Tips and Tricks for a tidy and safe control box?

[lschiavo]

Here is my controller guts: not exactly pretty but solid!

 

[EarthBound]

Hey bud, you should've said you used gorilla glue, then I wouldn't have bothered to post. That stuff rocks! Silicone caulk is also the ****z in the right application.

I have a few random posts of my setup but never really took much time to document it. Here's a shot. Electric HLT w/HERMS. cooler MLT, and still propane boil (just ran 100A feeder to the shop though).

Yep, I should've said I used gorilla glue, and you shouldn't've assumed I didn't use gorilla glue. And yes, it does rock! That sticky square won't be going anywhere because of it. I use silicone for sealing just about everything. You can see a s**tload of it at the top of the inside of my panel.

You have a nice setup! It would be awesome to see a thread for it...

 

[lschiavo]

Yep, I should've said I used gorilla glue, and you shouldn't've assumed I didn't use gorilla glue. And yes, it does rock! That sticky square won't be going anywhere because of it. I use silicone for sealing just about everything. You can see a s**tload of it at the top of the inside of my panel.

You have a nice setup! It would be awesome to see a thread for it...

Don't rule out silicone as an adhesive though. I use it a lot especially with porous materials. Do a test sometime you may be surprised.

Thanks for the compliment. I always planned to document my rig but never found the time. I do have some pics from the build...maybe I'll work on it.

 

[missing link]

I used the female spades at one point on the power adapter for my BCS-460. I don't have any pictures of it though and I no longer use it the same way.

I don't think I used any kind of special spades.

Linc

 

[EarthBound]

Don't rule out silicone as an adhesive though. I use it a lot especially with porous materials. Do a test sometime you may be surprised.

I know all about it. I used silicone as the only adhesive for my entire keezer build.

 

[bad coffee]

Call me crazy, but any two 110v terminals that are close enough to connect with one finger get heat-shrinked/e-taped. Call me a klutz.

B

 

[EarthBound]

Call me crazy, but any two 110v terminals that are close enough to connect with one finger get heat-shrinked/e-taped. Call me a klutz.

B

You're not crazy - it's a good point, for sure, and one that I brought up with my buddies. We thought it was fine the way it is. There are plenty of places in that panel that can be connected with one finger that are more dangerous. We have an excellent grounding scheme and a GFCI breaker to protect us from any danger. But now that you mention it, I little bit of e-tape ain't such a bad idea...

 

[shortyjacobs]

You're not crazy - it's a good point, for sure, and one that I brought up with my buddies. We thought it was fine the way it is. There are plenty of places in that panel that can be connected with one finger that are more dangerous. We have an excellent grounding scheme and a GFCI breaker to protect us from any danger. But now that you mention it, I little bit of e-tape ain't such a bad idea...

Here's the thing I realized recently...GFIs aren't the best at protecting you, especially in that situation. I opened up my box at one point, and forgot to unplug it. I managed to touch the hot and neutral (120V) lines, and got a decent shock. I was confused why the GFI didn't trip, and then realized it wasn't supposed to. When I touched hot and neutral, together, my body was the conductor and the load. GFIs don't trip when a load is connected, only when there is ground current leakage. Since I wasn't ALSO touching a ground terminal, (and apparently my shoes were decently insulated), there was no current leakage to ground, so the GFI didn't trip.

So either wear ESD shoes to ensure you're always grounded so the GFI trips, or don't touch hot and neutral lines!

 

[passedpawn]

I opened up my box at one point, and forgot to unplug it

Well, there isn't a solution for everything. And your post-mortem analysis was right on.

 

[EarthBound]

Here's the thing I realized recently...GFIs aren't the best at protecting you, especially in that situation. I opened up my box at one point, and forgot to unplug it. I managed to touch the hot and neutral (120V) lines, and got a decent shock. I was confused why the GFI didn't trip, and then realized it wasn't supposed to. When I touched hot and neutral, together, my body was the conductor and the load. GFIs don't trip when a load is connected, only when there is ground current leakage. Since I wasn't ALSO touching a ground terminal, (and apparently my shoes were decently insulated), there was no current leakage to ground, so the GFI didn't trip.

So either wear ESD shoes to ensure you're always grounded so the GFI trips, or don't touch hot and neutral lines!

That is an excellent point... one I haven't really considered until now. I will definitely keep it in mind, thank you. However, my scenario is different than yours because I will always unplug my panel if I intend on opening it, and I will never touch two live wires. Therefore, whenever an electrical danger arises, it will instantly be resolved because there will be a ground involved.

 

[Maxkling]

Yea, in an environment where I work and GFCI's are non-existent and having to work with live voltage at a very large and broad range, bare terminals and wires suck (and hurt). Safety is a huge priority, especially with 120. 480 will usually pop me off pretty good, but when I'm elbow deep in a panel 120 will make you feel helpless and keep you on it. These situations are rare, but always inevitable when working with live voltage. There are SAFER practices but none that are truly safe. There are many people every day that loose their lives over it, when I get shocked, unlike a lot of people, I don't brag about it because its my fault which in turn is a mistake.

 

[Walker]

I will always unplug my panel if I intend on opening it,

That's going to be hard to do. If something ever is wrong with your system, you are going to have to figure it out. Opening it and using a multimeter to test thing is probably going to happen.

 

[EarthBound]

Oops, I meant to type "...if I intend on opening it and sticking my fingers in there." My bad.

The point that I was trying to make in my last two posts was that I will never touch two live wires because I'm not a klutz, and I will always remember whether the panel is plugged in or not when it's open.

 

[EarthBound]

Not like there's anything wrong with being a klutz or forgetting if the panel's plugged in. People make mistakes. For some of those people, it may be a good idea to have some kind of warning system, like a "Plugged In" light.

 

[Quaffer]

I learned an old ham radio trick from my dad. If you have to work on the rig with the power on, put one hand in you pants pocket. That way, if you touch a live wire, current will not flow through the heart and it will likely not be fatal. If your'e standing in water though, all bets are off.