Here to the east of you, our high today is predicted to be 85 deg. F, Sunday 84. Nights in the upper 50’s. Yesterday, we hit 83 degrees. FABULOUS weather except for a bit too breezy, and rather high fire danger...
Need to go get some more top rail to build one tunnel side frame and get it put together and working as a proof of concept.
I found a place to get those weatherproof electrical connectors cheaper, plus they have rubber boots to cover the area of a multiconductor cable where the outer jacket is removed for inserting the individual wires into the connector.
Bought a 20x20x6 electrical enclosure. It's a Hoffman powder coated SS outdoor type and that size is normally about $700. Got this one for $100 because it had been customized but never picked up by the customer. It's new but has a 9" x 12" rectangle hole plus four 3/4" round holes in the door.
It was going to be a control panel with touch screen and four switches/knobs/lights to control a machine or something. I have that industrial touch screen to put in this but I might still be left with the four round holes. Is so, I'll find a use for them. Indicator lights, manual override switches etc. (four emergency close buttons for the sides?)
It's not going outdoors or even in the tunnel. It will be in the shed on the NW end of the tunnel. The shed will have a dirt floor and won't be tight but will keep rain out. The enclosure will keep my electronic components dry and dust free.
They use these outdoor type enclosures for control panels in factories for the same reason. Keep dust, fumes, humidity etc out and away from the high dollar electrical/electronic components. I'd been looking at 14x16 boxes because that seems to be a common size and the point where there's a huge price jump for anything bigger. This thing was such a deal. $100 includes shipping which will probably cost them $25.
I don't know as mine will be quite this neat when done but this gives you an idea of what a control panel is. That gray track is wire duct and costs $50/ft, so yeah, mine won't be that neat. Cable ties will do. That white panel in the back is stood off the back by 3/4" or so and is for mounting things to without drilling through the back of the box. It's a standard accessory and is $114 new. ($40 incl shipping on ebay - cool)
