The Electric Eel Wheel 6.0 is a high speed production eSpinner. It weights just 3 pounds making it travel friendly, but the bobbins hold a massive eight ounces each. It initially launched with a massively successful campaign on Kickstarter and there are thousands of happy users from that event alone.
If you want to make the EEW 6.0 completely portable then you can pair it with a battery pack. I don’t sell these, but here is one that works well. This comes with a Type A North American style power plug. The power supply works with different voltages around the world so if you don’t have that type of plug you can either use a travel adapter or get a “c7 power cord“.
Instructions
The first video here is a quick getting started video that will give you an overview of the EEW 6.0 and its controls. The “eSpinners for Beginners” videos cover everything an inexperienced spinner needs to know about spinning fiber in more depth.
If you prefer written instructions, this is a digital copy of the EEW 6.0 User Manual in English. You can also get it in these other languages: German, Dutch, Norwegian, Spanish.
I recommend several battery pack options on this page. The TalentCell 12V 6000mAh is the one that fits best into the bottom case.
The weight of he EEW 6.0 (everything in the box) is about 5 pounds and the wheel alone is about 2 pounds
Its size is:
- Width = 4.9 inches (123mm)
- Length= 7.8 inches (197mm)
- Height = 7.7 inches (196mm) / If using the battery base that adds 1.2 inches (30mm)
FAQ and Troubleshooting
| Is the bobbin tension dial included? | This was only included in the first batch of EEW 6.0s. It was an experiment to see if adding tension to the bobbin was helpful. It turned out that people didn’t find uses for this and many people added too much tension causing problems. Since it wasn’t useful and caused a lot of confusion I stopped including the bobbin tension dial. |
| Why does it vibrate at higher speeds? | The most common cause is your flyer isn’t balanced. To fix this make sure the two sliding hooks you aren’t using are directly across from the two you are using. Also make sure that one set of hooks are facing upwards and one set facing downwards so the weight is distributed evenly on the flyer. This only matters at higher speeds. |
| Why does my tension string keep breaking? | Check the groove on your bobbin for little sharp edges of plastic. Try using some sand paper or a small file to smooth out that groove. |
| Why does it stop spinning and I have to press the foot switch or turn the speed control to start spinning again? | This is a more complex topic than I can discuss here, but I created a page that fully explains this issue and gives you a few different solutions. This only applies to EEW 6.0s sold in 2021. These issues have been fixed in all the recently made ones. |
| Why doesn’t the flyer spin or why does it spin slowly? | Make sure the drive belt is on the flyer pulley and the motor pulley. Make sure the motor pulley is tight. There is a hex wrench that came in your parts for the EEW 6.0 and you can use that to tighten the motor pulley. Check all the wires on the bottom and make sure they are all firmly plugged into the circuit board and motor. While it’s very rare, sometimes these can get knocked loose in shipping. |
| I can still see threads on the bobbin tube after screwing them together. | This is how they were designed and is normal. You will need to flex the arms that hold the flyer out slightly to insert the bobbin. This is also normal and done to help prevent vibrations. |
| Why doesn’t the bearing or bobbins slide onto the flyer? | This can be caused by a very minor burr on the steel spindle shaft. If you take any fine grit sandpaper (such as 150 or 400 grit) and rub it briefly on the steel spindle it will remove this and the bearing will slide on easily again. This is rare, but can happen. The reason this happens is the spindle is a very close fit to the bearings to make sure there is no vibration. |
| I’m having trouble getting the bearing into a bobbin disk. | Stack two of the bobbin bearings on a table (remember you got extra bearings in your parts bag). Then hold a bobbin disk in both hands and press the top bearing into the bobbin disk. This lets you push a bearing firmly into the bobbin disk without much strength. This video shows you how to do this. |
| My ball bearing is leaking oil. | This is not unusually for new bearings. When they are made they insides are filled with grease and to keep costs down I’m not using fully sealed bearings. So they can leak a little oil/grease for the first few hours of use. This will stop within the first 20 hours of use. |
| Why won’t it start? | Try to nudge the flyer when starting the motor. If this makes it go that indicates the motor is near end of life and should be replaced. New motors are sold on the store. |
Orifice Hook Safety
A user reported that the orifice hook being stored on the magnets was picked up by a loop of the yarn from the flyer. This could throw the hook at high speeds across the room. Because of this I don’t recommend storing the orifice hook on those magnets anymore.
Replacement Parts
While I sell some replacement parts on my store, I also list the ones you might be able buy from a different store (especially useful for international orders where shipping is expensive). Feel free to buy these parts from my store or another store if it makes more sense.
- The tension string can be replaced with any string you want. If you’re looking for a close match try cotton string around 1.5-2.0 mm in diameter. You can find some at your local store, but here is some string online if you prefer.
- R6-2RSV Bearing – Smaller bearing used on the back of the flyer and on bobbins
- 6804-2RS Bearing – Larger bearing used on the front of the flyer
- Tension Spring (close, but not an exact match)
- Rubber Feet for the bottom (close, but not an exact match)
- 12V 5A Powersupply with 2.1×5.5mm Jack
- Motor – This is a custom brushless motor that you won’t find a match for online. I sell replacements on my store.
- Drive Belt – The belts for the EEW 6 are custom molded polyurethane with a diameter of 2mm, a length of 265mm, and a hardness of D90. Finding these at other stores online might be possible, but I don’t have any recommendations and if you find them they would be cut and glued instead of molded like mine. I also looked at low cost alternatives and found size 042 orings work. You can buy these at many places online, but they will have more slipping and won’t last as long as the polyurethane belts. Still the orings do give you another replacement option so I listed it here.
- Foot Pedal – Not exactly the same as the one that ships with the EEW 6.0, but it is pretty similar
Different Fibers and Advanced Spinning Techniques
Here is series of videos that show spinning with different fibers or using different techniques on an EEW 6.0.