also true for even more powerful inverters - the Inverter for 30-75 metres of wire will run that 75metres brighter than the 8XAA drives 5metres of wire

UNDERPOWERING OR OVERPOWERING EL DRIVERS

By overpowering or underpowering the EL Wire you risk damaging both the EL Wire and the Driver

eg if you are using a driver for 5 - 15 metres of wire then those lengths are recommended for a reason!

Underpowering:

By running less than 5 metres of EL Wire you risk burning out the wire and stressing the driver

Overpowering:

By running more than 15 metres of EL Wire you will be drawing too much current through the driver and this will make it heat up and possibly even catch fire

Ive never seen one catch fire but apparently it is possible

Overpowering:

Another dangerous way to overpower an inverter is by using the wrong input voltage on the Driver - say, like putting a 12v battery onto a driver designed for 6volts

Doing this makes the wire glow super bright but you can feel the driver heat up v quickly and again theres risk of a fire - just think how dangerous that is if you are wearing it!

EL Wire is an amazing material that, with the right driver can make lots of wire glow really brightly so don't push it further than it should

CHOOSING YOUR EL DRIVER

This really should be simple process

A bigger selection can be found here

2) Measure out the size of the project and how much wire you will need to run off each driver

any driver can run several pieces of EL Wire using splitters

Dimensions and weight of our EL Drivers

Test Post

Wills and Kate use EL Wire in Kensington Palace

Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge have unveiled a sculpture at the heart of their new Kensington Palace Home that uses more than two miles of electroluminescent wire (EL Wire).

I had always heard that princess Kate had style, but now I'm beginning to believe it!

Wills and Kate must have some really powerful Driver to power all that EL Wire - my guess is they have 4 or 5 different Inverters powering i - and if it doesnt have an elaborate flashing sequence then the designer of this luminous lace sculpture has missed a trick

The largest EL Sculpture i have ever made was for the Glastonbury festival and by comparison was a measly 250metres of wire

If this has inspired you to make your own electroluminescent sculpture then heres a few tips:

1) Any EL Wire over 25metres or Drivers for more than 200metres would have to be ordered specially and may take a week or so to get in stock - contact me if this is your plan

2) The most powerful EL Driver I hold in stock will run 200 metres of EL Wire very brightly. With these powerful drivers, you can quite ofte control the brightness with a dial AND the flashing speed if you have it on Blink Mode

3) I always have 10m, 15m, 25metre and 100m lengths of wire in stock

4) I have powerful sequencers that can run a modest 25 metres of wire - that is 5 metres off each channel, but with the 3 different sequence modes, plus flash, and continuous ON these give an incredible effect

5) You can daisy chain as many splitters off each other as you need - i also have extenders that are 5metres long

If you are interested in a neon style light sculpture like this in your house or venue then please contact us and we can not only supply all the EL Wire and equipment you need but can give consultation on installing it too

How to Use EL Wire - Things You Should Know!

Here’s some tips for getting the most out of your el wire:

1) Use Decent Batteries – alkaline ones like duracell are the best – but you can get these same type of batteries much cheaper (eg Maplins sell a box of 100 of them for £15)

Rechargable batteries have a lower voltage (1.2v) compared to standard batteries (1.5v)

So if you are using 8 of them in the 8XAA battery box you will be putting in 9v instead of the 12v the inverter needs

As the battery drains you will find the EL Wire becomes less bright and you may even notice it becomes patchy – this is a sign to put fresh batteries in

2) Switch Inverter Off After Use – if you unplug the wires from the inverter it will still carry on draining the batteries

3) Adding More Wire – you can ‘daisy chain’ many splitters together and have many wires coming off a single inverter. You will soon find that adding by adding extra EL wire it begins to get dimmer.

The more powerful inverters will drive the EL wire brighter (eg the 8xAA inverter runs 15m of EL wire brighter than the 2xAA inverter drives 1m of wire)

4) Any Glue Is Fine – for fixing wire to a costume. A Hot-glue gun is the best. Remember if it is being permanently fixed to clothing which is being worn out that there is some chance the wire will suffer some extreme environments so take care to observe point 5)

5) Protect The Connection Point – The inch of tubing where the power wire joins to the glowing EL Wire is BY FAR the most fragile and vulnerable point.

Lightpainters are advised to tape up and reinforce this part (as well as the wires as they come out of the inverter) before they star swinging the wire around. And if you’re using it on a costume be sure to keep this part away from elbows or anywhere it will suffer stress.

6) If The Wire Fails – It is likely to be at the place mentioned in 5) Don’t worry if the wire is firmly glued somewhere as you can just cut the connector off and re-attach it.

Instructions how to do this are on the website – unfortunately it requires wirestrippers, a soldering iron and some copper tape – but it is fairly easy. Sometimes though it is the fault of the very far end of the EL wire, perhaps the end cap has fallen off and something has shorted thewires at that end so give it a quick rub and see if it sparks into life ( you yourself might get a tingle of an electro shock off this - dont worry though, EL Wire is VERY low current so there is no danger of a painful shock

Dimensions of the Products

INVERTERS:

12v (5-15metres):
6cm X 4cm X 3cm

Sound Activated:
6cm X 5cm X 3cm

Power Pack:
63mm X 58mm X 30mm