Any issue putting power supply in crawlspace?

[madcowusa 0]

I thinking of mounting my Pelco MCS 8-5E power supply in the 3' tall crawl space of my home. It's an individually fused power supply enclosed in a heavy duty steel box with locking screw. I already have a GFI protected plug available and would allow me a nice central location to run power cables out to the outside through the rim joist of the floor.

 

Just curious if this would be against any codes or be not a good idea? It hums you see, not too loud, but loud enough I don't want to listen to it in my upstairs office where the cctv/TV/network cables are located in a big structured media panel. Thank you.

[C7 in CA 0]

Codes are enforced locally. Where abouts are you located?

 

There should be environmental specifications listed for the power supply regarding operating temperature range as well as humidity ranges. If your crawl space fits within those spec's the PS should work ok. But it will not be fun servicing the equipment when needed. And whatever the code is, personally I don't like laying on the ground when working with electricity.

[scorpion 0]

I would not recommend it, but if that is all you can do then that is all you can do.

 

How about walking in to a closet, and looking straight up, and mounting it above the closet door (on the inside).

 

What do you think?

[Kiwi 0]

I've considered similar installations of electrical hardware in my crawl space. My only personal rule is that it be entirely enclosed in a steel cabinet, which this seems to be. I have no idea what our local code would say about this (probably nothing) nor any local US codes.

 

I did notice in my house in San Diego that the doorbell transformer was located in a closet when it could have been more easily located in the crawl space. Perhaps it has something to do with access by firemen and/or visibility by the home owner so that you can see if there is a problem.

But here, all my 12V halogen ceiling lights have built-in transformers which extend into the crawl space.

 

It may make a difference if the power supply is plugged in to an outlet v.s. being hardwired. An electrician could install an outlet for you in the crawl space and you install the box and just plug it in.

 

If the code is too difficult to interpret you could ask a local alarm company since their equipment is very similar.

[Soundy 1]

Agreed, it may depend on local codes, but in most areas, I can't see this being a problem - codes likely won't come into play unless it's all new construction. I'm familiar with these Pelco supplies and they're very solid and well-designed. Your main concern is more likely to be access to the thing in case you need to change/add wiring or change a fuse.

[Lolo Wolf 0]

In or near the crawl space: the receptacle at or below grade level must be GFI-protected. Aside from the possibility of nusance trips or service to examine your fuses within the PS you should be alright. If you do decide to do this I would dedicate the GFI outlet - wire it so it protects and feeds only the PS. You can either use a corded assembly from the outlet to the PS or hardwire direct from the GFI - depndent on the placement of the outlet - end of run etc.. either way pigtail your connections in the outlet box so gfi doesnt protect other outlets and keep the protection dedicated to that outlet (if hardwire use a junction box and hook to the load side of the gfi-load terminals. (outlet protects the line out to PSbox either by cord or hardwire use proper rated wire for the install dependent on the circuit (15amp/20amp)

[madcowusa 0]

Just reporting back that I went ahead and installed this in my crawler and everything worked out great and is powering an outside mounted Pelco PTZ and a fixed outdoor unit too.

 

My primary concern is with any potential fire hazard. Probably overkill as the PS is fully enclosed in a sturdy steel box and the individual fuses are literally hair thin, but I added a generous surrounding of 5/8" type X sheetrock behind and above the PS. I did have this power supply operational in my office for a week prior and observed it never got hot, or even warm when the cameras were operational. My thinking is a 36" tall, clean and dry crawlspace with non-significant temperature extremes (Seattle area) is essentially a height challenged basement anyway. Yes, access takes about 30 seconds longer and if nuisance problems arise I will relocate the unit above grade and indoors. So far zero issues.

 

Other concerns:

 

I'm utilizing an existing GFCI that I installed in the crawler when I wired the house. It's not a dedicated solo receptacle, but I did opt to wire it off a very lightly loaded circuit that serves only a hallway, stairwell lights and a couple of outside lights. The typical amperage load is minimal and I did wire it end of run "load" at the GFI ( no further devices connected downstream).

 

I found it unnecessary to drill through the floor rim joist to get power outside: I simply fed the 14ga cable through the wire mesh of the crawlspace vents with room to spare. I made a drip loop outside to prevent rain water being drawn inside. This is all well under a low deck so nothing is aesthetically amiss or vulnerable to sabotage.

 

The power supply has standard round knockouts and I used the NM Romex clamps which left quite some free space when using 14ga wire so I taped up the clamp so no spiders could get inside the power supply - A tip from an electrical inspector from a while ago.

 

The power supply did not come with a cord and I didn't want to hard wire it so I simply cut a 3' chunk off an old 12ga outdoor extension cord and wired that to plug that into the GFCI.

 

Hope this is helpful to somebody. I'd post installation pics, but can't as yet. Sincere thanks for the responses.

[Monitor Your Assets 0]

Curious: did you use an outdoor power supply?

 

I came across some Altronix units that are IP 65 rated, but am unable to post the link just now...

 

--

Marc

[Lolo Wolf 0]

You might want to consider protection on the corded assembly- crawl areas are notorious

for rodent chew.