Electrical Question

[CWorley]

I have an electrical question that I hope someone could help me with.  I more just want to know if what I'm thinking will work...

Instead of running a cord from a power strip out of my cocktail cabinet, I'd like to to install one of these IEC Power Jack Chassis Mounts (http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=090-442) on the back of my cab.

I'd then like to install a couple of duplex outlets ex.(http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100662608/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=outlet&storeId=10051) on the inside of the cab in a square outlet box, which would be wired to the IEC Power Jack Chassis Mount.

Does this make sense?

Thanks!

[elkameleon]

This is exacly what i'm going to do, except that I robbed my "IEC Power Jack Chassis Mount" from a dead ATX psu. I will then have my smart strip plugged into the outlet box, cause I really don't feel like cannibalizing a 20+ dollar smart strip if I don't have to. So yeah, you aren't crazy.

[TopJimmyCooks]

Make sure that your wire from the receptacles to the IEC jack are the same gauge as the cord you're going to plug into the IEC jack.  Use shielded spade terminals for the connection to the IEC.  With reasonable care you'll be fine.  In my case, I cut the plug off of the smartstrip and connected directly to the IEC terminals. 

[elkameleon]

Make sure that your wire from the receptacles to the IEC jack are the same gauge as the cord you're going to plug into the IEC jack.  Use shielded spade terminals for the connection to the IEC.  With reasonable care you'll be fine.  In my case, I cut the plug off of the smartstrip and connected directly to the IEC terminals. 

An even finer idea, cut the female end off a heavy duty grounded extension cord, wire that to the IEC terminals, then plug your unharmed smart strip into that. Minds BLOWN!

[TopJimmyCooks]

mind. is. blown.

[stumbles away to lie down]

[matsadona]

Just by curiosity - what is it that you want to power outside of the cabinet? Or did I get this totally wrong?

[CWorley]

Just by curiosity - what is it that you want to power outside of the cabinet? Or did I get this totally wrong?

We're not trying to power anything on the outside.  We're discussing different ways to cleanly power everything inside the cabinet instead of drilling a hole and having the cord from the power strip extend out.

[BobA]

Sounds like a good idea.   I would use an IEC receptical with a fuse holder for safety.  I would also add a switch SPST to the line so everything can be powered down without unpluging the cord.

Link

[elkameleon]

Sounds like a good idea.   I would use an IEC receptical with a fuse holder for safety.  I would also add a switch SPST to the line so everything can be powered down without unpluging the cord.

Link

Not to bust your chops, but that particular IEC at the link is for mounting in sheet metal. I would of bought one with a switch, but I wanted something "cheap and now". I don't think the fuse is necessary if you are using a smart strip, but I guess you can really never be TOO safe.

[BobA]

You are right I should have looked closer.  This would be the ideal receptacle but of course price and speed does count when you want to get it done.

[bkenobi]

So get this one instead.

http://www.amazon.com/IEC320-Inlet-Module-Switch-Socket/dp/B0050HH70E/ref=pd_cp_e_2

[bkenobi]

Doh, mine's a 250V with a different style of plug.   

[elkameleon]

You are right I should have looked closer.  This would be the ideal receptacle but of course price and speed does count when you want to get it done.

Well look at that, perfect!

[CWorley]

If I already have the power jack (without fuse), is there a way to work a fuse into the equations?  I know almost nothing about this stuff.

What something like this work?
http://www.westsidewholesale.com/gfci-15a-ground-fault-circuit-interrupter-receptacle-with-wallplate-brown.html?gdftrk=gdfV23580_a_7c1581_a_7c7250_a_7c1983541

Like elkemeleon mentioned earlier, I'm planning on plugging a smart strip into the installed outlet.

[javeryh]

Make sure that your wire from the receptacles to the IEC jack are the same gauge as the cord you're going to plug into the IEC jack.  Use shielded spade terminals for the connection to the IEC.  With reasonable care you'll be fine.  In my case, I cut the plug off of the smartstrip and connected directly to the IEC terminals.  

An even finer idea, cut the female end off a heavy duty grounded extension cord, wire that to the IEC terminals, then plug your unharmed smart strip into that. Minds BLOWN!

Holy. Bananas.  Care to post a link to a "heavy duty grounded extension cord" that would be suitable?  Something with three heads - for computer/monitor/speakers.

EDIT: Will THIS work?  I'd gladly pay the $12 to save me from doing major wiring.  I assume you cut the head with the prongs off and wire that directly to the power receptacle and then just plug everything in and you will be good to go, right?

[Green Giant]

Make sure that your wire from the receptacles to the IEC jack are the same gauge as the cord you're going to plug into the IEC jack.  Use shielded spade terminals for the connection to the IEC.  With reasonable care you'll be fine.  In my case, I cut the plug off of the smartstrip and connected directly to the IEC terminals.  

An even finer idea, cut the female end off a heavy duty grounded extension cord, wire that to the IEC terminals, then plug your unharmed smart strip into that. Minds BLOWN!

Holy. Bananas.  Care to post a link to a "heavy duty grounded extension cord" that would be suitable?  Something with three heads - for computer/monitor/speakers.

EDIT: Will THIS work?  I'd gladly pay the $12 to save me from doing major wiring.  I assume you cut the head with the prongs off and wire that directly to the power receptacle and then just plug everything in and you will be good to go, right?

If you are trying to preserve a smart strip, this is much cheaper.


If it is just a simply power strip, why not hack it up?

[kahlid74]

When I get home I'll take a picture of what I did in my bartop but essentially I used an IEC I took out of an old PC power supply and put it in the wood.  Then I had it feed directly into a metal Electrical box inside the cabinet that was routed into the side.  Inside the electrical box I transfer the power to a 3 plug extension cord that feeds out of the box.  Works perfectly and plugs right in from the outside.

[ark_ader]

I want one now for my sub mini, but I cannot find the clover plug version.

Great idea though. 

[elkameleon]

Please excuse my chicken scratch, I do create technical drawings for a living, but this is way faster.


Yes, I realize I spelled 'extension' wrong, it's been a long day

[javeryh]

Wow - your chicken scratch looks better than anything I could ever draw by hand!  I assume if I'm not using a smart strip, I could plug whatever I want to get power to into the female end of extension cord, right?   

[elkameleon]

Wow - your chicken scratch looks better than anything I could ever draw by hand!  I assume if I'm not using a smart strip, I could plug whatever I want to get power to into the female end of extension cord, right?   

Correct.

[TopJimmyCooks]

Damn, Elk, just got over having my mind blown and you went and did a drawing of it!

[elkameleon]

 

Damn, Elk, just got over having my mind blown and you went and did a drawing of it!

[Drnick]

I want one now for my sub mini, but I cannot find the clover plug version.

Great idea though. 

Do a Search for IEC C5 or IEC C6 depending on if you want male or female clover leaf socket/connections.  You should be able to find something out there

[matsadona]

Just by curiosity - what is it that you want to power outside of the cabinet? Or did I get this totally wrong?

We're not trying to power anything on the outside.  We're discussing different ways to cleanly power everything inside the cabinet instead of drilling a hole and having the cord from the power strip extend out.

Ok, then I’m on the same page 

I did a similar thing on my MAME cabinet, but cut the plug on the powerstrip and soldered it directly on the panel connector.
Didn’t put any fuse on it but used a lot of hot glue for isolation.

Here’s a picture, but the powerstrip is just above…

[arximidis]

Ok, then I’m on the same page 

I did a similar thing on my MAME cabinet, but cut the plug on the powerstrip and soldered it directly on the panel connector.
Didn’t put any fuse on it but used a lot of hot glue for isolation.

Here’s a picture, but the powerstrip is just above…

Nice!!!!
I like the way you mounted your computer!!!
I mounted mine, the same way you did (but on the other side )

The black box on the right looks like a power amp. Do you have glued it to the bottom?


PS. I used the same IEC Power Jack for my cab

[matsadona]

Thanks
It is actually a subwoofer with a built in amplifier (standard 2.1 pc speaker system). I tossed away the satellites and use the amplifier to power two car speakers. And there is an opening at the front of the cabinet for the subwoofer vent.
I used two L-brackets to secure the box in the cabinet.

[arximidis]

Thanks
It is actually a subwoofer with a built in amplifier (standard 2.1 pc speaker system). I tossed away the satellites and use the amplifier to power two car speakers. And there is an opening at the front of the cabinet for the subwoofer vent.
I used two L-brackets to secure the box in the cabinet.

Cool!

Do you have a picture of the machine?

[EvilGreenDevil]

Please excuse my chicken scratch, I do create technical drawings for a living, but this is way faster.

Yes, I realize I spelled 'extension' wrong, it's been a long day

I love this idea and I think i might take this direction than trying to open up my PSU and monitor. I have one question though, why settle for a powerstrip in this example. For my bartop, I'm just trying to power my monitor and PSU so I would only need two outlets. Do you think it would be an issue if I were to wire the male end of an IEC Y-cable like this

http://www.amazon.com/Conntek-05215-Equalizer-Computer-Projector/dp/B001TP23EQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1330961751&sr=8-2

instead of using a power strip?

[kahlid74]

Please excuse my chicken scratch, I do create technical drawings for a living, but this is way faster.

Yes, I realize I spelled 'extension' wrong, it's been a long day

I love this idea and I think i might take this direction than trying to open up my PSU and monitor. I have one question though, why settle for a powerstrip in this example. For my bartop, I'm just trying to power my monitor and PSU so I would only need two outlets. Do you think it would be an issue if I were to wire the male end of an IEC Y-cable like this

http://www.amazon.com/Conntek-05215-Equalizer-Computer-Projector/dp/B001TP23EQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1330961751&sr=8-2

instead of using a power strip?

My experience about Y power cords is that they were purposefully designed for servers.  Can they work for what you are describing?  Their rating certainly leads one to believe they could but I would make sure you don't have any feedback from the monitor.  That could make a cheaper PSU quite angry.

[elkameleon]

Thea reason i'm using a powerstrip is cause its of the smart variety, when you power on the PC, it turns all the other components on, as well as off. What you are looking to do should work though.

[EvilGreenDevil]

I mean I guess I could try using a smart strip but again, I would only need two outlets. There's always the idea of taking a hacksaw to the end of a smart strip    Are there cheaper alternatives to Bits Limited's popular SCG model?

[elkameleon]

You can get this one at walmart for 20 bucks, I have 2 of them, they work great.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=philips+smart+strip&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=12079581742279381328&sa=X&ei=qfNUT_NkofmxAteahPAF&ved=0CDMQ8wIwAQ

It's a little bulkier than the bits limited one though...

[EvilGreenDevil]

You can get this one at walmart for 20 bucks, I have 2 of them, they work great.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=philips+smart+strip&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=12079581742279381328&sa=X&ei=qfNUT_NkofmxAteahPAF&ved=0CDMQ8wIwAQ

It's a little bulkier than the bits limited one though...

Even better...(and smaller)

http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Conserve-Smart-F7C007q-Energy-Saving/dp/B003P2UMQ2/ref=reg_hu-rd_add_1_dp

[matsadona]

Cool!

Do you have a picture of the machine?

Actually I’m in US this week, so the only pictures I have on my corporate laptop are some lousy ones from when it isn’t finished. But this one will get you a design overview.

[DaOld Man]

I mean I guess I could try using a smart strip but again, I would only need two outlets. There's always the idea of taking a hacksaw to the end of a smart strip    Are there cheaper alternatives to Bits Limited's popular SCG model?

I highly insist that you never cut the end off a power strip.
There is the danger of shorting it out and unless you properly insulate the cut off section, it will have exposed power bars, which can be a shock and a fire hazard.
IMHO, it would be a bad idea. (Im sure you are joking but just in case, I had to throw in my two cents.)

[Le Chuck]

I mean I guess I could try using a smart strip but again, I would only need two outlets. There's always the idea of taking a hacksaw to the end of a smart strip    Are there cheaper alternatives to Bits Limited's popular SCG model?

I highly insist that you never cut the end off a power strip.
There is the danger of shorting it out and unless you properly insulate the cut off section, it will have exposed power bars, which can be a shock and a fire hazard.
IMHO, it would be a bad idea. (Im sure you are joking but just in case, I had to throw in my two cents.)

DaOld Man gives sage advice.  I cut a belkin smart strip down to just three outlets and although it is not a technically difficult undertaking if you don't have a good grasp of what's going on inside the strip you could fail to remove or reinsulate something important.     

[EvilGreenDevil]

Definitely joking about taking a hacksaw to an electrical strip...sorry if there was any confusion I thought my sarcasm was a little more obvious. Regardless, I ended up taking the same approach as was suggested in that wonderful "chicken scratch". I am ready to strip and solder the female end of an extension cord into the inside of the power outlet. I got this one:



I'm ASSUMING that soldering the wires from the cut female end to the three prongs on the side of the inlet is all i need to do (I'll add some hot glue also). What has me questioning this are the three additional prongs that protrude from the back of the fuse switch. I'm far from being anything close to an electrician so I thought I would ask.

[bkenobi]

I'm not an electrician and I've only installed an unfused and unswitched IEC plug, but here's how I think it should be wired up.

Power from wall -> IEC plug -> fuse -> switch -> your device (power)
Neutral from wall -> IEC plug -> your device (neutral)
Ground from wall -> IEC plug -> your device (ground pin) and any other devices in the cabinet that need earth ground (e.g., metal cp)

I'm not even going to try chicken scratch!

[BobA]

The 4 terminals behind the switch are the contacts for the switch.  It is a DPST arrangemnet so you can switch the line and neutral.  The line is connected so it goes thru the fuse so they have provided one terminal and made a solid connection to the fuse from the line side of your socket.

To use the switch you need a wire from the one terminal on the fuse to the switch.   The other pole of the switch needs to be connected to your neutral.  This will give you Line and Neutral on the swiitch.  Your connections go to one side of the switch and will power the 2 terminals on the other side when the switch is closed.  These are the 2 terminals that carry power to your modified extension cord.  

The ground of your ext cord can be connected directly to the ground on the back which is the connector behind the plug that corresponds to the ground connection on your IEC connector

[EvilGreenDevil]

Please excuse my chicken scratch, I do create technical drawings for a living, but this is way faster.

Yes, I realize I spelled 'extension' wrong, it's been a long day

OK felt like revisiting this question to get some feedback. I reproduced the wiring exactly as the "chicken scratch" had illustrated and everything works flawlessly. My issue now is that I am questioning the need for the smart strip entirely. I mean I really only need two outlets (monitor and PSU). Rather than mess with the PSU directly, who's to say that I couldn't just replace the smartstrip in elkameleon's drawing with a simple IEC splitter/Y-cable like this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812120651

[elkameleon]

You could do that, there's nowhere saying you couldn't, but at nearly the cost of the smart strip anyways, its a cleaner option, since everything turns on and off with the pc. It's a one button solution.

[EvilGreenDevil]

true but space is at a premium sometimes and finding a spot for it without shoving it in and quickly closing the back panel is difficult.