Metal vs Plastic Device Boxes

Status
Not open for further replies.
dicklaxt said:
Was there ever a Code issue that brought about the use of plastic?

dick
Click to expand...

Can you be more specific?

There are some times where a plastic box is not permitted, like places of assembly where non metallic wiring methods are generally prohibited altogether.

There are instances where a standard metal box is not resistant to corrosive environments and a plastic box would be a superior product in many ways, but the right metal (like maybe stainless) would be a metal that may be superior to the plastic box.
 
What I meant was years ago it was all metal then all of a sudden it changed over to plastic,just wondered if there was an issue of sorts or was it just economics,ease of installation,less weight to pack around etc.

dick
 
dicklaxt said:
What I meant was years ago it was all metal then all of a sudden it changed over to plastic,just wondered if there was an issue of sorts or was it just economics,ease of installation,less weight to pack around etc.

dick
Click to expand...

Well from what I understand of your age from previous posts, you were around for the transition more so than I was:) I was still a child when plastic raceways and boxes started to increase in popularity, and they were considered to be normal by the time I started working in the trade. Of course NM cable is much older yet.

I would guess codes and inspections were not as tough as they are today either, so a change to products like that in today's setting would not be as easy. If not mentioned in code, these new products will take a lot of rejection, until next code cycle when they are included in the code. We are/have been kind of going through same thing right now with AFCI devices, but the other way around. They are writing code sections that apply to equipment that has not been developed yet in anticipation of it being developed.
 
# # #
"...just wondered if there was an issue of sorts or was it just economics, ease of
installation, less weight to pack around etc."
Click to expand...
All of the things that you mentioned, as well as, the development of
the plastics blow molding industry......IMO, ...the auto & aeronautical
industries were some of the [ larger ] driving forces behind the
development of blow molding, which over time, has blossomed in to all
facets of the manufacturing industries......In the plumbing trades,
everthing used to be galvanized steel & cast iron.

& & &
 
north star said:
# # #

All of the things that you mentioned, as well as, the development of
the plastics blow molding industry......IMO, ...the auto & aeronautical
industries were some of the [ larger ] driving forces behind the
development of blow molding, which over time, has blossomed in to all
facets of the manufacturing industries......In the plumbing trades,
everthing used to be galvanized steel & cast iron.

& & &
Click to expand...

NASA, as well as the military are responsible for development of a lot of things we have today. Not that we may not have eventually figured some of those things out, but they had a strong demand for a product to do a specific thing, and had the funding to do the R&D to come up with something to fill the need.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top