120 Volt Receptacle Inside 1/2 inch Wall

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120 Volt Receptacle Inside 1/2 inch Wall

Postby FlyBye » Sat Sep 16, 2017 3:06 pm

I'm converting a cargo trailer into a camper and am running into an electrical difficulty that I hope some of you guys/gals might know the appropriate solution.

Goal: Install 120 volt receptacle inside 1/2 inch wall...

I only have 1/2 inch between the walls of the trailer to work with and the smallest gang/enclosures I've seen have been 1 inch deep. I did come across 1/2 inch deep round enclosure, except it would only accept wires from the rear and not the sides and the 12-2 romex wouldn't work with it. I know that there is a way for it to work, I am just not aware of the hardware (gang/enclosure) to "get-r-done". Any help would be appreciated.
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Re: 120 Volt Receptacle Inside 1/2 inch Wall

Postby lrrowe » Sat Sep 16, 2017 3:15 pm

I had a similar issue with mine and ended up using the shallow boxes. But the interior space is tight and I found it difficult to maneuver the wires and plugs, especially if it was part of a "run" of several boxes. But I have seen many posters here use deeper (std) boxes, let some of the box protrude beyond the wall and then build an enclosure around it. Many were done showing considerable workmanship. I wish I had tried that approach.
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Re: 120 Volt Receptacle Inside 1/2 inch Wall

Postby FlyBye » Sat Sep 16, 2017 3:31 pm

lrrowe wrote:I had a similar issue with mine and ended up using the shallow boxes. But the interior space is tight and I found it difficult to maneuver the wires and plugs, especially if it was part of a "run" of several boxes. But I have seen many posters here use deeper (std) boxes, let some of the box protrude beyond the wall and then build an enclosure around it. Many were done showing considerable workmanship. I wish I had tried that approach.


Thanks for the reply Bob. I have seen where some folks have had their deeper boxes protrude and then make an enclosure around it and they look pretty nice. But I really want to go with the flush/recessed look if I can. I have seen it done with the 1/2 inch walls (outward final result), but not sure what they used internally to make it happen in a safe manner. Still searching...
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Re: 120 Volt Receptacle Inside 1/2 inch Wall

Postby MtnDon » Sat Sep 16, 2017 7:05 pm

I used Carlon (plastic) surface mount boxes and ran some wiring in surface mounted conduit, rather than deal with things walls and metal vertical wall ribs.
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Re: 120 Volt Receptacle Inside 1/2 inch Wall

Postby FlyBye » Sat Sep 16, 2017 8:26 pm

MtnDon wrote:I used Carlon (plastic) surface mount boxes and ran some wiring in surface mounted conduit, rather than deal with things walls and metal vertical wall ribs.

Hey Don,
Yea I considered that until I saw the others. It looks more finished and what you would see in your house. My wife likes the inside the wall look better. I'll probably have to contact one of the trailer companies that installs them within their 1/2 inch walls and see if they will share their secret with me.
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Re: 120 Volt Receptacle Inside 1/2 inch Wall

Postby low277 » Sat Sep 16, 2017 9:38 pm

I thought there was a mimimum depth for a outlet box, regardless of the cubic inch volume but I can't seem to find it. I think it will be difficult to find anything less than 1.25 inches. The receptacle itself will be very close to an inch in depth.
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Re: 120 Volt Receptacle Inside 1/2 inch Wall

Postby FlyBye » Sun Sep 17, 2017 7:22 pm

Well... I would like to announce that the space between my trailer wall just grew another 1/2 inch now making it a complete 1 inch space between the walls... But I'm afraid you would know that scenario is highly unlikely! I could offer some theories in physics that would suggest the expansion and contraction of nano science that only Elmer Fudd could totally explain and understand..., But I bet that 78% of this forum's members have multiple PhD's in Physics... or I could fess up!

As desirable as several of the first two options look to me... I choose to fess up! Because of the heat outside, my wife and I have been waiting until evening to do any work inside the trailer. Cooler temps, darker outside and limited light inside the trailer are the root causes for my mis-reading the measurements. I wasn't using my reading glasses which I guess contributed, but totally "my bad"! I was in a hurry and since I wasn't cutting anything (yet) I made a bad read on the tape measure. When I went out in day light, it was clear as day... I must be blind as a bat! :-)

Anyway, Thanks for trying to help me through this dilemma. Any future posts will be added after consulting someone with better vision during daylight hours!
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Re: 120 Volt Receptacle Inside 1/2 inch Wall

Postby jandmz » Wed Oct 25, 2017 6:54 pm

Sorry for the late reply, but I just came across this. It says it is for walls "up to 7/16 thick".

http://tweetys.com/white-receptacle.asp ... gIsSPD_BwE

It may also help that if you are just putting in a 15 amp outlet and protect it with a 15 amp breaker, you can reduce the wire size to 14-2, which would be easier to work with. You only need 12-2 if you go with a 20 amp breaker.
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