Control Panel Enclosure

[Mose]

I don't if anyone is currently looking for an enclosure for their control panel but I found this last night on ebay and ordered one. From what I can see it should work fine. Not really a watertight NEMA box but since I'm cutting a bunch of holes in it I'm not to worried about it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350117836633&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Once it arrives I'll post back if it's junk, or a good deal.

(Of course I've never built one of these so feel free to let me know if I bought a bad idea.)

Mose

 

[erik]

The steel is thick, but there's enough space to enclose just about everything you want:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300373458186&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

 

[lschiavo]

You should find the box in the OP to be quite sturdy but it is not meant to be watertight (a little well placed silicone . The NEMA 12 control boxes are great. They will keep water out and you can get a backplate to make mounting components easy. I really like the hinged covers also.

 

[erik]

You should find the box in the OP to be quite sturdy but it is not meant to be watertight (a little well placed silicone . The NEMA 12 control boxes are great. They will keep water out and you can get a backplate to make mounting components easy. I really like the hinged covers also.

Have you found a good (and cheap) source for backplates? I was going to fabricate one out of 1/4" plywood, but I'm lazier than I am cheap...

 

[lschiavo]

Have you found a good (and cheap) source for backplates? I was going to fabricate one out of 1/4" plywood, but I'm lazier than I am cheap...

I am an electrical contractor so I get mine from my suppliers. They are not very expensive (if you ignore that they are just a flat piece of steel with 4 holes punched on the corners). You could easily make one. Metal would be more difficult to make but I would avoid wood in an electrical enclosure (not that I haven't used it on my own projects).