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Sound Reinforcement - Forums for Live Sound Professionals - Your Displayed Name Must Be Your Real Full Name To Post In The Live Sound Forums => AC Power and Grounding => Topic started by: Mike Sokol on June 17, 2016, 02:28:11 PM

Title: Just e-tape it
Post by: Mike Sokol on June 17, 2016, 02:28:11 PM
Found this in a church last week. It's a wall switch on the outside of the audio gear rack to power up everything. Note that there's a piece of Romex running into the back of it from a hole in the wall, and only e-tape covering the energized terminals. I'm pulling it all out and putting in a proper rack power distro.

FYI: This in all on the side of the box, but I need to figure out how to turn the picture 90 degrees using the forum editor. 
Title: Re: Just e-tape it
Post by: Stephen Swaffer on June 17, 2016, 03:26:44 PM
Let's see a $ 0.25 pvc box or $0.25 worth of e-tape?  A metal box would have cost a buck or so more.
Title: Re: Just e-tape it
Post by: Mike Sokol on June 17, 2016, 03:34:29 PM
Let's see a $ 0.25 pvc box or $0.25 worth of e-tape?  A metal box would have cost a buck or so more.

That is what's so stupid about this. They could just as easily mounted a metal box on the back of this and been much neater and safer. This just looks like a Cluster-Fxxx
Title: Re: Just e-tape it
Post by: Stephen Kirby on June 17, 2016, 05:18:30 PM
Not to mention that even if that is wood trim and not drywall, those screws are not going to hold the switch in place and the whole shebang is going to fall out of the wall.
Title: Re: Just e-tape it
Post by: Jonathan Johnson on June 17, 2016, 06:22:56 PM
Not to mention that even if that is wood trim and not drywall, those screws are not going to hold the switch in place and the whole shebang is going to fall out of the wall.

Appears to be a metal (probably steel) box. Not wood, not sheetrock.

It's not much different from an industrial control panel, except for the poor workmanship, failure to follow design principles, and probable lack of interconnects on the cover. Or pretty much everything.
Title: Re: Just e-tape it
Post by: Mike Sokol on June 17, 2016, 06:32:37 PM
Appears to be a metal (probably steel) box. Not wood, not sheetrock.

It's not much different from an industrial control panel, except for the poor workmanship, failure to follow design principles, and probable lack of interconnects on the cover. Or pretty much everything.

Yes,  it's a metal rack box. Not especially dangerous unless you'll reaching around inside in the dark.
Title: Re: Just e-tape it
Post by: Bob Leonard on June 19, 2016, 06:20:42 AM
It wouldn't take long to fix with a metal box, especially with the mounting holes already in the right place. Look's like a $50 charge plus parts will fix the problem, AND ground the rack properly. Opportunity knocks.
Title: Re: Just e-tape it
Post by: Mike Sokol on June 19, 2016, 07:40:12 AM
It wouldn't take long to fix with a metal box, especially with the mounting holes already in the right place. Look's like a $50 charge plus parts will fix the problem, AND ground the rack properly. Opportunity knocks.
Yes, you're 100% correct. It just seems like these stupid fixes take longer than doing it the right way. You can buy a metal box for a dollar and I'll bet it took longer to tape up that mess than simply mounting a box on the back of the switch. They did cut a properly sized hole in the rack and it has proper machine screws and nuts holding it in place. And yes, it's now a good time to make sure the rack is properly bonded to ground.
Title: Re: Just e-tape it
Post by: Bob Leonard on June 19, 2016, 07:45:42 AM
I agree Mike. Never could understand why people are always so willing to take chances with electricity. Out of site out of mind I guess.