Fiber Boxes?
- Thread starter beav
- Start date
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jumper
Senior Member
- Location
- 3 Hr 2 Min from Winged Horses
luckylerado
Senior Member
- Location
- Lake of the Ozarks
I took a while for people to accept that plastic boxes could be fire rated.
gadfly56
Senior Member
- Location
- New Jersey
- Occupation
- Professional Engineer, Fire & Life Safety
If I had to guess, cost. A Carlon 2-gang nail-on box is $0.98 at Big Orange, whereas an Allied molded box I found on line is $1.87; twice the price.
Yeah, i saw their site, but figured they may not be cost effective any longer...as much as I'd like to use them.
Yeah, I may have to put that to the test. Maybe i'll drop each in the fire at the same time and see which goes quicker. Problem is, I think that test would be illegal. Shhh... don't tell anyone.
luckylerado
Senior Member
- Location
- Lake of the Ozarks
I would just look at the fire rating stamped inside the box and save some ozone. Besides, the fiber box will be broken the instant it hits the ground if you drop it.
gadfly56
Senior Member
- Location
- New Jersey
- Occupation
- Professional Engineer, Fire & Life Safety
You just have to make sure you have a nice bed of coals for it to land on.
Well, I guess I could always glue it back together, but it may lose its UL rating.
In any event, I really just wanted to get some thoughts out there. I just really hate the plastic boxes. The plastic/fiber compound boxes (or whatever they are made of) are not bad, but I hate how flexible the plastics are. :weeping: I'll get over it! ;-)
Thanks guys and I'll be sure to save the ozone layer today. ;-)
Sierrasparky
Senior Member
- Location
- USA
- Occupation
- Electrician ,contractor
The Carlon Blue can be a pain in the butt as the 6-32 screw holes are either not pre threaded or poorly done.
Fiber boxes break too easily.
Install the Carlon super blue they are NOT flexible like the thin wall Carlon boxes.
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
- Occupation
- EC
Over 2 gang is almost necessary to use fiberglass or the mentioned super blue or something more rigid then some of the standard plastic boxes if you want to be assured the drywallers don't leave you with a twisted box.
Some plastic boxes are very brittle if installing them in extreme cold conditions.
Some plastic boxes are very brittle if installing them in extreme cold conditions.
- Location
- Tennessee NEC:2017
- Occupation
- Semi-Retired Electrician
I don't have a problem with most of the plastic boxes. The fiberglass/bakelite boxes would often crack where the screws went in if they were old and brittle.
What I do like about the bakelite is when having to remove one from a finished wall just a few licks with a screwdriver and hammer and it's gone! Plastic, not so easy!
What I do like about the bakelite is when having to remove one from a finished wall just a few licks with a screwdriver and hammer and it's gone! Plastic, not so easy!
James L
Senior Member
- Location
- Kansas Cty, Mo, USA
- Occupation
- Electrician
The clamps in a blue Carlon box suck. That alone keeps me from using them. Fiberglass boxes from Allied are much more user friendly.
But Pass & Seymour makes a gray plastic box with much easier to use clamps.
As an fyi, Home Depots in the Kansas City area stock blue plastic and fiberglass boxes.
Not the best selection on the shelf, but enough to get by in most cases. But if you talk with the department manager and ask him to stock some fiberglass, he just might. They are allowed to cater to the customers' needs.
But Pass & Seymour makes a gray plastic box with much easier to use clamps.
As an fyi, Home Depots in the Kansas City area stock blue plastic and fiberglass boxes.
Not the best selection on the shelf, but enough to get by in most cases. But if you talk with the department manager and ask him to stock some fiberglass, he just might. They are allowed to cater to the customers' needs.
JohnE
Senior Member
- Location
- Milford, MA
I still use the old Union boxes. They are now owned by Carlon
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
- Occupation
- EC
Carlon is now part of T&B, which may have been or acquired those old Union boxes somewhere along the line.
jumper
Senior Member
- Location
- 3 Hr 2 Min from Winged Horses
Yep.
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