Ep. 178 | The welding pen’s lead blew up on me before, mates. On a viewer’s recommendation, it gets a jacket — feels a lot safer

Lefeng puts braided sleeving on his welding-pen leads (the P60F blew up on him twice before, pen charred, hand burnt): tries the P60F at gear 30 on 0.15 nickel strip, tears two holes, no different from the UF20B at gear 30; the sleeving is 12mm triple-weave dense PET flame-retardant braid — the big one won’t fit, the small one is just right, feed it in from the front; UF20B at gear 30 on 0.15 is solid, gear 40 is harsher and tears; a 0.15 base can take 0.1–0.15 copper on top; comment: same UF20B at gear 60 on 32140 is weak (creator: pen upgraded? nickel base first?)

Hand burnt, who knows how many strands blown — today’s main job is swapping the welding-pen sleeving for the braided sleeving the comments recommended. This AWithZ P60F blew up on him twice before, the pen even charred black. Question: is the P60F’s gear 30 the same as the UF20B’s gear 30? In theory gear 30 can weld Jiashikai cells. Try 0.15 nickel strip on the P60F at gear 30: two spots, tear two holes, fine, no different from the UF20B at gear 30; the strip stays on and curls off. The leads all charred black because he carelessly touched other nickel strip while welding; look at that wound, how many strands blown; when your hands are clumsy, never short it. Sleeving: the big one won’t go on (can’t even get a finger in), the slightly smaller one works, feed it from the front, there’s some room inside, so touching something else won’t blow it up any more; the pen that blew up before had who knows how many copper strands blown through, terrifying; after the swap no fear of touching nickel strip — perfect. Then the UF20B’s pair of pens gets the same treatment, a perfect mod. The UF20B at gear 30 on 0.15 nickel strip also tears two holes, very solid; up to gear 40 is harsher, a real tearing effect; a 0.15 nickel base can take 0.1 to 0.15 copper on top. Job done. Comments (87): polyamide / cotton-blend sleeving is softer than nylon (now you tell me); same UF20B at gear 60 on 32140 LiFePO4 is weak (pen upgraded? nickel base first? the parameters were given in a previous video); how thick a nickel-plated strip for a 72V30A e-bike with a 1200W motor (two layers of 0.15 should do, depends on your welder); sleeving spec (triple-weave dense PET braid, flame-retardant nylon 3–60mm anti-vibration snake-skin sleeving, 12mm black / silver, 2m); hand-built capacitor welders are still the real deal; press down firmly and the welds look good with no splatter.

Outcome

Steps6 steps · click a frame to jump

1. 
   1. Job: fit braided sleeving; the P60F blew up twice and charred the pen

   Hand burnt, who knows how many strands blown; the main job is swapping the pen sleeving for the braided sleeving the comments mentioned; the AWithZ P60F blew up on him twice before, charring the pen.

   00:00 – 00:27
2. 
   2. P60F gear 30 vs UF20B gear 30: 0.15 nickel strip tears two holes, no difference

   Wondering whether gear 30 is the same on both; in theory gear 30 can weld Jiashikai; 0.15 nickel strip on the P60F at gear 30 — two spots, tear two holes, fine, no different from the UF20B at gear 30.

   00:27 – 01:06
3. 
   3. Why the lead charred: shorted on other nickel strip; the wound; clumsy hands, don’t short it

   The strip stays on and curls off; the leads charred black because he carelessly touched other nickel strip while welding; look at the wound, how many strands blown; when your hands are clumsy, never short it.

   01:15 – 01:56
4. 
   4. Choosing sleeving: the big one won’t fit, the small one does, feed from the front

   The big one is useless, can’t even get a finger in; the slightly smaller one works; try a slightly wider one; feeding from the front takes effort, there’s a bit of room inside.

   01:59 – 02:51
5. 
   5. Sleeved, no fear of touching nickel strip; the UF20B pair gets it too, perfect mod

   Touching something else won’t blow up on you (or me) any more; the pen before had who knows how many copper strands blown, terrifying; perfect; swap the UF20B’s welding pens too, a perfect mod.

   02:51 – 03:53
6. 
   6. UF20B gear 30 on 0.15 is solid; gear 40 harsher and tears; 0.1–0.15 copper on top

   Just did the P60F at gear 30, now the UF20B at gear 30 — tears two holes, 0.15 is very solid; gear 40 is harsher, a real tear; a 0.15 base can take 0.1 to 0.15 copper on top; job done, pen jackets swapped.

   03:53 – 05:19

Bill of materials

Creator’s tips

• Sleeve the welding-pen leads in braided sleeving so they can’t short on nickel strip and blow up 02:51
• Pick sleeving slightly small and just snug, feed it from the front; comment: polyamide / cotton-blend is softer than nylon 02:22
• Gear 30 is enough for 0.15 nickel strip, 40 is harsher; a 0.15 base can take 0.1–0.15 copper on top 04:18
• Creator’s answer: if welds won’t hold, first check whether the pen is upgraded and whether there’s a nickel base

Pitfalls

• The pen lead touched other nickel strip while welding and shorted — lead charred and blown through, hand burnt (twice) 00:14
• Took several sleeving sizes to find the right fit 01:59

Li-ion safety

• A bare spot on the pen lead touching nickel strip shorts and blows the lead; with clumsy hands never short it; always fit sleeving 01:45

Quotes