Stainless Control Panel

I'm wondering if anyone has ever recessed their controll panel box into a wall and then mounted a stainless sheet as a face plate, perhaps with a gasket of some kind for water protection.

Any opinions? I hate the look of plastic enclosures and stainless enclosures are big bucks.

Or has anyone used Stainless Steel appliance paint on one on a metal Nema 4 type enclosure?

Thanks. Feeling the need for some bling.

I think your idea of recessing it and covering it with a sheet of stainless would be your best bet.

The best bet would be to go to an electrical supply house and ask for an old obsolete load panel since it will fit between studs.

The home brewery environment shouldn't be that wet to require a SST panel or cabinet. Wipe the panel down after any spills or spray and there won't be any possibility of corrosion. Of course, you have to have a vent hood to keep the humidity down in the room or you could create potentially corrosive and mold producing conditions.

Go with a painted box. Save your bucks for something really useful!

You could try some stainless foil tape, we die-cut it for decora electric switch and outlet covers.

mabrungard said:

The home brewery environment shouldn't be that wet to require a SST panel or cabinet. Wipe the panel down after any spills or spray and there won't be any possibility of corrosion. Of course, you have to have a vent hood to keep the humidity down in the room or you could create potentially corrosive and mold producing conditions.

Go with a painted box. Save your bucks for something really useful!

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I have great ventilation. I just want a panel with some bling!

Hoosier-Brewer said:

You could try some stainless foil tape, we die-cut it for decora electric switch and outlet covers.

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Interesting. I'm generally terrible with tape, though. Any pics of your stuff so I can get an idea what it looks like?

Dgonza9 said:

Interesting. I'm generally terrible with tape, though. Any pics of your stuff so I can get an idea what it looks like?

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I just did Google image search and couldn't find any. That product may not have taken off very well, I'm can't remember when we did the last run. Basically picture your GFCI receptacle. We die-cut a stainless steel foil with a clear PET film on the outside and an adhesive on the back to that shape. It was for a local lighting company, they wanted the GFCI itself to look stainless to match the cover plates. You can get different widths of the tape, even in sheets I would bet. It' should also be available in different thicknesses, the thicker stuff would be easy to apply. McMaster has some.

Dgonza9 said:

I'm wondering if anyone has ever recessed their controll panel box into a wall and then mounted a stainless sheet as a face plate, perhaps with a gasket of some kind for water protection.

Any opinions? I hate the look of plastic enclosures and stainless enclosures are big bucks.

Or has anyone used Stainless Steel appliance paint on one on a metal Nema 4 type enclosure?

Thanks. Feeling the need for some bling.

Click to expand...

Don't forget cooling for your SSR. If you go with a recessed panel then you need to find a way to blow air through the panel.

thargrav said:

Don't forget cooling for your SSR. If you go with a recessed panel then you need to find a way to blow air through the panel.

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Well, when I say "recessed in a wall" I really mean recessed in a soffit that is open on the other side. I have a soffit that surrounds my plumbing stack. I'm going to refinish it with green board, then recess the panel in it. It's much larger than a the space between two studs. So if I attach the SSR to a heat sink that partiall protrudes from the box, heat should dissipate well enough.

That's the plan, anyway.

You can get peel and stick stainless tiles that are normally used for back splashes. It's kind of spendy, but it's out there.

I was just at my local surplus place. They have a 20x20x8 Stainless NEMA box with locking key for $75.00

Looked like new.

Skycraft Parts & Surplus, Inc.

Not listed on their site, but you can call them. If needed I can make the trip down there (about 30 minutes away) and take a picture!

That's a good price!

I have friends in Orlando that have mentioned Skycraft. Wish we had one around here.

Thanks for the tip on that. They pulled the item and are looking into the shipping cost for me.

Bling Bling!

Dgonza9 said:

Thanks for the tip on that. They pulled the item and are looking into the shipping cost for me.

Bling Bling!

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Let me know how much they quote you for the shipping. I might want add a bit more bling as well!

I believe I only saw one of them there... so I think you might be out of luck!

Q

bpolivka said:

Let me know how much they quote you for the shipping. I might want add a bit more bling as well!

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Sorry Brett. Your system is already shaping up to be waaaaaay cooler than mine. I'll make a flower bed out of it before I give it to you! LOL.

Actually, I had a feeling you'd be interested if it didn't work out for me. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again for the tip, Kellzey.

Ouch! Where's the love?

Seriously though, a stainless steel flower bed would be pretty cool. I'd polish it though. Even flowers can always use a bit more bling.

Did you get the panel yet?

kellzey said:

Did you get the panel yet?

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Yep. They shipped it right away. New in box. It's pretty sweet, though a bit bigger than I needed. My brewing space is kind of tight.

I'm considering reorganizing my space, though. Still thinking about how to use it.

Great tip. So thanks again.

Too big? Nothing a large badass brewery logo can't fix!

Glad it worked out.

I kinda wish I had come across that before I built my controller.

Post a pic when you can!

Q

I still have to add labels and will one day add a logo. I wound up painting it. Although it was stainless it had a grain of some kind. Couldn't get her polished.

Anyway, thanks for the tip! I thought it was a bit big, but man, once I started wiring I was happy for the space, given all the connections and fuses and whatnot. Go bigger than you think is my advice! Cheers!

Dgonza9 said:

I still have to add labels and will one day add a logo. I wound up painting it. Although it was stainless it had a grain of some kind. Couldn't get her polished.

Anyway, thanks for the tip! I thought it was a bit big, but man, once I started wiring I was happy for the space, given all the connections and fuses and whatnot. Go bigger than you think is my advice! Cheers!

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It seems like no matter how big we go with any panel we design for industrial applications they are never big enough long term.

Nice panel.