Cabinet sizing

dublin00

Member
I'm looking to buy an M1-Gold system, but I'm having a difficult time figuring out the proper cabinet size. The standard packages come with a 14" cabinet, but it is obvious to me that it won't hold very many add-on modules.

For my configuration I'll have 35 hard-wired sensors, 2 motion sensors, plus smoke detectors (both kinds) so I would like to add two 16-input expanion boards.

On top of that I'd like to automate HVAC, Lighting, my Pool Controller (Jandy type through a AquaLink PC adapter), and maybe my home theater (RS-232C). All of these will require an ELK-M1XSP (at least four in the cabinet though the HVAC one could be remote).

Then I'd like to add the ELK-M1XEP ethernet module too and maybe space for a databus hub module to help with the wiring.

And I still need to leave space for the battery, transformer, and a power outlet.

This makes me wonder if the 28" cabinet will leave enough space. I'd like to leave space for another add-on down the road just in case I want to add something.
 
You can get alot of stuff in a 28" Box. If you think it is too small, look into the larger OnQ, Channel Vision, etc... boxes. Drill two holes and use the shoulder screws to mount the M1 in a larger box without the holes predrilled.

Also consider using two boxes, maybe a 28" and 14".

Some installations just use a big piece of plywood in a utility room and mount the devices to the plywood. Use the 1 1/2 inch wire race track to make the wiring neat. You will save alot of money on metal boxes this way and it is easy to work on.
 
Is there a list or gauge anyplace to tell us newbies how much "should" fit in a 14" or 28" box? Or do we learn the hard way when our toys don't fit and we need to wait for another shipment? :rolleyes:
 
But you have more than Elk stuff in there. Does Elk have a sizing guide? I will have multiple add on cards eventually & I would like to know if I should add a second cabinet or go to a larger cabinet before I spend too much time/effort on this one.
 
Here's what I did - I have a Leviton 42" and the standard M1 cabinet mounted next to each other (vertical) I ran all the alarm items into the Elk box and all the telecom and spare cables to the Leviton box. I connected the boxes together with some flexible conduit and ran several cat5 cables between them.
My plan is that if I need more items than I can fit in the Elk cabinet, I can put them in the Leviton cabinet. I also have some pull strings between the Leviton cabinet and the attic. With this I can put spare wires into either cabinet.
I would have gone with more or larger cabinets, but I was space limited and those two took up all the space I had.

So far I've got 22 alarm contacts, 9 other cat 5 alarms items, 52 cat5 voice/data and 15 Rg-6 video cables. I'm just now finishing the rough-in on the house (new construction) I can only imagine what an installer would charge for this - Glad I did it myself

_Frank
 
I did the exact same thing (check my sig for a link to my pics). I actually have my Elk M1 powersupply in my 50" cabinet (mounted next to my smaller Elk M1 EZ8 cabinet), but I want to keep everything alarm related in my Elk cabinet since it has a lock.
 
I assume that is your serial port attached to the EZ8 via the green cat5, since I now know that the EZ8 doesn't include a serial port by default. What is the gray cable (small RJ) for? Have they changed the serial interface? The Elk docs show a DB9 connector for serial and the RS-232 & RS-485 connections are terminal strips, not jacks.
 
The gray cable goes to the PSC05.

Dublin00 (BTW, welcome to Cocoontech!), if you can afford it, you might want to upgrade the cabinet. The more I think about it, the less I am convinced that it will be enough once you add all the accessories.
 
I was thinking about using some of these 14" cabinets wall mounted next to each other with the knockouts lined up. The defect is simply that the 3 keyhole slots at the top are upside down. Seems like a good deal at $11.50 and they have around 200 left.

Martin: Do you have the ELK-SWCL3 cam locks for them?
 
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