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Thread: Powermatic Electrical Entrance

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
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    Canada
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rod Sheridan View Post
    Funny, that's what I was going to say, except in Canada it's 750 volts.

    Very nice enclosure for the panel, hope it has some ventilation openings top and bottom.

    Regards, Rod.

    Hi Rod - good point on the ventilation openings. There's a bit of slop around the conduit entrance / exit but it would probably not hurt to bang some vent holes at each end.
    Thanks,
    Lewis

  2. #17
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    Oct 2006
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    Mid Michigan
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    Lewis,
    Thank you very much for sharing. I have been looking for a way to dress up some of my electric panels.
    David B

  3. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by David G Baker View Post
    Lewis,
    Thank you very much for sharing. I have been looking for a way to dress up some of my electric panels.
    Hi David - Glad to hear there's someone that can benefit from my creation. Make sure you make them so that you can dismantle it in the future. I made mine with 1/4-20 knock down fasteners and 1/4-20 inserts into cleats on the wall (you can see the cleats in the "before" picture). When (not if) I need to run more wires or conduit to the panel, it just pops off the wall.

    Make sure to take a picture of your version and post 'er up when you have something.

    Cheers,
    Lewis

  4. #19
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    Oct 2006
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    Mid Michigan
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    Lewis,
    I saw the cleats and liked that idea as well. I will try to remember to take pics. Mine won't be as nice as yours because my shops are quite "rustic".
    I am always adding some new wiring cause everything I do is in a constant state of flux so having a removable cover is a must.
    Didn't know that a panel had to be vented. I'll have to research that.
    David B

  5. #20

    Nice

    Awesome, thanks for posting!

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Stony Plain, Alberta
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    2,702
    Well suited for a man cave Lewis....

    Looks great

  7. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by David G Baker View Post
    Lewis,

    Didn't know that a panel had to be vented. I'll have to research that.
    There is no requirement to "vent" a panel, the panel is made for flush mounting, although a lot of loadcenter manufacturers are calling that trim as a combo type for surface/flush mounting.

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Toronto Ontario
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    11,248
    Hi Lewis, actually your installation would be fine.

    When I looked at the photo I thought that you had put the panel in an enclosure, in which case it would have needed some ventilation.

    Regards, Rod.

  9. #24
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    Canada
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rod Sheridan View Post
    Hi Lewis, actually your installation would be fine.

    When I looked at the photo I thought that you had put the panel in an enclosure, in which case it would have needed some ventilation.

    Regards, Rod.
    You could say that it's in an enclosure of sorts - given that it's covered on all sides and the only breaches in it are the openings for the conduit to enter on each end. Your vent comment did get me thinking though and last night I went out and reached in and grabbed the wires that are feeding a 30 A / 240V heater that had been running a while in the shop (the insulated part of course ). They were slightly warm but nothing I would call hot enough to heat up a cavity. With a 20A run to a future cyclone, and one machine going full tilt at 10-15A I can see doubling the warmth but then again, it's so slight that it's not really a concern. For the time it will take to bang a few holes in the top and bottom where they can't be seen anyway, I'll probably do it next time I have the cabinet off the wall - if nothing else it will give me a warm fuzzy feeling....sort of like putting glue on pocket hole screw joints - not really needed but makes you feel good about things....

    Cheers,
    Lewis

  10. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Houghton View Post
    Maybe so, but do you really think a sign that read, "DANGER. Low Voltage", would be taken seriously? That'd be almost as bad as a sign reading, "DANGER. KITTENS BEHIND THIS DOOR."

    And, even if that's a technically true statement, the vernacular use of the term "low voltage" usually applies to things like doorbell transformers, so I think it's an appropriate misuse of the term "high" in this case.
    I dont know; I had a guy who worked for me who left the back door open and a stray kitten wandered in to the back bedroom. When he went to pick it up the cat lunged at him, bit him on the wrist so bad that he almost bled to death, had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    South Windsor, CT
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    Lewis,

    FYI - the conduit needs to be "supported" within 3 feet of entering the boxes. It looks to me like you might have more than 3 feet of unsupported conduit below the box. Next time you're in there, attach an appriapriate thickness strip of wood to the wall behind the conduit halfway down the wall and strap the conduit to the wood with the appropriately sized straps.

    One other thing - where the conduit penetrates the floor, the openings need to be "fire-stopped". That means caulked with an approved flame retardent caulk. You can get it at the big box stores. Our local HD carries a brand called FireStop.

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    SF Bay Area, CA
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lewis Cobb View Post
    Then I fired up the fancy decal machine at work we use to make lexan decals for equipment.
    My apologies for using the word but it is just darn cute!

    So what about these lexan decals for the equipment? We need some pics!

    I wonder, why was everything surface-mounted? Easier?
    Wood: a fickle medium....

    Did you know SMC is user supported? Please help.

  13. #28
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    Apr 2007
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    Canada
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob Russell View Post
    Lewis,

    FYI - the conduit needs to be "supported" within 3 feet of entering the boxes. It looks to me like you might have more than 3 feet of unsupported conduit below the box. Next time you're in there, attach an appriapriate thickness strip of wood to the wall behind the conduit halfway down the wall and strap the conduit to the wood with the appropriately sized straps.

    One other thing - where the conduit penetrates the floor, the openings need to be "fire-stopped". That means caulked with an approved flame retardent caulk. You can get it at the big box stores. Our local HD carries a brand called FireStop.

    Hi Rob -
    You're probably right on that 3' business under the box - I'll add a couple of straps the next time I am in there - which seems to be every 2 days lately.

    On the floor - that's just a landing that's about 2 feet off the concrete floor so it's not really a sealed up place. In fact, you can crawl under the landing from the side (as I have done about 936 times when running wires and conduit...).

    Thanks for the input.

    Lewis

  14. #29
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    Apr 2007
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    Canada
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Padilla View Post
    My apologies for using the word but it is just darn cute!

    So what about these lexan decals for the equipment? We need some pics!

    I wonder, why was everything surface-mounted? Easier?
    Hi Chris -

    My wife liked it too and I think she used that "cute" word. That's key for me - next time I am pulling some purchase out the back of the car (or a rented truck) there should be less resistance....

    The lexan decals we make at work are for undustrial remote controls - handheld things that are like a tv remote - only built with cast aluminum enclosures and rugged enough for the gorillas that drive bulk delivery trucks to use. They are pretty slick - the printing operation takes place from the rear so you have to literally scratch all the lexan away before you hit the legends etc. I had the graphic person whip up the high voltage decal from a picture and Adobe Illustrator.

    Surface mounting - the walls and everything were done long ago and the electrical panel was surface mounted to the wall.

    Cheers,
    Lewis

  15. #30
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    Feb 2007
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    Travelers Rest, S.C.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lewis Cobb View Post
    I have to admit I was a little sheepish posting this up here for fear of public ridicule and general shaming seeing as it's not a "hard core woodworking" project. But I was grinning so much when I installed it earlier today that I figured I would just stand up and be proud...

    ....maybe I'll build up the nerve to post the window valences when they are done too.....
    Lewis, I say as long as you're having fun.....Do it!

    I like it........Very creative and brightens up your shop!

    Oh yeah......It looks like you might have too much time on your hands!
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    Women are like phones. They love to be held and talked to, but if you press the wrong buttons you'll get disconnected!

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    Life is one fool thing after another whereas love is two fool things after each other

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