power brick safe in a drop ceiling??

[squirrellydw]

Is it safe to have a power brick that goes to a monitor laying on top of a drop ceiling or would it be better to have it inclosed in a my jukebox housing?

[DaOld Man]

I dont really know, I would be hesitant to put in in a ceiling.
How hot does the brick get? I know the one for my laptop gets very hot when the battery is low.
How hot is it in the drop ceiling?
Heat is the main factor here, I would think.

[SavannahLion]

I've noticed that whenever anything goes into the drop ceiling where I work, it almost always get jacketed in metal boxes or metal tubing. I find the metal boxes are readily available at the local components store and might be available at sites like mouser.com.

I work in a building that stores historical artifacts and documents so controlling and suppressing a fire is a big deal. Whenever the alarms go off, every single pedestrian door automatically shut. We have massive fire doors that drop in case the fire can't be controlled within a certain time frame and some rooms in the building still utilize a Halon fire suppression system.

I figure if you want to hide bricks in the ceiling or wall, the cost of investing in a suitable fire box is minimal. Why take a chance of losing your home just to save $15 or so?

[shardian]

Lets put it this way: if you can put can lights in your ceiling space, then you surely can put a power brick in there. However, I really think you should have made your box slightly bigger and put the power brick in there.
Think about this though, Will the back of your box be viewable, or against a wall. If against the wall, strap the PS to the back of the juke using some metal strips and some screws. That will keep you from building a brand new box.

[ChadTower]

I've noticed that whenever anything goes into the drop ceiling where I work, it almost always get jacketed in metal boxes or metal tubing. I find the metal boxes are readily available at the local components store and might be available at sites like mouser.com.

That's building codes, too... all electrical connections are supposed to be inside a box, yes?

[SavannahLion]

I've noticed that whenever anything goes into the drop ceiling where I work, it almost always get jacketed in metal boxes or metal tubing. I find the metal boxes are readily available at the local components store and might be available at sites like mouser.com.

That's building codes, too... all electrical connections are supposed to be inside a box, yes?

I think so, but I didn't want to say because I don't know all the specifics of the building code and I'm sure it varies from state to state.

Shardian isn't clear in his statement either. Light fixtures are specifically designed to be installed in a ceiling. From what I understand, most light fixtures integrate the metal housing for this purpose while others require the additional purchase of the metal housing if code calls for it. As far as I know, a power brick is definitely not designed to be installed behind walls or ceilings.

Personally, the OP can do what he wants. I just think it's a little silly to install something not specifically designed for that environment and not take precautions. Is it really worth saving an extra $15 to $50 at the risk of the safety of your home and family?

[squirrellydw]

Well it will fit in the jukebox housing but I decided to buy a metal box and place it in the drop ceiling for now.  I think it might get more airflow this way.

[ChadTower]

Be sure to wire to code since the box is metal... do it wrong and the box (and anything metal connected to the box) goes live.  I'd have used a plastic box myself.

[BobA]

Ground the box to the green or bare ground and it will not go live.

[DaOld Man]

I was thinking more on the lines of the heat in the ceiling shorting the life of the brick, but fire could also be something to consider.

[squirrellydw]

I was just going to put it in the box to protect the ceiling incase something might happen, no wiring needed.

[ChadTower]

Ground the box to the green or bare ground and it will not go live.

Gotta double check the ground it's connecting to, though... lots of houses have three prong outlets but ground isn't even connected.  Hell my house varies by circuit depending on when each one was put in. 

[johnperkins21]

You've got two worries in this matter:

1) Sparks from a short causing a fire. The enclosure of the PSU should be enough to handle this, but I'd recommend putting it in some sort of electrical box.

2) Heat. The drop ceiling tiles are going to be susceptible to burning from the heat causing the tile to weaken and dropping the PSU on someone's head eventually. They should actually be flame retardant, but I've seen them burn before.

Therefore, my suggestion, if you do go with this option, is to enclose it in a box and tie that off to the t-bar hangers in the ceiling keeping it off of the tile. Do this and you can feel 100% confident in the safety of the solution. Honestly, you'd probably be fine just throwing it up there, but a half-hour of your time and thirty of your dollars is worth the peace of mind.

Here's a sample enclosure that will suit your needs.

[SavannahLion]

Ground the box to the green or bare ground and it will not go live.

Gotta double check the ground it's connecting to, though... lots of houses have three prong outlets but ground isn't even connected.  Hell my house varies by circuit depending on when each one was put in. 

Yeah, my old rental cottage was exactly that way. I was assured, several times, that the socket in the bathroom was GFCI protected. Sure, ground is connected, but I must've tested that circuit fifteen ways till Sunday and never could trip the so-called GCFI. I had to buy an el cheapo circuit tester so I could figure out what was what. Even purchased those little colored dots and marked the sockets with what was wrong. Red for no ground. Yellow for reversed polarity. Green for kosher.

I spent months getting shocked and tracing down errant behavior on an ungrounded PC before I figured out the socket was causing the problem.