Going to build a GARF stand.

[William]

I'm going to build a stand for my 29gal salt, it has one already..but its one of those prefabs that really isn't good for what I want to do [ add a sump/refugium for one ]



I'm going to go today to atleast get my lumber to start on the frame

My question is, I want to wire in some plugs into the stand itself, So all plugs disappear/stay inside the stand.


I figured I'd get some like, outdoor boxes or something, screw into the inside of the stand to hold sockets.

My question is, how to connect said sockets to the socket in my wall for power?



am I describing this clearly enough as to my intentions..?

 

[youronlysin]

Were you thinking of wiring a pigtail, just a wire with a plug on it from the stand that could plug into the wall outlet? Or are you wanting to do something a little more permanent?

 

[William]

Just a plug, Nothing perminate

 

[jsoong]

I've done this for my bookcase, pretty simple, actually.

The wiring is the same as regular house wire, except that instead of wiring the box to the fuse-box/distribution panel, you wire it to an electrical plug & plug the thing into a wall outlet.

I would not use regular house wire for the plug tho, as flexible wire is much easier to handle. The most economical way is to buy a heavy-duty extension cord (3 prong, with ground, minimum 14 gauge). <Get one for block heaters or construction use>. You cut off the female end of the cord - now you have a plug-in with wire permanently attached.

You wire that to the plug inside your cabinet - green to ground, white to white (or shinny terminal) and black to black (dull terminal). I would suggest using a GFI (ground fault interupter) plug for safety reasons - cost more but will trip with small amount of current leak (such as a wet cord, cracked heater, etc) preventing shocks to you or the fishies. Also, house the GFI plug inside an outdoor box in case water gets to it.

If you want more than 2 outlets, you can daisychain other plugs to the GFI. These can be regular plugs - a single GFI can protect up to 6 outlets downstream. (REad instruction of the GFI for the exact number).

 

[William]

Thats exactly what I was thinking on doing, Just wanted to make sure it, you know, wouldn't make the house blow up or anything

 

[wahoo_drew]

http://www.powlette.com/photos/tank2/ElectricPanel.aspx see if that works its a site that shows how to do exatly what you want to do

 

[William]

Mine won't be quite that elaborate, 4 unswitched outlets.

But thanks for the link!

 

[jsoong]

I have another idea for you. If you just want 4 outlets, you can mount a power bar inside your cabinet, plug it into a GFI outlet & you are done!