Chester the Cheetah

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George Stolz

George Stolz

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Hospital Master Electrician
Has anyone seen those new "cheetah" boxes where your use their special yellow boxes and their special switches and receptacles, that don't require screwing the device into the box?

I saw some of these things and couldn't stop laughing. I couldn't help but think to myself, "It's not easy being cheesy..."
 
Re: Chester the Cheetah

george. I have not seen these as of yet is there a web site or do You have a picture. Would be interesting to see what they are "throwin" out there now!
 
Re: Chester the Cheetah

I just visited the web site "Everything else is screwed" "Cheetah boxes" Yup! That's the name of the site and I have no opinion at this time.
 
Re: Chester the Cheetah

Yeah, George. i went to an open house at a local supply house last fall & they had those there. I brought a box & device back to my office to show my peers what we may be seeing out in the field shortly. It may not be a bad idea. If I remember, you just connect the conductors to the device & snap the assembly into the box, correct? Ron
 
Re: Chester the Cheetah

George, don't be too quick to judge.

Some people thought Sch 40, plastic boxes, ENT, etc were all cheesy when they first came out. Now, they are standard.

I saw those at a trade show last year. Some good features, one being the push in "clips" instead of screwing two 6-32's.
 
Re: Chester the Cheetah

About two years ago a rep from this company came through the supply houses and tried to push this product.

Now two years later nobody carries cheetah products in my area, just couldn't justify the extra cost. I wasn't sold on them.

P.S. I did get a hat! :D

Chris
 
Re: Chester the Cheetah

One of the worst "innovations" is the quick click boxes that p&s has. Absolute garbage. Unless of course you don't care if your devices are securely installed.

I mentioned this to a rep at a supply house counter day a few years ago as he was droning on about how great they are. As my usual question to these yahoos I asked "have you ever actually installed any?"
With a look of "uh oh I'm busted" on his face he tries to show me how it's done. First he couldn't get the screw to just push in. When he did get it in and I wiggled the device he looked even more annoyed. Then I had him tighten the screw up and of course it just kept spinning.

What a cheesey morning that was. :D

[ January 23, 2006, 10:28 AM: Message edited by: electricmanscott ]
 
Re: Chester the Cheetah

UL and ETL are safety standards not acceptance, performance, or quality standards.

You can build a device that is not acceptable to the majority of AHJs and only has a 1 day warranty, yet you can get it listed by an NRTL.
 
Re: Chester the Cheetah

They might want to adjust the time to more than 7 seconds on the single gang install. They never hooked up the ground wire, nor is the switch leg re-identified.

I wonder if a standard device will work, or are you locked in to using their devices.

PS, hope they're easy to remove when the back stabs fail.
 
Re: Chester the Cheetah

I want the rough in guy they used to wire that box. Notice every wire was perfectly positioned for each device? :D

I wonder how you take those out?

With plastic boxes you can pound the 6-32's in without actually threading them in. They wont tighten very well if you do though.
 
Re: Chester the Cheetah

Here is the website.

So I wonder how fast it is after the drywallers pack the slots with mud? How do you function spark rings? :D :p

[ January 23, 2006, 07:13 PM: Message edited by: georgestolz ]
 
Re: Chester the Cheetah

I have not installed these but I will ask if any of you have. There is always alot of bashing when something new comes along especially from those who have not even laid a hand on the product never mind actually used it. I like new stuff and I like to try new stuff.
I might just take the cheeta challenge. Just to spite some of you solder and tape guys.
 
Re: Chester the Cheetah

The plastic boxes used to be stabbers when i started wiring in the 70's. Most of the time they were okay, but when the split metal "nut" was pushed too hard or was not "quality controlled" it was a pain to get the outlats to stay secure. This was of course after the rough, with the house trimmed and painted, with carpet and all, and the fix was by use of whatever happened to be in the truck, usually pan heads as the wide variety of screws available today was pretty limited then.

I could see them as time savers if the quality was a lot better.

paul
 
Re: Chester the Cheetah

Originally posted by electricmanscott:
I have not installed these but I will ask if any of you have.
Click to expand...
Admittedly, I have not.

...not even laid a hand on the product never mind actually used it.
Click to expand...
I have touched it. We have a sample case of them at the shop. I came, I stuffed the receptacle in, pulled it out, insulted it, and walked away. :)
 
Re: Chester the Cheetah

So how am I going to get one of those things to stay in the box - after I stick 6 12-2 cables into the box its hard enough to shovel that receptacle back in there even if you push real hard with the screwgun. :D :D :D
 
Re: Chester the Cheetah

cheetah_system.jpg


Sounds like a good idea in theory but I wouldn't use them. Nothing like cranking in a 6-32 with a screw gun.
 
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