How to remove the insulation from the wire and power cable?

Knife and Cutters from KNIPEX

Which tool to use?

Electrician knife

The easiest way is to remove the insulation from the wire with a conventional knife. In this case, the upper protective layer is removed with longitudinal incisions, and the sheath of the contacts is cut in a circle, pushing the blade inward slightly. In this case, you will not spend a lot of time on such an occupation, but there is a risk of damaging the conductor, especially if the turns are thin.

If you decide to use the knife, it is advisable to use a special knife, which is slightly curved for easy stripping. Pay attention to the handle, it must necessarily be made of a material that does not conduct current.

Experienced electricians are advised to remove the insulation of the wire with a knife using the following technology:

1. Place the conductor on the table.
2. Press with the index finger of the left hand( if you are right handed).
3. With the other hand, take the stripping tool( in this case the knife) and slightly press into the protective sheath.
4. With the index finger of the left hand, slowly scroll the material one complete revolution( very convenient if you decide to remove the sheath from the round power cable).
5. Tighten a cut piece of insulating material( can be PVC, rubber, silicone and even a paper sheath).

That's the whole essence of the work. As you can see, nothing is complicated, but there is a high probability of damage to the contact, which makes this method not very effective.

Soldering iron

The second way to remove the insulation from the wire and the power cable is to use a soldering iron. In this case, the sting warms up to the required temperature, after which you, by analogy with the previous version, remove the shell( you scroll the conductor with your finger, leaning the soldering iron to the insulation).As a result, the excess piece of shell is easily separated from the remaining part. The disadvantage of this method is that when the material contacts the heated tip, an unpleasant odor will flow through the room. In addition, soldering iron is not recommended if the shell is rubber.

By the way a similar method can be used and another tool - the so-called "firing".When you use it, you will hear the same unpleasant smell, so use it only in extreme cases.

Remover

There are also universal tools for stripping insulation from wires and cables, called manual strippers. Such products are more functional.allow to manually adjust the diameter of the veins, so that when cutting, do not damage them. It is quite easy to use the wipers - fix the required contact and scroll one direction( as shown in the photo) along the guide arrow.

There are also special pullers on the market in order to remove the insulation made of cross-linked polyethylene without burning it. Such tools have a high price( over 6,000 rubles) and are used for industrial purposes, so we will not dwell on their review in detail.

Video review of professional stripper:

Stripper

Well, the last one, the best method by the electricians, is using a tool called a stripper. This device is designed specifically for the automatic removal of insulation from the wires. The design provides not only a cross section regulator, but also special cutters, as well as a crimper( used for crimping the tips).Using a stripper is not difficult: the cable is fixed in the jaws, the handle is compressed and unclenched. The result is a quickly exposed vein without any damage. It can be used to clean the insulating material from the most popular types of conductors: VVG, PVS, NYM and many others.

In fact, if you have already decided to engage in electrical work, then be sure to buy a stripper. The cost model for lovers does not exceed 1000 rubles( usually 300-500 rubles).

• is used both for a very thin section, from 0.05 mm2, and for thick - 6 mm2;
• can additionally be used as a nippers and press;
• is used for any kind of insulating material: silicone, polyvinyl chloride, rubber, fluoroplastic shell:
• can easily remove the sheath even from loops, twisted pair and stranded wires;
• does not damage the live part of both aluminum and copper wires;
• easy to use;
• inexpensive.

As you can see, this device has a lot of advantages and there are no disadvantages at all, in comparison with alternative variants. That's why we recommend you to choose a stripper for stripping insulation from wires and cutting the cable. This tool has a lot of positive feedback on thematic forums from experts in the field of electronics.

In the field many electricians use their own teeth in order to remove the protective shell. We draw your attention to the fact that this method is quite dangerous for tooth enamel, therefore it is not recommended to use it! If possible, take pliers or side cutters, they should always have an electrician at hand!

We also recommend you to watch a video that shows how each of the wire stripper tools works:

tools. Useful tips on the

topic. We have told you earlier what kinds of tools are available for stripping and howcorrectly to use. Now I would like to pay attention to the rules for removing the most popular insulating materials.

So, when removing the outer shell, we recommend that you consider the following tips:

1. If you need to remove the coaxial cable sheath, break the process in two steps. First, it is necessary to remove the outer shell from the soldering iron, having passed the stinger in the longitudinal direction. After that, the upper braid is removed and twisted to allow access to the polyethylene insulation of the central core. The latter, in turn, can be removed with a knife or one of the special tools, of which we spoke above.
2. To clean the insulating material of the enameled wire, it is recommended to use a knife or a soldering iron. The first option is suitable if the cross-section of the vein is more than 0.2 mm.kv. In the event that the vein is thinner, it is necessary to use a soldering iron to remove the enamel coating. You can also carefully remove the enamel by sandpaper, cleaning it with translational movements.
3. Rubber coating is best removed with a special tool to remove the insulation from the wire. As we have already said, a soldering iron and a firing pin are inappropriate here.
4. If you need to clean the casing in the middle of a long cable, use an electrician's knife. Gently swipe the blade through the protective layer in the right place, then remove the unnecessary material.
5. To remove the paper insulation from the cable, use the same knife. Another tool to do this is more problematic.

We hope that now you know what are the tools for stripping insulation from wires and cables. Finally, we draw your attention to the fact that it is strictly forbidden to clean the outer sheath of wires under tension by the rules of GOST, whatever you use in this case!

Also read:

• How to correctly twist the wires
• What tools should the electrician have?
• Closet wiring locks in the wall