Guest guest Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Hi all,Just purchased 5 Orbit boxes today from Home Depot for the $29.99. Lowes had them for $28.94 so I got the difference plus 10%.Question for those of you that have ripped these apart already. Is it really necessary to cut out the posts? The CTB-16D fit's nicely on the inside platform and the cover shuts with plenty of room.What am I missing here?Thanks in advance.Luke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Luke, the only posts are the one in the center and then the plastic where the GFI was. Not the ones along the side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Luke,I didn't cut anything. I just mounted it on the panel. I like it this way.jeff Attached files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Jeff, thank goodness for picks. I never thought of trying that, but you can't use the mounting holes in the back without taking it all out right? Just curious, I got 3 more boxes over the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Ya ya, that's the ticket... That's exactly what I was talking about. It really fits in there nicely as is.The only thing I can think of being bad with this setup is that the LOR is directly beneath the seam for the cover. If for some reason, this case is not completly water resistant, and some water did get in from the top, the LOR is directly in the drips path. Cutting out the center post and the GFI area helps bring the LOR unit further back behind the seam.What do you guys think? Am I being paranoid?Thanks,luke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Hey Luke,Here's a link to my page where I have pictures of my orbit box mods.My setup is different than Jeff's. I'll post some more photos of what else I've done other than shown in my prep page.Breifly, I used a 3" hose clamp secure my 16 cords to the box so it would not pull on the card. I also used a conduit clamp to secure my power cords to the box as well.http://web.mac.com/tkledzik/iWeb/Christmas/Projects/9AAC49A2-22B6-4E39-B24E-16D2A5F7B35F.htmlTad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Since I was using the large B&B cables, I used two 1 1/4" electrical box clamps. Each one held at most 7 wires (I couldn't cram the 8th one ine) so I have two holes for the 1 1/4 and another hole for the remaining 2 output cables. I also used a 3/4" clamp in the center hole for the power in and a smaller hole for the CAT 5 cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Jeff, I also did this. I actually kept the outlet in them. This way, I can turn off the power at the panel instead of going to the main source.Edit, my MP3 controllers actually fit underneather the panel.Zac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 Just kind of curious on how you guys took care of the ground wire. I plan on using some three wire outdoor rated short extension cords and without one big honkin wire nut tying all of the ground wires together, I can't seem to come up with another way to do that. Is there some way to install a terminal strip inside the box so as to keep everything neat and pretty, or is there some sort of grounding block that I can buy to do this as well? let me know what you guys think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 THanks Tad,Great information there on your site. Where will your boxes be located? In the yard or mounted on the house? If in the yard, how do you plan on securing them? I was thinking of getting two lengths of rebar and mounting them to each side of the box. Was going to grind down the ends to a point so they drive into the ground easily.Anyone know if I can use this as my grounding as well?Thanks,luke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 Alright this may be a silly question but, What is an Orbit box? What section of Home Depot do you find it. I know it is a type of watertight enclosure, but I an always in the HD electrical section and I have never seen anything like you guys are showing in the pictures. Is this possibly a item that is only in certain markets.Thank you all,Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 bbayliss wrote: Alright this may be a silly question but, What is an Orbit box? What section of Home Depot do you find it. I know it is a type of watertight enclosure, but I an always in the HD electrical section and I have never seen anything like you guys are showing in the pictures. Is this possibly a item that is only in certain markets.Thank you all,BrianThey are with the sprinkler supplies. The box is intended to hold the control box for lawn sprinklers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 Thank you very much. I wil be picking some up today.Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 Since I used sixteen 14/2 cables (really 3 wires Hot/Neutral/Ground), I had to come up with a way to tie all the Grounds together in addition to the grounds coming in from the 2 input power lines (1602 box).Here is what I did. I used the large Green/Red caps. I was able to fit about 5 wires into each cap. I tied 4 outputs lines with a short length of extra wire (Pigtail). I repeated this for the other 3 sets of 4 wires. I then connectect the 4 pigtails to the board power in ground wires.As to the rebar as a ground. I don't think that would be correct. While the rebar would be 'grounded', it may not be the same as an electrical ground in your power panel. There could still be difference in voltage between your rebar ground and the actual electrical/equipment ground. This could cause you problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 Home Depot informationItem number 206-848Man. number 57095Lowes has them also and slightly cheaper around my parts.Lowes primarily deals in another box from RainMaker. It's a white box and the holes are on the back which I did not like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 As for the question about mounting without taking it all apart, that is true. I actually filled the predrilled holes with JB Weld. I won't be mounting it. It will be hanging in a wireframe under the the overhang of my roof. That way it should be out of the weather. I'm only doing this to see if I like it better than having all my boards in a central location. I also removed the outlet since I wanted the entire wire to be protected with the ground fault interrupter. If I left it in the box, the wire back to the outlet wouldn't be protected. As for the ground wire, it isn't landed yet but will be to the heatsinks. A ground fault detector trips when current is detected in the ground wire. There needs to be a path for this to occur. Not having the ground wire in use doesn't disable the GFCI, but it does limit what it can protect. If just a little moisture gets on the board and over to the heatsinks then current flows back through the ground and...POP. Hopefully that will be the sound of the GFCI and not the LOR board. As for the question about the ground wire... Dan has said in another thread "You should use the ground wire if you are using a metal case." I say there's nothing wrong with using it in plastic too. It's a path for a fault to return to the earth, rather than through your body... In my work you provide layers of protection to keep yourself safe. If landing a little green wire to a piece of aluminum can protect you, I think it's makes sense to land the wire...jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 Got a Home Depot mail flyer/coupon today for $10 off $25 (Central NC area). Be on the lookout for that to save on one of the Orbit boxes.Moving Target in NC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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