EL Wire
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Electric Optics 2.6mm EL Wire By The Foot is our most common size EL Wire. Not only can it be seen from great distances, but it's very bendable and able to be made into numerous shapes. Perfected in 2011, our new EL Wire is made from the highest grade materials, extremely bright and very durable.
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Over the past 10 years, EL technology (much like every other technology) has made leaps and bounds. Back then, the wire was only supposed to last about 1-2000 hours and was visible at night, but it wasn't bright (like it is now).
Back in 2006, a major revelation occurred with EL Wire. 1 was that the US wasn't ready for the technology yet, and they moved the only factory in the US producing EL Wire to China (Lytec). At the time, Lytec made the best EL Wire in the world. 2. As other companies across the world saw the benefit of EL Wire, many overseas factories used the technology and made it better. So, fast forward to today, and our wire is made quite a bit differently than most other companies out there.
First, at the core, the copper wire is infused with Silver. Most companies use copper and a cheap generic metal ore. What happens is the bending capabilities of this wire are lessened and the wire breaks far easier. Our copper-silver core wire is a bit thicker than any other EL Wire out there (about 2x as thick). What makes this different is you have a copper core that when the phosphor is wrapped around it, the glowing surface is much brighter due to the larger surface area. The one downside of this is you can't use as much wire with each inverter because they take up more juice. On other websites, you may notice that they promote battery packs or inverters that look similar but power twice as much wire. While this may seem like our wire is inferior, it's quite the contrary. Because our wire has a thicker core, it takes more hertz to power the same wire. What the end user gets is a brighter wire that lasts longer, although it is hard to tell online of the different qualities of wire. This is one of the reasons why our EL Wire uses a 2.6mm rather than a 2.2 or 2.3mm like others.
Second, the phosphor that we use is imported from Germany. Nearly every other company uses a phosphor that is made in China. The downside of this is quality, but the main reason that the quality is inferior is due to the grain size. Because our phosphor uses a smaller grain size than most, it actually holds to the wire better, AND gives off a brighter glow. This is why you will notice that our wire is brighter than anyone else.
Third, all wire is "waterproof", and I use that loosely. The plastic coating makes the wire completely waterproof, so as long as the ends are sealed, all EL Wire will be waterproof. In August 2011, we finalized the newest generation of our wire and truly made the wire "weatherproof" meaning finally it is suitable for outdoor use. For the past decade, all of the plastic coating in EL Wire (ours included) was made with PVC. While it does hold water, it is not weatherproof. PVC when exposed to sunlight for a period of time will discolor and breakdown the phosphor particles quickly. What happens is you get a dull, lifeless EL Wire that doesn't light up very bright after a year or so in the sun. We had been working for a couple of years to make it more weatherproof, so now our outer plastic coating is made with Polyethylene (PE), which is a fantastic new product. It is a recyclable material, so it won't sit in landfills like PVC will. That right there is a huge step for the technology. Also, PE has properties that PVC doesn't. PE doesn't dry and crack in the sun, has far better discoloring properties, and gives a more uniform glow due to the coating being a little "hazy" (for lack of a better word). This is because a lot of time went into making sure the PE blend was perfect, by letting just enough light out. It will coat the entire 2.6mm full of light, rather than the 3.2mm (or 2.2mm, or 2.3mm) wire that just has the inner copper core lit up.
While there are many places across the internet selling EL Wire, we feel that our wire gives you the best all around value, brightness, longevity and eco-friendly nature that you would expect with the technology. If you have any specific questions on the technology, please feel free to email us at info@ellumiglow.com.
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