DIY Electrical Pics

djminus1

djminus1

Member
I am a new hobbiest to SW but not to aquariums. I have had many freshwater aquariums in my life. One of the biggest annoyances that has plagued my setups every time is the tangled nest of cords that lie underneath the tank in the cabinet. When it would come time to shut off a pump or a heater, I would have to figure out which cord to unplug. Well I have found a cheap way to solve that problem (see pic). I have neatly run the cords so you will never see them.
 
djminus1

djminus1

Member
Actually in that pic, the cords are still showing behind the box. They have since been bundled and hidden.
 
djminus1

djminus1

Member
Installed a digital temp unit in between the two boxes on this one. Lighting should be better. Cords are a mess because I am re-running some.
 
masala4080

masala4080

Member
If I did that I'd have 14 switches. :notsure: :scared: Yours looks awsome though. good job, I wish I was smart enough to do that.
 
djminus1

djminus1

Member
8 switches is about the max you can go unless you plan on setting up a seperate circuit in your house. You also need to add up the total watts you are running on the box and convert them to amps. My cord is rated at 15 amps so you don't want to go over that or you will fry it.
By the way, this was not hard. If you are interested, i could post some directions on how to do it. Its really convenient for water changes and maintenance when you have to shut off pumps.
 
92protruck

92protruck

Member
I am interested in this set up as well. What do you have the equipment plugged into? A row of outlets which you have wired to the switches or what?
 
djminus1

djminus1

Member
Here is the first picture. If you take a look at the picture I drew, you will see how this is pieced together. Basically I took 4 electrical boxes and put them back-to-back in pairs. Then each pair were connected together by two circular electrical connectors. I'm not sure what these are called but someone at a hardware store would know. They are basically used for running wires through.
Then after the structure was built, I bought a heavy-duty, 15 amp extension cord. I ran this cord into the box and connected it in parallel wiring to the switches and outlets. If you know a little about electrical, this is easy.
Let me know what questions you have.
djminus1
 
trompet3

trompet3

Member
Originally Posted by djminus1
8 switches is about the max you can go unless you plan on setting up a seperate circuit in your house. You also need to add up the total watts you are running on the box and convert them to amps. My cord is rated at 15 amps so you don't want to go over that or you will fry it.
By the way, this was not hard. If you are interested, i could post some directions on how to do it. Its really convenient for water changes and maintenance when you have to shut off pumps.
Could you post the directions? Also, could you post some pics of the back etc?
Why is 8 switches the max per circuit?
 
djminus1

djminus1

Member
Originally Posted by trompet3
Could you post the directions? Also, could you post some pics of the back etc?
Why is 8 switches the max per circuit?
Well, 8 is not necessarily the max you can go. You just don't want the thing pulling more than 15 amps. Standard outlets in your home are wired to be 15 Amp circuits. If you wanted to pull more that 15 Amps from one box, you would need to wire a bigger circuit. Also, standard 3-prong extension cords are rated at 15 Amps so you would need a special cord.
I think the equation for figuring out Amps is this...
total watts of appliances / 120 = Amps
Here is a diagram of the Box...
 
benter

benter

Member
That looks really good...I am about to put my control box together..and I plan on running my timers into switches as well...and having an automatic, (Timer), position on the switch ..and having a manual position as well..I will use an 11 pin relay to run 3 separate light circuits off of one timer...I am with you ..anything is better than having electrical cords and plugs hanging everywhere...great job!!
 
trompet3

trompet3

Member
Here is a diagram of the Box...
Thanks for those. Now I just need to see how you wired the insides of the boxes. That might be a little harder to draw though. Are these available as kits at the store or do you have to buy all the hardware separately and then rig it up? It wouldn't be too hard for me as long as the setup is "pre-packaged" (plus they usually have instructions with diagrams.
Well, 8 is not necessarily the max you can go. You just don't want the thing pulling more than 15 amps.
So you could have an infinite number of outlets/switches on one circuit, the appliances attached can't add up to more than 15 amps?
I will use an 11 pin relay to run 3 separate light circuits off of one timer
I will have 3 MH ballasts that I will have on timers. Assuming one circuit cannot handle them all, is this how you can control all 3 on one timer? If so, is this rediculously hard and complicated?
 
benter

benter

Member
if you can give me an email,I can send you a electrical sketch I made ..but for some reason I can't post it for you!!!
 
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