# Can I put a multiswitch in a box?



## byrd (Jun 25, 2003)

I've just purchased a Terk BMS58 multiswitch to install outside of my home. In order to keep the multiswitch out of the elements, I'd like to purchase a weather resistant enclosure like this one from McMaster-Carr. I'm specifically looking at the 12" x 10" x 6" box at the top of the page. I plan on running an electrical line to the box and installing an GFCI outlet inside the box along with the multiswitch. I've read that these, and esentially all other powered multiswitches, run at quite high temperatures. So, I'm a bit concerned that by placing the hot multiswitch in a box, temperature might become a bit off an issue. I don't want to have to replace the multiswitch sooner then necessary.

I do plan on installing the multiswitch on standoffs to the removable panel that is inside the enclosure. I've also considered some type of heat syncs to mount on top of the multiswitch depending on the depth available in the box. Heat syncs, however, will probable only help a very small bit, since there won't be much air flow in the box. I've also looked for electrical boxes with louvers on them, but have had no luck.

Does anyone know if excessive heat can cause damage to these multiswitches. Am I being overly cautious? I live in south eastern VA were ambiant temps get rather hot in the summer.


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## ebonovic (Jul 24, 2001)

Well...

It should work fine... but you don't need to put the GFI outside.

The electrical current is supplied to the switch by a COAX cable...
So you can put the adapter inside and run the cable to the outside.


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## Lee L (Oct 1, 2003)

I have done almost exactly that. I did run coax down so no need for the outlet in the box. No problems at all. It is mounted to teh side of my chimney so I was able to keep it away from the sunny side, but I did not even seal the holes at the bottom where the wires come out.


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## byrd (Jun 25, 2003)

ebonovic said:


> Well...
> 
> It should work fine... but you don't need to put the GFI outside.
> 
> ...


The reason I was planning on running the electrical wiring into the box is because I've already got a nearby outlet on the outside of my house that I can tap into fairly easily. The entire first floor or my house is cinderblock and running the coax from the nearest inconspicuous indoor outlet would be even more work.

I was thinking that I'd just use a short peice of coax from the adapter to the multiswitch for power. I'm assuming/hoping that the electrical box should provide enough cover from the elements to protect the adapter.

I'm really glad to hear that there are others who have put these multiswitches into enclosures. It's amazing that these things are designed to run so darn hot!


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## Jerry_K (Feb 7, 2002)

E = IR
Power = I squared R

So if you measure the resistance of the power inlet and divide the voltage by that number you will get the current that flows. 

Then multiply the current by itself then multiply it by the resistance. Compare the wattage to a light bulb. Get a bulb of similar wattage. Most likely 25 watts or so. Wire it up and put it in the box. Let is sit for a half day or so. See how warm the box gets. If it is under 130 to 140 F you will be just fine.


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## IOTP (Aug 7, 2001)

byrd said:


> I've just purchased a Terk BMS58 multiswitch to install outside of my home. In order to keep the multiswitch out of the elements, I'd like to purchase a weather resistant enclosure like this one from McMaster-Carr.


I used a SQUARE-D circuit box with some slight mods purchased from the local homedepot for $30. I mounted the switch on top of some aluminum risers so it's mounted in the box with an inch of room under the switch. The POWERED COAX just feeds to the rear, and into the garage where there is an outlet. I got lucky, because I had some work done in the house and had the electrician add an outlet in the rear of the garage (just happens to be GFCI rated).

Click on the below links.

Square-D Box Closed 
Square-D Box Open w/switch 
Power Supply inside garage

I cut a hole in the back of the box with a hole saw, and filed away the sharp edges. I then used the top feeder to get cables in.

The white cable going across the switch is my high speed internet (local cable company) that now feeds into the box for protection. Not from the elements, but from the idiot COX service people in my area. Seems COX is "helping me out" by doing a house audit to make sure I am not stealing their "high quality cable service". Well, the last time they were out, they managed to short my switch out.

So now, when they come to the door, I simply SLAM it in their face.


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## byrd (Jun 25, 2003)

IOTP said:


> I used a SQUARE-D circuit box with some slight mods purchased from the local homedepot for $30. I mounted the switch on top of some aluminum risers so it's mounted in the box with an inch of room under the switch. The POWERED COAX just feeds to the rear, and into the garage where there is an outlet. I got lucky, because I had some work done in the house and had the electrician add an outlet in the rear of the garage (just happens to be GFCI rated).


Nice install... What are the dimensions of the Square-D box in that picture? My local Home Depot used to sell a similar box. However, when I recently started to plan this little project, I went back and check 2 local Home Depots and 2 local Lowes stores. They biggest boxes they carried were 10"x10"x4". I just didn't think that would be big enough, especially since the multiswitch itself is almost 10" long.


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## IOTP (Aug 7, 2001)

byrd said:


> Nice install... What are the dimensions of the Square-D box in that picture? My local Home Depot used to sell a similar box. However, when I recently started to plan this little project, I went back and check 2 local Home Depots and 2 local Lowes stores. They biggest boxes they carried were 10"x10"x4". I just didn't think that would be big enough, especially since the multiswitch itself is almost 10" long.


It measures 9x13x5 (wide x height x deep).

Mine had a circuit backplane which I unscrewed and removed. It's a little snug inside, but functions perfectly. I then used those 4" butterfly anchors into the stucco on the inside of the box to the house.

Regards,
Jim


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## byrd (Jun 25, 2003)

IOTP said:


> It measures 9x13x5 (wide x height x deep).
> 
> Mine had a circuit backplane which I unscrewed and removed. It's a little snug inside, but functions perfectly. I then used those 4" butterfly anchors into the stucco on the inside of the box to the house.


Thanks for the info. From your pictures, if I put a plug in the box, I think I might have to go with a little bigger box than I had originally planned. I found that McMaster-Carr has a different style box that measures 15"x12"x6" for just $44. It's very similar to your box, but has a removable front panel instead of a flip up front cover. The box style that I was looking at in my first post was a little more water tight and had a nice hinged front, but the larger boxes in that style are almost $100. That's getting a little pricey for me. I think this cheaper box should be just fine.

I just noticed that you live in Arizona, and Lee L lives in North Carolina. That makes me feel pretty good that I'll be okay, as far as the heat goes, here in south eastern VA.

Thanks again everyone!
Bryan


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## Mavrick22 (Feb 7, 2006)

I used a breaker style box to mount my zinwell multiswitch in also. I purchased it at lowes for $24.67 it made for I nice clean install and keeps me from having to go into the crawlspace under my house everytime I need to make a change.

Here is a link to the model I used.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=95688-82364-BR24L125RP&lpage=none


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## Lee L (Oct 1, 2003)

byrd said:


> Thanks for the info. From your pictures, if I put a plug in the box, I think I might have to go with a little bigger box than I had originally planned. I found that McMaster-Carr has a different style box that measures 15"x12"x6" for just $44. It's very similar to your box, but has a removable front panel instead of a flip up front cover. The box style that I was looking at in my first post was a little more water tight and had a nice hinged front, but the larger boxes in that style are almost $100. That's getting a little pricey for me. I think this cheaper box should be just fine.
> 
> I just noticed that you live in Arizona, and Lee L lives in North Carolina. That makes me feel pretty good that I'll be okay, as far as the heat goes, here in south eastern VA.
> 
> ...


I'll try to find out what kind of box I have when I get home. IIRC, I picked it up at Lowes for around $30-$40.


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## IOTP (Aug 7, 2001)

byrd said:


> I just noticed that you live in Arizona, and Lee L lives in North Carolina. That makes me feel pretty good that I'll be okay, as far as the heat goes, here in south eastern VA.
> 
> Thanks again everyone!
> Bryan


The box gets direct sunlight 80% of the day. During the day in the summer approx 105-110 degrees.

Not much rain around here. NO MEASURABLE RAIN IN 122 DAYS.


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## byrd (Jun 25, 2003)

Well, it's been a long time since my original post, but I've finally installed my new multiswitch on the back of my house. It turned out to be a pretty big job, but everything worked rather well. I figured, since I had the new multiswitch, I would run all eight output wires so that I wouldn't have to worry about it in the future should I need them. Two wires are downstairs, and six are in my attic allowing for Dtivo's in all three rooms upstairs (we currently only have a Tivo downstairs, and one in the master bedroom upstairs).

Anyway, I've include a picture bellow if anyone is interested in the install. The box I got was the PERFECT size. You can see the outlet that I installed at the top of the box (there's a GFCI outlet upstream from this one which protects this outlet) and the AC/DC converter for the multiswitch. Any smaller, and I don't thing everything would have fit. The multiswitch runs pretty darn hot, but not too hot that I can't hold my hand flat across for an indefinite amout of time. I mounted it on 2.5" standoffs that I cut from alluminum tubing to help with cooling. So far, things are working great. My old signal problems upstairs in my house have been solved.

The box in the ground in the second picture is where the sat wires come out of a tube that I've run in the ground through my yard. The dish is about 150-175 feet away from the house, and the tube (with a box at each end) makes pulling the old RG6 wires to replace them with RG11 very simple.


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## Barryrod (Mar 17, 2006)

byrd said:


> The multiswitch runs pretty darn hot, but not too hot that I can't hold my hand flat across for an indefinite amout of time. I mounted it on 2.5" standoffs that I cut from alluminum tubing to help with cooling.


Couldn't you somehow make the box itself a heatsink???


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## Lee L (Oct 1, 2003)

Nice install. I have a very similar box, just a littel smaller as I was barely able to get teh switch in with the wires connected (I actually had to use right angle conectors on the 4 inputs) but I also had the power supply inside.


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## byrd (Jun 25, 2003)

Barryrod said:


> Couldn't you somehow make the box itself a heatsink???


I thought of mounting the multiswitch flat to the inside surface of the box as a heat sink, but wasn't sure how well the heat would transfer from the multiswitch to the painted steel box.

The other nice thing about the standoffs, is that it allowed me room to mount the AC/DC converter back behind the 8 output cables. I wouldn't have had that room otherwise. I also ran my electrical wiring behind the multiswitch to the outlet. The standoffs also give me a nice bit of space to get my fingers around the coax connectors to screw them on and off quite easily.



Lee L said:


> Nice install. I have a very similar box, just a littel smaller as I was barely able to get teh switch in with the wires connected (I actually had to use right angle conectors on the 4 inputs) but I also had the power supply inside.


I saw that you mentioned getting your's from Lowe's. I looked there, but couldn't find anything that looked large enough for what I wanted. I got a 15"x12"x6" box from McMaster-Carr for $44 (very bottom of the page). I thought it would be huge, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and any smaller, I would have been disappointed.


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