Systainer outlet box

[kmdwoodwork]

I recently reworked my trailer with a bunch of systainers and decided to make an outlet box, i am sure somebody already did something similar but i could not find it so i am posting a couple of pictures. Along with the outlets and cord it also holds another extension cord, a three way extension and a couple of plug it cords.

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[Greg M]

Very interesting idea!

 

[TomGadwa1]

That looks really nice. I would recommend bracing up the outlet box internally somehow. That would insure that the Systainer could sustain having cords plugged into and pulled out of the outlet box numerous times without damaging the systainer itself. The wall thickness on the systainers is not chosen with your concept in mind. No diss on the systainers as I use all mine. They are great for what they are designed for and also great for what creative people decide to come up with. 

 

[P2P]

That is brilliant!

 

[wow]

You beat me to it! I have been thinking of doing something similar for a while now - I jut haven't gotten it done. Good for you for making it happen.

I think I am going to make mine with Decora GFCI outlets in it 'just because'. I like the clean look of them, and of course the safety thing is a no brainer.

 

[Kev]

Very timely - I was actually thinking about the merits of fitting two retractable power reels into a systainer. Hadn't really thought much about the outlets on the Systainer itself, more about flush mounting "pocket" returns so that the retracted plugs sat flush.

There'd be two so that one lead went to power, the systainer itself acted as a power box and the other lead offered flexibility for power further away from the box.

It's only a thought experiment at the moment as I don't have a driving need.

 

[Throwback7r]

Why did you use 20 amp outlets and a 15 amp plug?

 

[kmdwoodwork]

Thanks for the compliments.

I made this with parts that i had laying around, the 20a outlets and plate came from my shop when i reconfigured some outlets and i had the 12/3 cord, box and 15a plug from other jobs. Another reason for the 15a plug is that most homes don't have 20A outlets. The systainer wall is pretty rigid even after cutting the hole in it, if it ends up flexes to much i will put some wood under the box.

My original idea was to use a cord reel or something retractable but doing either one was too involved so i kept it simple and just used the grommet so i could close the box when the cord is being used.

 

[tbellemare]

I like the grommet...

Tom

 

[wow]

My original idea was to use a cord reel or something retractable but doing either one was too involved so i kept it simple and just used the grommet so i could close the box when the cord is being used.

I was thinking that I would use a recessed plug mounted on the side of the systainer for the socket end of an extension cord to plug into, thereby negating the need for a grommet or notching the systainer. The one downside of my idea is that the cord could get kicked out or accidentally disconnected. The plus is that I could use any length of cord to connect it, and it would only take seconds to replace it if it got damaged.

 

[mike_aa]

Wow,
I had thought about using a recessed male inlet (reverse of an outlet) mounted on the side similar to what you are suggesting.  At first, it seemed like a flexible solution that would allow you to use whatever extension cord you desired to plug into the mains.  However, the more I thought about it, the grommet solution seems to be simpler and lower in cost, and it allows you to use as long or short of a cord as you need to plug it in.

Keith,
Nice job!  I like it.

Mike A.

 

[GavsterUK]

i know its not SYS but this caught my eye at the BAU this week.

 

[Wing79]

Very cool idea.  Got my wheels turning!!!
[tongue]

 

[MGB]

I gotta say that l-boxx looks pretty badass. One thing systainers don't really have going for them.

Some real life quotes

"It looks like an old computer monitor"

"Is that a fax machine?"

 

[3PedalMINI]

Very cool idea.  Got my wheels turning!!!
[tongue]

+1