Magnetic or Bossed 6" Effect Wheels?

All OPTI 6” effect wheels are now available with either the original ‘bossed’ fitting or a new ‘magnetic’ fitting. The magnetic fitting is so much quicker/easier to use.

Here you'll find all you need to know about the differences between these two types of effect wheel.

Bossed wheels

These are the original type which have a have a central ‘boss’ which accepts the spindle of a 6” Wheel Rotator. They’re either fastened with a small screw using a screwdriver or simply ‘push fit’, held in place by tension.

Magnetic wheels

These newer wheels have a magnetic fitting instead of a boss. A magnetic adapter must be fitted to your wheel rotator spindle to accept a magnetic wheel. The adapter is available individually or you can buy a fixed speed or variable speed rotator with the adapter already fitted.

Which is better?

The new magnetic wheels are much quicker and easier to use and no screwdriver is required to fit or remove an effect wheel. We recommend these! But if you already have many bossed wheels you may prefer to keep with the same style of fitting. For permanent installations you may also prefer the bossed type.

Can I use both types?

All OPTI Solar Wheel Rotators now ship with a magnetic adapter fitted. This can be removed using in the enclosed Allen key to allow bossed wheels to be fitted. You can also buy the magnetic adapter separately to allow magnetic wheels to be fitted to existing rotators. If you already have several bossed wheels but would also like to use magnetic wheels, you may find owning more than one rotator useful – one for the old style bossed wheels and another with the adapter permanently fitted to accept magnetic wheels.

Is there a difference in price?

No - bossed and magnetic wheels are now the same price.

How much does the adapter cost?

Not much! See here.

What about effect cassettes?

The new magnetic fitting only applies to 6" effect wheels. Effect cassettes are not magnetic - they continue to use the same push fit mechanism and require a specific 50mm Cassette Rotator.