An automatic wire stripper is used to remove the insulation from electric wires. This is a tool which makes work easy for electricians. There are two types of automatic wire strippers- electric and manual. They don’t do the same job.
The work a manual automatic wire stripper can do is different from the work an electric automatic wire stripper can do. So before buying an automatic wire stripper, one should know the type of works it can be used for.
Manual automatic wire stripper
If your work involves thin wires less than 10 gauges, a handheld automatic wire stripper will be sufficient for you. People who deal with electronic gadgets and their repair need to solder thin wires and the quantity of their work too is very limited.
A manual automatic wire stripper is convenient for them because the wire stripping tool can be held in hand like a pair of scissors. The head of the wire stripper is designed in such a way that it holds the wire tightly but doesn’t cut through the wire along with the copper strands inside.
The tool is called automatic because once the wire is fed into it, it will incise the wire insulation and pull it off the wire. The manual automatic wire stripper should be used with extreme care because there are chances to cut through the wire and spoil it if you hold the tool in the wrong way. This is the drawback of a hand held automatic wire stripper in comparison to an electric automatic wire stripper
Electric automatic wire stripper
If the wires you need to strip are thicker, say the size of 10 gauges or more, you need to use an electric automatic wire stripper. It is especially true if you have a large number of wires to be stripped.
Electric automatic wire strippers can remove the wire insulation really fast and your work will be fast and easy if you use an electric automatic wire stripper. These wire strippers don’t cut through the wires and so they are better than hand held automatic wire strippers.
Electric wire strippers are also called scrap wire strippers. An electric automatic wire stripper, if clamped on to a table and secured firmly, will be easier to work with.
Since electric wire strippers can do the wire stripping job very fast, you will be saving a lot of time and trouble in your work. However, remember that electric wire strippers are meant for thicker wires and if you use them for removing insulation off thinner wires less than 10 gauges, you will damage the wires instead of removing the insulation. So use electric wire strippers only if you are working on thick wires.
How to use automatic wire strippers?
When you feed wire into the wire stripper for removing the wire insulation, feed sufficient length of the wire so that the machine can hold it firmly. If the wire fed into it is too short, the wire may slip. Hold the wire stripper firmly in your hand or fix it onto a table.
In case you notice any difficulty with the removal of insulation from the wire, it may be due to the thickness of the wire. Try a thinner wire. Once you know how to use an automatic wire stripper, your wire stripping work will be quite fast and easy.
Why am I writing about wire stripper in a home solar energy blog? Well, when you install your own DIY solar panel, you have to work with wires, right? You might as well learn some of the tools in the market which will help you to do your job faster and easier.