Awesome Power distribution box :) if i could make a small suggestion.... try adding a Usb Charger to your chain so you can cut back on the clutter if you plan on using your box to charge cell phones, tablets, mp3 players etc.
For cutting those holes in the sheetmetal around 5:24, use a drill to make four holes in each corner, then use snips to connect the holes you drilled. It takes less time and does not look like hammered dog poo. Thanks for taking time to make this video.
Glad you didn't take it the wrong way! So many video uploaders are soooo touchy about anything less than praise. You do get the praise for a great project, although (I) HATE sheet metal working. Keep up the great information.
I know this is an old video. But I see you got some haters recently. Just sayin' this video is super awesome. Only critique I have is the diagram, but you made it clear enough where which wires should meet the terminals. But other than that, this is just awesome. Love how you dealt with them haters. Keep on being you.
Thanks for the feedback fixedgearmike. That might work for some people. I tried that while preparing for this project but it was hard to get a clean cut on the line with the standard snips and they tended to put a bad curl in the metal. Of course it could simply be poor technique on my part too. Doing it as shown gave me a much better finished product.
Hole saw, hole saw, and again hole saw. Drill two overlapping holes inside your box marks, kinda making a MasterCard symbol which leaves only four small pieces of metal to remove. I do this all the time to add receptacles to the ends of kitchen islands. If not my method them a rotozip with metal bit leaves fantastic edged cutouts. Thanks for your vid and keep em coming.
Another pretty cool addition to that setup I'm my opinion would be for it to be fed by a multi-circuit cord. For example a locking 14-30p or locking 14-20p as the supply plug. Granted most homes don't have those type of receptacles, however there great in a workshop of any kind. You have the ability to mix it up and provide 125v or 250v from one source. This will reduce single line demand while remaing portable. Your setup is awesome for a battery charging station but if only using one line as
You welcome. I think when folks realize that each person is an individual, and accepts or rejects on that truth, everyone will be ok. I liked your distribution box because of the room between the outlets, extremely beneficial..Seasoned, ok, cool. Age is just a gauge..
Very cool project! Fein makes a multi tool that will punch cut and cut out those holes. I think dremel and chicago electric from harbor freight has one too. I really like the idea and am gonna try it out. Its got a little more "style" than a power strip and with a little craftsmanship on the wood work you may have a piece of functional furniture. Great idea, man!
Thanks Trevor. Yeah, there's probably a lot of ways to make those holes. Use whatever you have available that works to get the project done. I'd love to see your version if you make one.
I bought those speakers quite a while ago. I haven't done a video on them but they could use some remedial work on them. Doing a rebuild might make an interesting topic for a future video. Thanks.
Yep. I thought about that afterward when it was too late to say anything. In our area, old construction is setup for 15 amps and new construction is 20 amps. Should be careful to not go over that, although the breaker should keep things from getting too out of hand if you do accidentally. All the wiring going to and in the box is rated for more than the circuit it's on, so the breaker is the "weak" link. I thought about putting a breaker in the box itself, but thought it was overkill for my use.
I think I would've added some type of protection at the unit, itself (I figure that pre-made power strips have a built-in circuit breaker for a reason). Maybe a GFCI at the beginning of each row?
+Madness832 Yes, that's a common comment. Pre-made power strips have circuit breakers because the manufacturers don't know the context they will be used in and so install breakers sized for what the strip is designed for, which is typically less than the normal circuit. So, it makes sense for power strips to have a breaker. In this particular situation, it wouldn't have helped and made the project more complicated and expensive. The parts in my project are over spec'd for the circuits it'll be used on, so the circuits' breakers are sufficient. A GFCI is useful in places where you may have water or other things that might cause a ground fault, but they don't replace a circuit breaker. Again, in this particular situation, it wouldn't have helped (but it wouldn't hurt either). I'm planning a future video discussing this common comment. Thanks for watching.
Thanks. Yep that would work if I had a metal cutting hole saw. I had a wood cutting hole saw I tried cutting metal with once. Notice the past tense. :-) I like the idea of a metal cutting bit in a rotozip; that would probably be really sweet.
Sure, if sheet metal isn't your thing, anything thin would work: plastic, hardwood, 1/4" plywood. I was using what I had, plus it looked kind of cool in an industrial sort of way.
Yeah, that's the official name for it. 47077 is the item number; they have coupons regularly for $6.99 sale price. An air compressor is really worth the price, you'll find it useful for a great many things. Buy one motor, and you can run a whole assortment of handy air tools with it. For some people, they may not have much use for one, but I get the impression you would be able to get some benefit from it.
How you doing I really enjoy your video how you get this distribution box just out of curiosity you give me the exact dimensions on the box that you used place all the outlets and switches I would like to try to build one of my own thanks let me know and text👍
I've had thoughts of making something like this for quite a while now. I agree with some of the criticism, but its normal to see ways to make something better, safer etc. One thought I had was to make the first plug, a GFCI. Also the metal face plate looked hard to work with and perhaps it is a safety hazard. I applaud your video though. If I were to try something like this, I think I would try to make things more compact and not use the metal although I haven't thought of what i would use instead.
+Lyle Stoneman Thanks watching and leaving the thoughtful comment. A GFCI certainly wouldn't hurt, particularly if it was going to be used in a wet environment. If you want a second level of safety, you could run a wire from the front panel directly to ground, although I think grounding through the screw is sufficient. The metal cover plates I picked up the home center rely only on this connection. As you pointed out, the metal wasn't the easiest thing to work with but I do really like the looks of it. You could certainly use something like 1/4" plywood, paneling or hardboard. It'd give you a little more thickness but no worse than drywall in a typical wall installation. The distance between the outlets was intentionally wide to allow for the battery chargers we wanted to use. You could certainly make it smaller if you don't have that requirement. Cheers.
Heheh, apparently the inspector commented that I have too many things plugged into my power strip in my bedroom ... blah! BS! They are all very low power devices, taking only 20 watts max each, and then one laptop charger which is somewhere around 80 to 100W ... -_-
+Benjamin “Ozias” Esposti Haha. Yeah, as long as you're smart and don't overload the system the number of devices isn't an issue. As you mentioned, it's total power draw. I talked with an inspector once about some remodeling I was doing around the house and asked about how many outlets are acceptable on a circuit. He said something to the effect of "As many as you want, I don't care. That's what the breaker is for."
I would have had to do a total redesign to avoid the sheet metal work. Maybe plastic cut out with a Roto Zip or something else. That much sheet metal work with the added frustration that would end with more cuts and pricks and blood loss than I would want to deal with. - - Great Job!
well in what you guys call romex, we have a brown (live/hot) blue (neutral) & bare copper (ground), but when every you enter something where the cable is striped back (socket, fuse board light switch etc...) we then put a green & yellow striped cover on the ground wire
I like the idea, but I would attached the cord permanently to the side with cable clamp as it tends to rotate and some point of time it can rip the wires out of it's terminals with only the cable tie acting as a makeshift strain relief.
2:00 working with Aluminum is a lot different than other metal you might use. If your cutting a lot of it keep it cool or it could melt to your saw. just a tip that might help somebody.
+William Winder Good point. I might have had fewer problems if the screws were lubricated, but it was easy enough to tap the holes. Thanks for the comment.
Do not wire the plugs together. if one goes out it will kill the whole line. Run a hot to each plug using a pig tail of of a main line for each plug so that one does not affect the other. plus the way its wired you are putting all the load of your power distribution box through the first plug making it more likely to fail.
Thanks for commenting. Sure, you could wire them the way you suggest; it wouldn't hurt anything. But it's more work and doesn't get you any advantage. The load being distributed the way I showed doesn't increase the likelihood of failure. The sockets are designed specifically to be wired that way and are in fact pretty much how any house is wired.
Canadian regulations are 12 outlets/lights per breaker MAX. They only suggest 10, so of you had a couple more outlets in the room and the overhead light, it would really be pushing it LOL
Yeah, but this is an extension cord so it only counts as one. ;-) When doing some remodeling a while back, I talked with a local building inspector about the maximum number of outlets on a circuit. He didn't care how many outlets were on it since the breaker would pop if too much current was pulled through the line. The wire was rated for more than the breaker so there wasn't any danger of anything melting down from simply too many outlets. But of course regs vary location to location.
As a master electrician I would strongly caution anyone from building this box. there are many NEC electrical code violations in the construction of this project. the first being that you have created an electrical assembly without listed electrical parts. the most dangerous violation is grounding, its a violation of code to the yoke of the electrical receptacle to provide grounding to the metal cover and mounting brackets in the box. the power cord coming into the box has to be through an approved connector CGB style connector would provide a proper insulated connection and strain relief. exposed electrical wiring can not be exposed to a combustible material (wood). many more code violations. the electrical code is there to protect people from injury. some of the code issues create a fire and an electrocution hazard. the idea of the box is not a bad idea, the execution of it is a violation of NEC. to make this installation code compliant, mount a metal cut in style box to the aluminum strips. run 12/2 romex from box to box with an approved clamp at each box. make all electrical splices in the cut in boxes. use a CGB style connector to come into the box. make sure that each cut in box is properly grounded. if this is done then you can have a safe code compliant box.
Great description of possible issues. I wouldn’t see a issue with using plastic old work boxes mounted to a plywood or plastic face. Romex between boxes is best, and proper strain reliefs all around. Making your own enclosure is fun, until the fire starts. The first issue I saw was not bonding the metal face to ground. Should a hot wire vibrate loose and touch the meal, it creates a shock hazard. Lastly, Using this anywhere near water would require gfci protection.
You should have also mentioned not to load up more than 10-15 amps (depending on the circuit/circuit breaker) on one any distribution box of this kind, and to use a proper gauge cable to handle the amperage.
I suggest mounting an actual UL listed electrical box, inside the wooden box, in which to make up the splices... that way you can clamp the cords/wires into place so when the white tiewrap rots away and falls off, pulling the cord doesn't just yank the splices apart. You're not supposed to make splices in open air... they're supposed to be inside a (UL listed) box.
Cool project. im wondering, is this extension cord will be able to support pc, television and all other basic home electrical devices? if not, how to make one that can support those.
As long as the components used to make this are rated for the load plugged into them, yes, you can plug whatever you want into it. You just need to watch the total load you have turned on at any one point in time to keep from tripping circuit breakers. For example, my house is wired for 15 amp circuits. I built this with 20 amp components. So, the 15 amp circuit breaker in the house is the limiting factor. As long as the total of what I have turned on in this device is less than 15 amps, I'm ok. If I turn on more than 15 amps, the circuit breaker will trip. You could have a theoretical problem if the house was wired for 20 amps and a box like this was built with 15 amp components. Then the breaker wouldn't trip until 20 amps was pulled through components designed for 15 amps. This would introduce a small fire hazard. Putting a circuit breaker in the extension box rated for the components inside would be a good idea in this circumstance. Hope that helps.
Didn't find anything called a "muffler cutter" at Harbor Freight. Closest thing I could find was an air-powered 3" cut off tool at 9.99. That'd probably work, but you'd need a couple hundred dollar air compressor to go with it. :-)
Bought with the compact UPS so that "wall wart" power packs, which cannot fit side by side on a power strip, can be placed alongside the UPS, instead. here is the link to it in case anyone is interested: amzn.to\14saecG
i cant help but notice that there isnt any main earth going to the front metal work (i know its going to the sockets themselves, but the main earth should be bonded to the case also. And there is no internal fuse? i know you guys in america have plugs that can handle 16a but theyre not generally fused, right?
Thanks for the comment. The front panel is grounded through the plugs themselves. The center screw that holds the cover plates on is grounded which in turn grounds the case through the covers. As for the fusing, it's handled for the circuit at the panel, the standard here in the states. It's rare to have overload protection at the outlet. The circuit is fused for 15 amps at the panel and everything in this box is rated for 20 amps, so the breaker will trigger long before anything else in the circuit is overloaded. Cheers.
Its all good until your solid core melts down when there is a big amp draw. Also should be fused to prevent that from happening. If you really wanted to maybe put a couple rcdOs in the case.
***** Exactly. All the components in this box are rated for 20 amps. The circuit in the house is 15 amps. So the circuit's breaker will trip before anything in this box comes close to being overloaded.
Not going to comment on the wiring since that subject has already been beaten to death. However, when you cut the holes in the sheet metal, you actually did more work than you needed to. You should have made a small starting hole, just large enough for the nibbler and then used the nibbler to cut the whole thing. Yes, the nibbler is slow, but in the video you already used the nibbler for the entire perimeter of the hole, and that's exactly what you needed to do. Removing the majority of the material prior to the nibbler didn't speed anything up and didn't prevent you needing to use the nibbler anyway.
Thanks for the comment. Perhaps, but I think using the nibbler the whole way around would have been slower. As it was, I just used the nibbler to clean things up, so there were fewer nibbles needed overall. Cheers.
Thanks for watching! It's not *part* of the house electrical. It's *plugged into* the house electrical. If you're concerned about it, you're certainly welcome to make yours out of some other material. Peace.
It doesn't matter what the device is certified to do. Codes are Codes. As an example "14 AWG" can handle more than 15 Amps, but under no code can you use a 20 Amp breaker or fuse.
questions are, is it a permanent part of the home? and was it built for someone other then his own home/use? if the answers are no its not permanent part of the home or its for his own private use it is his call there. he is simply giving others how to make their own power box. but if it is a permanent part of the home or built for others then yes it has to be up to code. as far as i know on my comment granted what you are plugging that into should be able to handle the load that would bring to that outlet but its on him to check that issue
+Jason Curry Fair question. I tried using a cut-off wheel on a Dremel but it kept breaking. I didn't have a larger grinder at the time. Thanks for asking.
Honey did you get that power strip I asked you to pick up for me? No but I did make this huge ugly- ass unsafe monstrosity for only about 10 times the price...
Its not super unsafe because the wire he used is rated for 15 amps and the outlet has a 15 amp breaker. My only real concern in the wire that plugs it into the wall, it looks to be 16 gauge but I don't think 2 amps will cause it to melt though (16 gauge is rated for 13 amps). You are right about it being ugly though, maybe in a garage it would fit in . ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Depends on whether you're looking at it from the front or back. :-) But yeah, you want to connect the wires to the appropriate connectors as indicated on the plug itself.
Yeah, you'd think. But we shopped around for power strips at a number of different places and didn't find any that would fit our requirements. The outlets were either too close together or not enough of them or oriented the wrong way. In the end this gave us just what we needed in a fairly clean way.
This box is super unsafe because: 1. It is made out of burnable material (aka wood) 2. The front is made of a conductor (aka metal) 3. The metal front has bad earth connection?! (Deadly if one wire comes loose) The connection through the screws for earth is not good enough (aluminium will form a non conductive layer AlO2) 4.The strain relief is joke for this box(should be done with screws) You don't seem to be a certified electrician and therefor should refrain from working with mains electric! If something happens with your device no insurance will cover any casualties!( fire,electric shock resulting in injuries or death) Somebody trying to make this box might have even more deadly mistakes in it than the one shown in this video(problems with terminals, wire, insulation ......)
+Animarkzero Thanks for your comment but I think you overestimate the danger. Of course you are entitled to your opinion. I'd love to see your video where you fix my mistakes so we can all be better educated.
1. Wood is perfectly safe if it's wired correctly. Just like your house. 2. Screws are made of different material, you can simply put an extra wire to ground it if needed. 3. You cannot say if someone is certified just by looking at a video.
1. Appart from that my house is made mainly out of concrete wood is not really safe as mains wires can get hot and light your house on fire. That is not a major problem if the wires are inside a cable jacket but with only the wires free it is! 2. It is not facultative to use grounding wires for metal casing its a compulsory rule! 3. Well if he is a certified electrician he must know the rules. Sorry I did not make the rules but they are there for a reason. If you choose not to go with safety regulation its your fault. I would build this box the the following way: The wood can stay on the outside, inside a layer of plastics Front plate metal but connected to earth on a solid connetion . Wires not rigid but flexible with sleeves. (Because you carry that box around. To prevent wires getting loose.) And finally (optional)a fuse and some overvoltage protection aka MOV (metal oxide varistor) P.S.: I would not use wire nuts but wago connectors instead
Animarkzero 1st - it’s not “burnable” but COMBUSTABLE material. 2nd- the sheet metal is grounded through devise frame/yoke being metal to metal contact and secured by pop rivets. 3d - strain relief might be not a HUBBLE quality but I don’t think he is planing to hang that big ass box suspended by a cord.
+Roger Burke I would have done that if I could find some that met our requirements. I did look at a handful of places but failed to locate anything that would handle a large number of over-sized chargers.
I use the ones that have a row down each side for the bulkier ones. They are made specifically for transformer plugs.. Cost is still usually under ten bucks...
Ok, I'll wait. :-) But you're absolutely correct, if you don't watch how much you plug into it, you will blow the circuit breaker. But that's true regardless of whether or not use use this. You can overload a circuit without any extension cord type devices. For my application (very low amperage battery chargers) it's not an issue.
+Benjamin “Ozias” Esposti Interesting. I hadn't heard that. Searching around I see a lot of people expressing the same opinion but couldn't find any reliable study to support it. But there's always the option to use the screw on the side if you want. Cheers.
House of Hacks Yeah I'm not sure if many studies have been done about it, but just think about it. The screw gets a better grip on the wire, which helps keep it from becoming loose over time, or when the outlet is pushed into it's box. IMHO, I think the reason why people say that is because from their experience, they've seen more stab-in connections that have failed compared to screw connections. Then again, it IS possible to mess up the screw connection, which would make it a bit iffy/hazardous.
Thanks for the feedback. In some ways, that's probably not a bad interpretation. I am a "jack of all trades, master of none" type. But it can be interpreted differently. I have a second channel video about the name here: czcams.com/users/edit?o=U&video_id=IWc7pl9_a3Y Cheers.
Awesome Power distribution box :) if i could make a small suggestion.... try adding a Usb Charger to your chain so you can cut back on the clutter if you plan on using your box to charge cell phones, tablets, mp3 players etc.
For cutting those holes in the sheetmetal around 5:24, use a drill to make four holes in each corner, then use snips to connect the holes you drilled. It takes less time and does not look like hammered dog poo. Thanks for taking time to make this video.
Thanks wingerrrrrrrrr. Yes, an air compressor is definitely on my wish list. But it'll probably have to wait until I get bigger/better shop space.
Glad you didn't take it the wrong way! So many video uploaders are soooo touchy about anything less than praise. You do get the praise for a great project, although (I) HATE sheet metal working. Keep up the great information.
I know this is an old video. But I see you got some haters recently.
Just sayin' this video is super awesome. Only critique I have is the diagram, but you made it clear enough where which wires should meet the terminals.
But other than that, this is just awesome. Love how you dealt with them haters. Keep on being you.
Thanks! Yeah, you need a thick skin if you make videos.
@@HouseOfHacks truedat
Thanks for the feedback fixedgearmike. That might work for some people. I tried that while preparing for this project but it was hard to get a clean cut on the line with the standard snips and they tended to put a bad curl in the metal. Of course it could simply be poor technique on my part too. Doing it as shown gave me a much better finished product.
Hole saw, hole saw, and again hole saw. Drill two overlapping holes inside your box marks, kinda making a MasterCard symbol which leaves only four small pieces of metal to remove. I do this all the time to add receptacles to the ends of kitchen islands. If not my method them a rotozip with metal bit leaves fantastic edged cutouts. Thanks for your vid and keep em coming.
Another pretty cool addition to that setup I'm my opinion would be for it to be fed by a multi-circuit cord. For example a locking 14-30p or locking 14-20p as the supply plug. Granted most homes don't have those type of receptacles, however there great in a workshop of any kind. You have the ability to mix it up and provide 125v or 250v from one source. This will reduce single line demand while remaing portable. Your setup is awesome for a battery charging station but if only using one line as
very nice! every house needs one of those!!!
Love your pace and detail. I"m subscribed. Happy Holidays!
+squareglow Thanks for watching and Merry Christmas!
You welcome. I think when folks realize that each person is an individual, and accepts or rejects on that truth, everyone will be ok. I liked your distribution box because of the room between the outlets, extremely beneficial..Seasoned, ok, cool. Age is just a gauge..
Very cool project! Fein makes a multi tool that will punch cut and cut out those holes. I think dremel and chicago electric from harbor freight has one too. I really like the idea and am gonna try it out. Its got a little more "style" than a power strip and with a little craftsmanship on the wood work you may have a piece of functional furniture. Great idea, man!
Thanks Trevor. Yeah, there's probably a lot of ways to make those holes. Use whatever you have available that works to get the project done. I'd love to see your version if you make one.
I bought those speakers quite a while ago. I haven't done a video on them but they could use some remedial work on them. Doing a rebuild might make an interesting topic for a future video. Thanks.
Yep. I thought about that afterward when it was too late to say anything. In our area, old construction is setup for 15 amps and new construction is 20 amps. Should be careful to not go over that, although the breaker should keep things from getting too out of hand if you do accidentally. All the wiring going to and in the box is rated for more than the circuit it's on, so the breaker is the "weak" link. I thought about putting a breaker in the box itself, but thought it was overkill for my use.
It's nice that the U.S. upgraded to 20A ccts for receptacles in Canada they still use 15Accts for receptacles
I think I would've added some type of protection at the unit, itself (I figure that pre-made power strips have a built-in circuit breaker for a reason). Maybe a GFCI at the beginning of each row?
+Madness832 Yes, that's a common comment.
Pre-made power strips have circuit breakers because the manufacturers don't know the context they will be used in and so install breakers sized for what the strip is designed for, which is typically less than the normal circuit. So, it makes sense for power strips to have a breaker.
In this particular situation, it wouldn't have helped and made the project more complicated and expensive. The parts in my project are over spec'd for the circuits it'll be used on, so the circuits' breakers are sufficient.
A GFCI is useful in places where you may have water or other things that might cause a ground fault, but they don't replace a circuit breaker. Again, in this particular situation, it wouldn't have helped (but it wouldn't hurt either).
I'm planning a future video discussing this common comment. Thanks for watching.
Nice job.👍👍👍👍👍
Thank you!
Thanks. Yep that would work if I had a metal cutting hole saw. I had a wood cutting hole saw I tried cutting metal with once. Notice the past tense. :-) I like the idea of a metal cutting bit in a rotozip; that would probably be really sweet.
Only concern is over drawing on the likely 15A circuit of the wall plug that feeds into your box.
Sure, if sheet metal isn't your thing, anything thin would work: plastic, hardwood, 1/4" plywood. I was using what I had, plus it looked kind of cool in an industrial sort of way.
Yeah, that's the official name for it. 47077 is the item number; they have coupons regularly for $6.99 sale price.
An air compressor is really worth the price, you'll find it useful for a great many things. Buy one motor, and you can run a whole assortment of handy air tools with it.
For some people, they may not have much use for one, but I get the impression you would be able to get some benefit from it.
Great video! Thanks for sharing.
You're welcome. Peace.
@@HouseOfHacks You're welcome. Peace.
ok, let me rephrase. Somebody please mail this guy a fiberglass reinforced cutting disc and a shop vac please. LOL either way turned out nice.
How you doing I really enjoy your video how you get this distribution box just out of curiosity you give me the exact dimensions on the box that you used place all the outlets and switches I would like to try to build one of my own thanks let me know and text👍
I've had thoughts of making something like this for quite a while now. I agree with some of the criticism, but its normal to see ways to make something better, safer etc. One thought I had was to make the first plug, a GFCI. Also the metal face plate looked hard to work with and perhaps it is a safety hazard. I applaud your video though. If I were to try something like this, I think I would try to make things more compact and not use the metal although I haven't thought of what i would use instead.
+Lyle Stoneman Thanks watching and leaving the thoughtful comment.
A GFCI certainly wouldn't hurt, particularly if it was going to be used in a wet environment.
If you want a second level of safety, you could run a wire from the front panel directly to ground, although I think grounding through the screw is sufficient. The metal cover plates I picked up the home center rely only on this connection.
As you pointed out, the metal wasn't the easiest thing to work with but I do really like the looks of it. You could certainly use something like 1/4" plywood, paneling or hardboard. It'd give you a little more thickness but no worse than drywall in a typical wall installation.
The distance between the outlets was intentionally wide to allow for the battery chargers we wanted to use. You could certainly make it smaller if you don't have that requirement.
Cheers.
Heheh, apparently the inspector commented that I have too many things plugged into my power strip in my bedroom ... blah! BS! They are all very low power devices, taking only 20 watts max each, and then one laptop charger which is somewhere around 80 to 100W ... -_-
+Benjamin “Ozias” Esposti Haha. Yeah, as long as you're smart and don't overload the system the number of devices isn't an issue. As you mentioned, it's total power draw. I talked with an inspector once about some remodeling I was doing around the house and asked about how many outlets are acceptable on a circuit. He said something to the effect of "As many as you want, I don't care. That's what the breaker is for."
I would have had to do a total redesign to avoid the sheet metal work. Maybe plastic cut out with a Roto Zip or something else. That much sheet metal work with the added frustration that would end with more cuts and pricks and blood loss than I would want to deal with. - - Great Job!
well in what you guys call romex, we have a brown (live/hot) blue (neutral) & bare copper (ground), but when every you enter something where the cable is striped back (socket, fuse board light switch etc...) we then put a green & yellow striped cover on the ground wire
I like the idea, but I would attached the cord permanently to the side with cable clamp as it tends to rotate and some point of time it can rip the wires out of it's terminals with only the cable tie acting as a makeshift strain relief.
+DjResR Good point. Thanks for commenting.
That was awesome!!
That was awesome!!
2:00 working with Aluminum is a lot different than other metal you might use. If your cutting a lot of it keep it cool or it could melt to your saw. just a tip that might help somebody.
+William Winder Good point. I might have had fewer problems if the screws were lubricated, but it was easy enough to tap the holes. Thanks for the comment.
Hi, great video. What program do you use for your diagrams?
Thanks Rob The Plumber. I use Adobe After Effects for the graphics and Premiere Pro for the final edit.
Thanks. It's been working well.
Thanks. It's been working well.
Do not wire the plugs together. if one goes out it will kill the whole line. Run a hot to each plug using a pig tail of of a main line for each plug so that one does not affect the other. plus the way its wired you are putting all the load of your power distribution box through the first plug making it more likely to fail.
Thanks for commenting. Sure, you could wire them the way you suggest; it wouldn't hurt anything. But it's more work and doesn't get you any advantage. The load being distributed the way I showed doesn't increase the likelihood of failure. The sockets are designed specifically to be wired that way and are in fact pretty much how any house is wired.
Fantastic video. Thank you. Ignore the stupid comments by some here..you did a great job. Two thumbs way up.
shut up ur stoopid
@@sharackoslama4739 You spelled stupid wrong, stupid.
@@bigmacdaddy1234 shut up you girl weiner maestro
@@sharackoslama4739 Suck it dry snowflake.
@@bigmacdaddy1234 ye
Canadian regulations are 12 outlets/lights per breaker MAX. They only suggest 10, so of you had a couple more outlets in the room and the overhead light, it would really be pushing it LOL
In the beginning of your video what I saw, but you clearly explained it a bit later on.
Yeah, but this is an extension cord so it only counts as one. ;-)
When doing some remodeling a while back, I talked with a local building inspector about the maximum number of outlets on a circuit. He didn't care how many outlets were on it since the breaker would pop if too much current was pulled through the line. The wire was rated for more than the breaker so there wasn't any danger of anything melting down from simply too many outlets.
But of course regs vary location to location.
As a master electrician I would strongly caution anyone from building this box. there are many NEC electrical code violations in the construction of this project.
the first being that you have created an electrical assembly without listed electrical parts.
the most dangerous violation is grounding, its a violation of code to the yoke of the electrical receptacle to provide grounding to the metal cover and mounting brackets in the box.
the power cord coming into the box has to be through an approved connector CGB style connector would provide a proper insulated connection and strain relief.
exposed electrical wiring can not be exposed to a combustible material (wood).
many more code violations.
the electrical code is there to protect people from injury. some of the code issues create a fire and an electrocution hazard.
the idea of the box is not a bad idea, the execution of it is a violation of NEC.
to make this installation code compliant, mount a metal cut in style box to the aluminum strips. run 12/2 romex from box to box with an approved clamp at each box. make all electrical splices in the cut in boxes. use a CGB style connector to come into the box. make sure that each cut in box is properly grounded. if this is done then you can have a safe code compliant box.
Thanks for your comments. Peace.
Great description of possible issues. I wouldn’t see a issue with using plastic old work boxes mounted to a plywood or plastic face. Romex between boxes is best, and proper strain reliefs all around. Making your own enclosure is fun, until the fire starts.
The first issue I saw was not bonding the metal face to ground. Should a hot wire vibrate loose and touch the meal, it creates a shock hazard.
Lastly, Using this anywhere near water would require gfci protection.
Use ful for technician's
Karthik, yes, it could be very useful for a technician's workbench where they have a bunch of low power things to plug in.
Hai
@@karthikarun2853 hallio
Not fond of the daisy chain wring
You have the space. Pig tail wire.
By doing that I ou are not pushing power thru unused plugs
You should have also mentioned not to load up more than 10-15 amps (depending on the circuit/circuit breaker) on one any distribution box of this kind, and to use a proper gauge cable to handle the amperage.
I suggest mounting an actual UL listed electrical box, inside the wooden box, in which to make up the splices... that way you can clamp the cords/wires into place so when the white tiewrap rots away and falls off, pulling the cord doesn't just yank the splices apart. You're not supposed to make splices in open air... they're supposed to be inside a (UL listed) box.
+Darr247 That's a good idea. Thanks for suggesting it. Cheers.
Young man, you made your wife a nice electrical station, if she's happy, you won.
Ha ha! "young man!" Thanks for that Billy! The HR person at work called me "seasoned" the other day.
And the wife likes it, so it's a win. Cheers.
@@HouseOfHacks ok, seasoned
Cool project. im wondering, is this extension cord will be able to support pc, television and all other basic home electrical devices? if not, how to make one that can support those.
As long as the components used to make this are rated for the load plugged into them, yes, you can plug whatever you want into it. You just need to watch the total load you have turned on at any one point in time to keep from tripping circuit breakers.
For example, my house is wired for 15 amp circuits. I built this with 20 amp components. So, the 15 amp circuit breaker in the house is the limiting factor. As long as the total of what I have turned on in this device is less than 15 amps, I'm ok. If I turn on more than 15 amps, the circuit breaker will trip.
You could have a theoretical problem if the house was wired for 20 amps and a box like this was built with 15 amp components. Then the breaker wouldn't trip until 20 amps was pulled through components designed for 15 amps. This would introduce a small fire hazard. Putting a circuit breaker in the extension box rated for the components inside would be a good idea in this circumstance.
Hope that helps.
Didn't find anything called a "muffler cutter" at Harbor Freight. Closest thing I could find was an air-powered 3" cut off tool at 9.99. That'd probably work, but you'd need a couple hundred dollar air compressor to go with it. :-)
hi harley i love you
muffler cutter from Harbor Freight, regularly on sale for $6.99.
That'd be the ticket; just do it outdoors and it'd be done in a jiffy.
LOL! Actually I have a Dremel and thought about using it. But I don't think it would have been faster and definitely would have been more of a mess.
Cool Box, You Should Have Used A Band Saw To Cut out The Metal Squares For The Outlets, But Good Job!
Bought with the compact UPS so that "wall wart" power packs, which cannot fit side by side on a power strip, can be placed alongside the UPS, instead.
here is the link to it in case anyone is interested: amzn.to\14saecG
i cant help but notice that there isnt any main earth going to the front metal work (i know its going to the sockets themselves, but the main earth should be bonded to the case also. And there is no internal fuse? i know you guys in america have plugs that can handle 16a but theyre not generally fused, right?
Thanks for the comment.
The front panel is grounded through the plugs themselves. The center screw that holds the cover plates on is grounded which in turn grounds the case through the covers.
As for the fusing, it's handled for the circuit at the panel, the standard here in the states. It's rare to have overload protection at the outlet. The circuit is fused for 15 amps at the panel and everything in this box is rated for 20 amps, so the breaker will trigger long before anything else in the circuit is overloaded.
Cheers.
fair enough, in the uk its completely different! lol cheers
is there a video of those speakers behind you in the workshop, are they bought or home made speakers
Its all good until your solid core melts down when there is a big amp draw. Also should be fused to prevent that from happening. If you really wanted to maybe put a couple rcdOs in the case.
***** Thanks for the concern, but the circuit breaker will trip long before the wire gets hot enough to melt.
the mains breakers you mean?
***** Exactly. All the components in this box are rated for 20 amps. The circuit in the house is 15 amps. So the circuit's breaker will trip before anything in this box comes close to being overloaded.
Yeah. Is that Guys house still standing?
😂
Not going to comment on the wiring since that subject has already been beaten to death. However, when you cut the holes in the sheet metal, you actually did more work than you needed to. You should have made a small starting hole, just large enough for the nibbler and then used the nibbler to cut the whole thing. Yes, the nibbler is slow, but in the video you already used the nibbler for the entire perimeter of the hole, and that's exactly what you needed to do. Removing the majority of the material prior to the nibbler didn't speed anything up and didn't prevent you needing to use the nibbler anyway.
Thanks for the comment. Perhaps, but I think using the nibbler the whole way around would have been slower. As it was, I just used the nibbler to clean things up, so there were fewer nibbles needed overall. Cheers.
Interesting. Here in the US, ground is typically uninsulated.
A source it won't handle much in the way of power tools. Multiple saws corded drills ect.
what did you have for lunch today? asking for a friend! (not for sexual reasons)
You’re not allowed to have a wood box back box ( that isn’t metal lined, or fire resistant paint) to house electrical.
Thanks for watching!
It's not *part* of the house electrical. It's *plugged into* the house electrical. If you're concerned about it, you're certainly welcome to make yours out of some other material.
Peace.
Impressive!
Thanks! Hope you found it helpful. Cheers.
@@HouseOfHacks yes, yes. many cheers
You should use a grinder with cut off wheel to cut that sheet metal
Yes, you're right, that would have been much easier. I didn't have one at the time. Cheers.
use a jig saw to cut out the holes,faster and easier.
Thanks for the comment James. Yeah, I tried using a jig saw, but the thin metal vibrated too much for my liking.
in australia you need a licence to do the stuff in this video T_T
thanks BoomBrush, very cool!
how many wats
+Francisco González The circuit breaker will trip at 15 amps and since this is a 110 v system, it'd support about 1500 or so watts.
2:50 that is not to electrical code. you can only have one wire under each screw.
+William Winder Yep, you're right. But this isn't subject to inspection, it's not a safety issue and it works so I'm not worried about it.
It actually depend of the receptacle manufacturer. Some are certified to allow more than one.
It doesn't matter what the device is certified to do. Codes are Codes. As an example "14 AWG" can handle more than 15 Amps, but under no code can you use a 20 Amp breaker or fuse.
William Winder Those are REALLY different subjects tho.
questions are, is it a permanent part of the home?
and was it built for someone other then his own home/use?
if the answers are no its not permanent part of the home or its for his own private use it is his call there. he is simply giving others how to make their own power box. but if it is a permanent part of the home or built for others then yes it has to be up to code. as far as i know on my comment granted what you are plugging that into should be able to handle the load that would bring to that outlet but its on him to check that issue
how many bolts
+Francisco González I assume you mean "volts." This is for 110 v use.
Wondering why not just use a thin cut off wheel on grinder for cut box openings. Be a lot faster. Not trolling. Just asking
+Jason Curry Fair question. I tried using a cut-off wheel on a Dremel but it kept breaking. I didn't have a larger grinder at the time. Thanks for asking.
Honey did you get that power strip I asked you to pick up for me?
No but I did make this huge ugly- ass unsafe monstrosity for only about 10 times the price...
lol! Thanks for the laugh.
you're a good guy, i love the positive attitude. keep it up!
Its not super unsafe because the wire he used is rated for 15 amps and the outlet has a 15 amp breaker. My only real concern in the wire that plugs it into the wall, it looks to be 16 gauge but I don't think 2 amps will cause it to melt though (16 gauge is rated for 13 amps). You are right about it being ugly though, maybe in a garage it would fit in . ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
switch the hot black!
Harry Haefner Thanks for pointing that out. Yes, the hot/black line should always be switched. I explain that between 2:35 and 4:22.
Your diagram is reversed. The hot is the right slot, not the left. The neutral is the larger slot on the left.
Depends on whether you're looking at it from the front or back. :-) But yeah, you want to connect the wires to the appropriate connectors as indicated on the plug itself.
@@HouseOfHacks A diagram showing slots means the view is from the front. You can't see the slots from the back.
slim shady, more like slim kris
I think a couple of 3 dollar power strips will accomplish this.
Yeah, you'd think. But we shopped around for power strips at a number of different places and didn't find any that would fit our requirements. The outlets were either too close together or not enough of them or oriented the wrong way. In the end this gave us just what we needed in a fairly clean way.
Whatever makes you happy. It did look like a fun project though. Nothing beats enjoying doing a project that suits your needs.
thank you sir
Use an angle grinder bro
This box is super unsafe because:
1. It is made out of burnable material (aka wood)
2. The front is made of a conductor (aka metal)
3. The metal front has bad earth connection?! (Deadly if one wire comes loose)
The connection through the screws for earth is not good enough (aluminium will form a non conductive layer AlO2)
4.The strain relief is joke for this box(should be done with screws)
You don't seem to be a certified electrician and therefor should refrain from working with mains electric!
If something happens with your device no insurance will cover any casualties!( fire,electric shock resulting in injuries or death)
Somebody trying to make this box might have even more deadly mistakes in it than the one shown in this video(problems with terminals, wire, insulation ......)
+Animarkzero Thanks for your comment but I think you overestimate the danger. Of course you are entitled to your opinion. I'd love to see your video where you fix my mistakes so we can all be better educated.
1. Wood is perfectly safe if it's wired correctly. Just like your house.
2. Screws are made of different material, you can simply put an extra wire to ground it if needed.
3. You cannot say if someone is certified just by looking at a video.
1.
Appart from that my house is made mainly out of concrete wood is not really safe as mains wires can get hot and light your house on fire.
That is not a major problem if the wires are inside a cable jacket but with only the wires free it is!
2.
It is not facultative to use grounding wires for metal casing its a compulsory rule!
3. Well if he is a certified electrician he must know the rules.
Sorry I did not make the rules but they are there for a reason. If you choose not to go with safety regulation its your fault.
I would build this box the the following way:
The wood can stay on the outside, inside a layer of plastics
Front plate metal but connected to earth on a solid connetion .
Wires not rigid but flexible with sleeves.
(Because you carry that box around. To prevent wires getting loose.)
And finally (optional)a fuse and some overvoltage protection aka MOV (metal oxide varistor)
P.S.:
I would not use wire nuts but wago connectors instead
Animarkzero k
Animarkzero
1st - it’s not “burnable” but COMBUSTABLE material.
2nd- the sheet metal is grounded through devise frame/yoke being metal to metal contact and secured by pop rivets.
3d - strain relief might be not a HUBBLE quality but I don’t think he is planing to hang that big ass box suspended by a cord.
Go to Wal-Mart, spend $3.00, bring home a surge suppressor strip, problem solved, way less complicated...
+Roger Burke I would have done that if I could find some that met our requirements. I did look at a handful of places but failed to locate anything that would handle a large number of over-sized chargers.
I use the ones that have a row down each side for the bulkier ones. They are made specifically for transformer plugs.. Cost is still usually under ten bucks...
+Roger Burke Yes, I looked at those but couldn't find any that had enough large outlets for our needs.
Your overloading the power the power will soon plow just you wait !!!!!!!!!
Ok, I'll wait. :-) But you're absolutely correct, if you don't watch how much you plug into it, you will blow the circuit breaker. But that's true regardless of whether or not use use this. You can overload a circuit without any extension cord type devices. For my application (very low amperage battery chargers) it's not an issue.
so why did you make it
people will make it and not know how deadly it is and use it everyday and one day it will plow up !!!!!!!!!!!!
take it off youtube
Luke Graham Because it's useful.
Ugh, I hate back-stabbed devices! Fire hazard! >~
+Benjamin “Ozias” Esposti Interesting. I hadn't heard that. Searching around I see a lot of people expressing the same opinion but couldn't find any reliable study to support it. But there's always the option to use the screw on the side if you want. Cheers.
House of Hacks
Yeah I'm not sure if many studies have been done about it, but just think about it.
The screw gets a better grip on the wire, which helps keep it from becoming loose over time, or when the outlet is pushed into it's box. IMHO, I think the reason why people say that is because from their experience, they've seen more stab-in connections that have failed compared to screw connections. Then again, it IS possible to mess up the screw connection, which would make it a bit iffy/hazardous.
Diy death trap more like it
Haha, still alive and kicking. :-D
real classy, you really are going to disrespect his craft like that. it is racist and I will not stand for it.
not such a great channel name. house of hacks implies that You the occupants of the house are the hacks. just saying. good luck to you just the same
Thanks for the feedback. In some ways, that's probably not a bad interpretation. I am a "jack of all trades, master of none" type. But it can be interpreted differently. I have a second channel video about the name here: czcams.com/users/edit?o=U&video_id=IWc7pl9_a3Y
Cheers.