Anyone worked with EL Wire?

[scubado]

I have a project that would be ideal to use EL wire, but wonder about it's lifespan exposed to harsh conditions- the grill of my van.  Any experience or thoughts on this?

[plasmadrive]

I thought about doing some stuff with it but also didn't know the lifespan of it.  If you find that answer, I would also love to know..

[Eric walls]

Me too.....

I'm getting a wire frame and was going to use EL wire for it. There is an EL wire company in my city and when I get my frame I plan on taking it down there to have them help me with it.

[jerrymac]

EL wire is not intended for outside use as far as I remember.  Of course el wire is not terribly bright  but is very very flexible.  I've played around with it a fair amount but have not done any extended testing outside.

[Rayburn]

Did a project a few months back.  Successfully embedded some EL wire in polyurethane.  Don't use superglue to tack it in place.  The super glue discolored the wire.  As far as lifespan, not sure.  The item is only lit for short periods of time. However, it does still work.

[sax]

Doug from wireframe dlites had a customer make faces using EL wire. It looks bright and they are outside. See this link

Maybe Doug can put you in contact with the person who made this.

I considered it but it looks expensive.

[bbayjohn]

I Have a project im working on now.

It can be found here.http://auschristmaslighting.com/forums/index.php?topic=3595.msg47414#msg47414

Would one of these controllers work with lor http://www.coolight.com/EL-Wire-sequencer-p/clsq0110.htm

Rayburn, I was going to use glue to stick it down on Coro flute but if it fades maybe I need to use small cable ties or did you use some other form of glue?

[scubado]

Years ago I used some EL wire to trim a computer case.  It was on 24/7 and didn't last all that long.  I don't know if the technology improved much or not.

[bbayjohn]

I tested the El wire on a recent camping trip. Used it for lighting at night around a gazebo. The 2 AA batteries would power a 3meter strip and did not show any sign of failing after a few nights use. I would expect them to last 24-48hrs without having to replacing the batteries.

[kzaas]

I use it for faces in my display. You can see it at www.insanelights.com/videos

[Rayburn]

bbayjohn, I used it to light some engraved lettering which I filled with polyurethane.  I used superglue to hold 2 colors of EL wire in the center of the engraving.  Within a day or 2 the red EL wire turned yellow in the areas of the superglue.  The white EL wire didn't seem to be affected. 

[bisquit476]

Would one of these controllers work with lor http://www.coolight.com/EL-Wire-sequencer-p/clsq0110.htm

 

IIRC el wire uses 9-12VAC for power.

[scubado]

IIRC el wire uses 9-12VAC for power.

Seems like a deal breaker for using in a vehicle 

[bbayjohn]

I use it for faces in my display. You can see it at www.insanelights.com/videos

What controllers are you using to do this and did you make any modifications to the el wire

Seems like a deal breaker for using in a vehicle 

use a cigarette lighter outlet with a power inverter like found here

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1M-2M-3M-5M-Flexible-EL-Wire-Neon-LED-Car-Light-Lamp-Rope-Tube-Cigarette-Charger-/191065634187?pt=AU_Lighting_Fans&var=&hash=item2c7c66358b

[kzaas]

I am using digital I/O to control small A/C solid state relays(homemade) which control the output of the invertors that come with the EL wire

[dboyer]

EL wire is not intended for outside use as far as I remember.  Of course el wire is not terribly bright  but is very very flexible.  I've played around with it a fair amount but have not done any extended testing outside.

I did some research into EL and unfortunately came to this same conclusion- that it wouldn't last long outside. It's ashame because it's such neat stuff.

[Eric walls]

Ya, I just talked to the a guy at Illumiglow which is the EL wire place here in Portland. They are going to help me with my wire frame I bought from WireframeDlights.

I wanted to do that Jack Skeleton like the one in the video.  They told me that after a few seasons the sun would deteriorate the color of the lights. The is more of a concern then rain apparently.

I'm going to take it down and see what they suggest. If it's a doable project I'll hang it in the window inside. Guess I would need to run the Cat 5 cable though the house or perhaps use the wireless light linker for the controller? 

[kzaas]

I built My faces into a 2' X 2' boxes with a plexiglass cover to be abel to view them. They have been throught two years of use and I noticed that the red wire is loosing its color. Now I am using 2.3 mm wire for mine but this year I am switching to 5.0 mm wire which is brighter and more UV resistant. I am also going to laminate the plexiglass with a UV protectant film and that should make these faces last quite a few years. Hope this helps.

[pyro4ik]

Scubado, I was the original person that had had Doug from Wireframe D'lite make the Jack Skellington for me. I used EL wire to light the face, which looks awesome. I hang it on the second floor eves. I have had some problems, mostly with the little inverter used to power the wire. I places all the 12v inverters and frequency inverters in a waterproof box. I have had a couple wires break and short out. I keep extra wire and inverters on hand during the season. I can usually fix most problems quickly. I use LOR controller, but I had to adjust the timing because the inverter takes a millisecond to fade off. I have not noticed any fade yet after 2 years, but I will be replacing the wires with super bright EL Wire.

[scubado]

Thanks for all the input guys!  Doesn't sound like it'll work for the grill of my van in Wisconsin.  The thicker/brighter wire I didn't know about.  Might be explored for another project down the road.