They're actually certified for in-wall use too. That's the beauty of them, they are 100% reusable. Open and close them as many times as you want. I've basically abandoned wire nuts. They even sell a version that is 2x2 to splice a hot and neutral to another hot and neutral in just one connector.
I had one 4 gang switch box where the original electrician had piggy backed one to the next. So, take out one switch was a PITA. So, I took one of the 5 port connectors and 4 pigtails of wire and had it all neatened out in about 10 mins. Connecting 5 romex wires with a wire nut is impossible!
I have been looking for a project box that could plug directly into an outlet and simply hang there with no wires. Today, this thread inspired me to look again. I found something that might work, and I have ordered a few to see if I can squeeze in a 120VAC to 5VDC USB power supply (e.g. an iPhone charger, or similar. I'd like to subdivide the enclosure into a 120VAC side and a low voltage DC side to power microcontrollers.
Here's what I found... if anyone knows of anything similar, please share. A few models are available in white...all are available in black.
I like the 90 degree angle of the wall charger. That will allow me to velcro the housing to it very easily. I'll let you know how it goes when I get the stuff tomorrow. You might not need the adapter...
I've been "making" Hubduino power supplies recently by buying those cheap, cheap phone chargers they sell at the gas station. They come apart very easily so you can desolder the USB port and solder wire directly to them. On the 120v side, the power is just soldered to the two prongs so very easy to desolder them. Much cheaper then buying a 120VAC to 5VDC converter on Amazon.
I bought the project boxes and the wall chargers as well.
I didn't realize these boxes came in white too....I never looked because I bought them a while back for the garage where color didn't matter...but now that I see them, I must swap to them because they would look a lot better when used inside. I went ahead and bought the usb plugs too because now I would need a white charger to compliment the white box. Wasn't planning on spending money on any of this but I know this will definitely help the WAF.
Good find. That made me realize I have four of these (older versions) sitting around, which are basically worthless now. I can probably use one of them for my Xbee.
Based on the schematic, a "salvaged" phone charger should fit inside no problem. These are the ones I'm talking about:
Open em up:
and desolder that USB port and you're in business. They only provide around 0.8A of power but that's plenty for an NodeMCU or Wemos D1 mini. And it's only about 1/2" high with a divide between high voltage on one board and low voltage on the other. makes breaking it up inside an enclosure real easy.
Just be careful. I made the same suggestion, but when it came down to sealing a power adapter in a project box I would be tucking away in my network/hub closet, I decided to instead use an Apple adapter. I had a few spares lying around. Now that my daughter isn't around as much, and my phone has inductive charging (which my wife can't use at the moment ), they've suddenly stopped disappearing.
Great compact design. I plan on building a few more to monitor my UPS's for Gateway, Router and Ethernet switches. I like the idea of attaching the box to the wall charger.
I stumbled upon this thread looking for a solution to power outages. I have now bought everything I need for the project. I have never used a DC relay ever ,so a total noob at this stuff. My question is that on the trigger side ( the one that has +,- and IN/S), what does the wiring look like?,
does the red from the 5v charger go to the + or is it the black?
does the black from the charger go in to the '-' or is it the green wire (since green is ground) or is it the red wire?
what wore goes into the IN or S terminal on this side?
Thanks!
Make it any color she wants!
), they've suddenly stopped disappearing.
