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Joined: Aug 2001
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It looks messy which is what strikes you at first glance, but if you look beyond the spaghetti-method of wiring, I don't see any reason why this couldn't be turned into a halfway decent installation.

The 120/240V side is partitioned off in the lower section with the relay contact terminals and the transformer. The wooden backboard for the LV control board isn't a problem.

Strip out all the messy interconnects, rerun, dress, and lace all the control wiring neatly, and I think you'd end up with something quite satisfactory.

Joined: Jan 2006
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N.J: I only said it should go because the enclosure contains higher power, higher voltage circuits, In my mind what I see there would be like having a fuse or breaker box with a wooden back for example. The potential for a hot connection or a spark to start a fire is present.. If this enclosure had nothing but L.V low power / datacomm stuff and a receptacle mounted in a proper box to plug in power supplies, I would think that kind of set up would be acceptable to having a wooden backboard, such as what those Hoffman enclosures are sold for I would imagine.
Just my opinion tho..

A.D

Joined: Apr 2002
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Electure:
Nice find with the link!!


John
Joined: Jul 2007
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I grew up in a house worse the that. Maybe that is why a became a sparky. frown


"Live Awesome!" - Kevin Carosa
Joined: Aug 2001
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You sure that's home made? It's been a few years since I've seen one but I've done a lot of the old "Touch Plate" brand low voltage stuff and that eqpt looks exactly like their stuff. The bowl of spaghetti is definitely home made, as is the can but the board and relays appear to be "touch plate" brand.

Joined: Dec 2000
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Steve,
It's not home made. It is a Touch Plate unit.

That was already determined in a previous post.

Joined: Oct 2006
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I'm with Electure and NJWirenut. I used to work with a bunch of that equipment in Northern NJ mansions, and even more here in the DC area in much smaller homes. The service company I worked for here had quite an impressive stock of Touch Plate panels and parts. I enjoyed the challenge of working with them, especially after someone tried to "fix it themselves". I love doing control wiring of any kind.

I seem to recall that the backboard wasn't really wood, but more of a phenolic material. I still didn't like how there was so much space on the low voltage side, yet the high voltage side was so cramped where more space was really needed. On any new installations that I did, I would run a nipple or two to a trough below the cabinet and do all of my line-voltage terminations in there. I'd just run pigtails from the relay terminals through the nipples into the trough so no actual splices had to be done in the HV compartment of the panel.

The printed circuit board allows for an interface with computer-based energy management systems. It's not sophisticated at all, but gives a nice and easy way to interface lighting controls with security systems (IE: Panic buttons) and remote programs for off-site control of lighting and devices.

It's just a crappy-looking installation, that's all. Touch Plate is pretty good stuff in my book otherwise.


---Ed---

"But the guy at Home Depot said it would work."
Joined: Mar 2008
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wire nuts were on sale that week

Joined: Jul 2007
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I wonder why he's disappeared and can't be found?

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I'm wondering about all those wires going from the HV side to the LV side, through the (loose) grommet at the left by the transformer.

Also, it looks as though the relay at the far right is falling out of its hole.

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