The official Enclosure thread.

[Guest guest]

What enclosures do use?Got a Link?I recently got a 6X6X4 from home depot for $10.54 Its plastic,had no knock outs and you have to screw it shut.Its not so bad overall,but Id like to find something better.

Heres a link that I found with somre really nice enclosures,but unfortunatly,the prices are really high. www.grainger.com

Now I know that the Ritetime enclosures are the best suited for us,but good luck finding them

[Guest guest]

A simple junction box for 18$. It works great, maybe not the best but its HEAVY duty.

Zac

[Guest guest]

heya Zac,any chance that you have a brand name and a source for that box?It looks like it will get the job done indeed.Mine is totally water proof,but Im a bit worried that it may be too sealed.For heat reasons.

[Guest guest]

Zac_Cutt wrote:

A simple junction box for 18$. It works great, maybe not the best but its HEAVY duty.

Zac

Zac,

That was a indoor box wasn't it?

[Guest guest]

Check to see if you have a Graybar location near you. I bought my nema 3r enclosures (10x10x4) from they for $22.00.

[Guest guest]

Zac, you box appears to be metal.

It also appears to me that your grounds are not connected to your box.

They need to be (for metal boxes only), in case of a bridged connection, water, etc.

Other than that they look great. Nice job!

Greg

[Guest guest]

This box can be bought at almost any electrical supplier, I don't think there is a mark on it, I would go check but it is buried in the snow, this was a indoor box, outdoors were over 60$. I used some simple clear aquarium silicone for it. I tryed to find a grounding bar for the grounds but there weren't any at my local HD. They are simple all screwed down to two holes i drille and tapped out in the bottom.

I will look through some of my old pictures of it for one with a makers mark but I doubt it has one. I just like how heavy duty they are. And stackable

Zac

Edit:
Yes this also was a 10x10x4 inch box. I like having the extra room, wires takes up alot of spcae and its nice to work in a box with looser wires, not bunched up.

And to make it look nice, a ton of plastic ties,:] makes it easier to use also.

Edit #2: Also because i had so much room in the box (height wise) I used larger stand-offs to give it more breathing room. However to do this I had to take on the most nerve racking thing in the world, DRILLING OUT THE HOLES IN THE HEATSINK!!! LOL along with longer standoffs came thicker bolts, wasn't hard just scary :laughing: Then I simply drilled some holes in the box after marking and tamping a dent (don't forget that, saves hassle) I drilled out the holes, did a dry fit, then put some silicone around the heads of the screws and slid them therough the bottom of the box so they would be sealed in then I bolted the LOR contrller down and wired it.

Last note LOL: The drainage holes in it were the holes originally meant for mounting so no more drilling needed.

[Guest guest]

Haven't tried it but this HomeTech enclosure looks promising:

http://www.hometech.com/techwire/boxes.html#GC-11CTEGYS

Others on the page too but more (much more!) expensive.

-Frank S.

[Guest guest]

Zac_Cutt wrote:

I tryed to find a grounding bar for the grounds but there weren't any at my local HD. They are simple all screwed down to two holes i drille and tapped out in the bottom.

Hey Zac:

OK, great!

I couldn't see those connections from the ground wires in the picture. I just wanted to be sure your boxes were grounded, and you were safe!

If anything ever happened to you, who would there be to keep track of things here in the forum??

Greg

[Guest guest]

This is my first post, been lurking for awhile.

I picked up 3 of these at Locke Supply here in Tulsa, OK for $39.30 apiece.

Manufactured by Kraloy, 12X12X6, Water tight, no predrilled holes, I think this should work, I will be using them for 3 CTB16D controllers.




Attached files

[Guest guest]

$39.90, woa thats a lot!

I thought prices here in the UK were steep. I can get an IP54 rated (weatherproof) enclosure about the size of the ritetime box for about £10 ($17) which screws shut but that is fine by me.

[Guest guest]

DarrenJeffries wrote:

$39.90, woa thats a lot!

I thought prices here in the UK were steep. I can get an IP54 rated (weatherproof) enclosure about the size of the ritetime box for about £10 ($17) which screws shut but that is fine by me.

That is not a bad price here in the states for an enclosure. I have seen the same size box go for $60.... Good enclosures are hard to find.

[Guest guest]

LightORama wrote:

That is not a bad price here in the states for an enclosure. I have seen the same size box go for $60.... Good enclosures are hard to find.

So you get cheap lights and we get cheap enclosures, no fair deal there!:laughing:

[Guest guest]

Wood is "good"! Get yourself 3 pcs. 1x6x8 treated lumber ($18), and one pcs. 1x10x8 treated lumber ($9). Buy a good quality silicone ($4), a quart of enamel, your color choice ($6), and you can make 6 enclosures. That's around $6 per enclosure. It's waterproof, it doesn't conduct electric, and they will not be stolen because they simply look like receptacle boxes. I call them "ugly boxes", but who needs a pretty box to draw attention? :shock: They are cheap, and they do what they are intended to do, to protect my valuable boards.

Bill

[Guest guest]

Bill, any pics?

I made something similar for electrical outlets that looked a little like bird boxes a few years ago. I got the idea from Walter and Jackie Monkhouses website years ago.

[Guest guest]

Darren,

The ones I make actually look like bluebird boxes, I didn't realize the Monkhouse's used wood enclosures, also. We are still tearing down, I will try to post a pic in the next few days. Don't expect much, in the looks department, but they are cheap and effective. The ones I have made use regular receptacles, and not pigtails. I actually like that better. I do have some boards in the Meci plastic enclosures, though. And I bought some of the rainbird (or whatever they were called) enclosures. Haven't used them yet. I still keep going back to the wood enclosures, just because they are just a lot more convenient. I will take some pics of some wood enclosures (same type), I made for ssr's, too. Of course, they are bigger in size.

Bill

[Guest guest]

Bill Hoffman wrote:

I didn't realize the Monkhouse's used wood enclosures, also. We are still tearing down, I will try to post a pic in the next few days. Don't expect much, in the looks department.l

I may be wrong but i was sure thats where I saw them originally.

I look forward to the pics, I have some regular recepticles too so this may work for me well, I plan to have 5 or 6 new controllers this year so maybe i can make a larger version of the box to house all of them.

What do you think? would this work with the heat generation. Also how does the wood hold up to the expansion and contraction with the heat generated by the controllers?

[Guest guest]

Darren,

These boxes have it all! The whole bottom is open, for circulation. So any wires simply drop out the bottom, you can simply look inside to see if your red led is solid, or blinking. And plugging/unplugging the communication cable it all done from the bottom of the enclosure. The actual board is set an inch or two up inside the enclosure, and the last I checked, water doesn't run uphill. I built a long enclosure, looks like a real long bluebird box, and it housed 6 controllers. I just put some eye hooks in it, and hung it on the railing of the deck. Worked out great.

Bill

[Guest guest]

Here is a picture of my wood cabinet that houses 6 of my boards

Jim


Attached files

[Guest guest]

I recieved my first ritetime enclosure that I ordered today... Question is now. Is it safe to use the velcro to attach the LOR cards or should i look for an alternative.??!?