Beginning to trace my track plan, placed a mockup and will possibly use trees to hide the wall plates.
Tom
Can you have the receptical removed and replaced with a cover plate, possibly weather proof.
.
Having a live outlet near the layout surface scares me, even if hidden by trees. You will be spraying glue and working with tools nearby.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
If You are worried about the outlet causing electrical hazard's.....put child safety caps in the outlets and build a three siding building around the space of the outlet which can be removeable, with the tree's in the front of it.
What the child safety caps look like:
https://www.wallplatewarehouse.com/products/sccl?gclid=Cj0KCQjw-b7qBRDPARIsADVbUbWv8V3Myblg9WOI5BFHjxFfEG_YTstfobodjS4ZzkGhjqpTvkCzllEaAsB-EALw_wcB
Take Care!
Frank
child safety caps are the easy way out, but putting in a cover plate to replace the receptacle would be better in the long run ..
OMG, talk about being paranoid. That electricity aint gona jump out and git ya.
Safty caps were intended to stop kids from sticking stuff in the outlet. I've seen kids remove the caps. Cover plates are to cover an empty box,water proof ???
The ''only'' issue the OP had was the unsightliness,witch he took care of quite nicely
Common Scense anyone ?
UNCLEBUTCHCommon Scense anyone ?
Agreed.
I do like Franks idea with the building.
From what an electrician told me, all new construction must have tamper-proof outlets. Go figure .
Mike.
My You Tube
Electricity is dangerous, and the outlet is in a dangerous location. I believe it would be best to remove it for the sake of safety.
Ounce of prevention...
Relying on "Common Sense" can lead to accidents. Identifying, and then removing a hazard, is key to safety.
I see no point in avoidable risk, and my experience has shown that common sense is not reliable.
No body wants to take unnecessary risk.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
SeeYou190. Electricity is dangerous, and the outlet is in a dangerous location. I believe it would be best to remove it for the sake of safety. . Ounce of prevention... . Relying on "Common Sense" can lead to accidents. Identifying, and then removing a hazard, is key to safety. . I see no point in avoidable risk, and my experience has shown that common sense is not reliable. . -Kevin .
Could you explaine to me, how that outlet is a risk or hazard. As I type there are two outlet within an arm's reach.thet are in my kitchen,bathroom,over my work bench.above my head when I lay in bed, they are EVERWHERE . THere,s a greater risk by pluging and unpluging a coard, but we do it many times a day.
I guess your correct about common scense not being reliable, if you don't have any.
UNCLEBUTCH Could you explaine to me, how that outlet is a risk or hazard.
Hopefully in the kitchen the outlets are not level at counter height. You are not spraying water based adhesives in the kitchen. Youe are not working with fiddly conductive tools in the kitchen right next to the outlet. The kitchen outlets should be on GFCI.
Kitchen outlets are not concealed from view by scenery where visitors will not know they are there.
And so on.
Replacing the outlet with a cover plate is a simple safety step to be considered.
It is your choice how much risk to take and what is acceptable.
I work with people that need to be forced to wear safety glasses, other people still want vision in their 60s and wear them all day. I know what is important to me might not be worth protecting to other people.
Kitchen and Bathroom outlets, by code since the 1980's, I believe, are required to be GFCI-protected. I'd guess the one in the backdrop in the photo is not. If it is, Tom, please correct me.
This outlet will be subject to contamination by whatever scenery methods and materials Tom will use in the area. Very common are mistings and perhaps sprays of water and alcohol. If combined with dustings of different ground covers and such, the result may well be a compromised outlet in some fashion, either unusable at all in the future, or, even worse, a source of a randomly tripping breaker.
At the very least a standard wall plate should be installed (photo shows none) to minimize foreign material intrusions into the box and the around the wire connection points.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
Here's another reason not to spray glue or wet water. Drip it on using an applicator bottle or pipette. Much neater in general, and it reduces the extra work to clean up overspray.
My experience was that electrical codes also specify how many outlets are required on a wall, usually by physical distance.
And yes, people need outlets at counter height in a kitchen, for the myriad of electrical devices. My previous house did not have ground fault detectors on them, and I would argue that a kitchen would be a more likely place for getting something undesirable in an outlet than a train room.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
MisterBeasleyAnd yes, people need outlets at counter height in a kitchen,
My outlets are all about 9 inches above the counter. I would never want them lower. That just seems like a very bad idea.
Hi Tom,
I have to ask why you would leave the outlets in their current positions to begin with? Why wouldn't you simply relocate them to below the layout structure? Leaving them where they are will potentially cause all sorts of other problems as several others have pointed out. Plugging a cord into the existing outlets once the scenery is finished will eventually destroy everything within a few inches of the outlet as the cord moves around.
If you aren't comfortable with moving the outlets yourself then hire an electrician or get a friend who understands these things to help you out. Depending on how the wall is wired, i.e. if the wiring to the outlets is coming up from below the existing outlets, then the outlets may be able to be lowered without adding any new wire to the connections. That would take an experienced electrician all of 30 minutes to complete. Then the existing outlet holes in the backdrop can be eliminated entirely. The biggest challenge is that the electricians will all have a minimum charge. Their trucks cost money both to own and operate. If all the electrician does is park his truck in your driveway, he will likely have have spent $150.00 plus.
Unfortunately, the fuse box would cost a fortune to have it moved so that is likely out of the question.
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
I would definitely use a cover plate then probably buildings to cover the outlets rather than trees or scenery.
If you're concerned about water getting shpritzed on the outlet during scenery construction, just cover them with cardboard as you work. As you maintain the layout, the outlets would be covered by buildings so there are no worries then.
I would want the outlets below the bench just because I might want to use the outlets. (I guess you can't attach the bench about 6 inches higher?). If you're not, what you're planning to do seems fine to me, but again, I would use buildings to get full coverage.
- Douglas
hon30critter Hi Tom, I have to ask why you would leave the outlets in their current positions to begin with? Why wouldn't you simply relocate them to below the layout structure? Leaving them where they are will potentially cause all sorts of other problems as several others have pointed out. Plugging a cord into the existing outlets once the scenery is finished will eventually destroy everything within a few inches of the outlet as the cord moves around. Cheers!! Dave
Thanks all for the inputs - all have valid points. The easiest and safetest solution would be to seal up or relocate.
I have extended the wiring from this one outlet up through the wall and out the top - I will use that auxillery outlet to power lights and NCE unit. I will not be plugging in anything in these outlets as was pointed out - messes up scenery etc.
I have elected not to relocate as I will be moving this layout to another building and out of my shop within the next six months - cooler weather coming. I pray!
So I will cover up - 3 sided building sounds great - I have a ton of that Walthers Modular Building materials.
Thanks again! I am ever greatful for you bunch. I recall many of you here from years ago. Many things I have temporarily forgotten about the hobby but I know I can count on all of you to bring me up to speed again :-)
Will you be using the receptacle? If not, remove the receptacle and wire nut the wires. Cover with blank cover plate and paint the same color as the backdrop, or as has been suggested, hide with a three-sided building.
If you have access to the electrical box from below the layout, use that box as a j-box (junction box). Feed the wire through the bottom and run under the layout to a receptacle in the front of the layout. You'll want to use conduit to protect the exposed wire. I ran a circuit from the auxiliary service panel to feed another part of the layout and spliced a surge protector into an electrical box. Now, I have multiple outlets for cab controls and power supplies for lighting control.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
Tom,
Just to give You a little example of a three sided building in a scene that can be used as a cover-up. The building in the center of photo, with truck dock doors and awning is only 3/4'' wide, with a partial roof line. Parts from a Walthers kit. I have a few similar to this on My ISL section of My layout. Although I am not covering up anything...they do look good and saves space:
Good Luck with Your layout.
zstripe Tom, Just to give You a little example of a three sided building in a scene that can be used as a cover-up. The building in the center of photo, with truck dock doors and awning is only 3/4'' wide, with a partial roof line. Parts from a Walthers kit. I have a few similar to this on My ISL section of My layout. Although I am not covering up anything...they do look good and saves space: Good Luck with Your layout. Take Care! Frank
Thanks Frank. You have a gift for photography and for scenery. It looks fantastic.
I looked through some structures I had. Will try this one for time being. Need to fix awnings, windows etc. And still working on the the Easton RDA kit to the right.
I completed tracing the track plan on this section so my immediate fun is to start putting down roadbed and some track.
That mill building still stands in the town I grew up in. Immediately recognizable - even not fully completed.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.