Enclosure Recommendations For Elk M1G

BDHall

Active Member
I am considering enclosure options other than the 14" and 28" offered by Elk. I am thinking something like a 50" (or larger if available) enclosure. I wish there was something wider than 14" available but so far I have not seen anything.

Was hoping for some feedback and recommendations on which brand/model to choose.

I want to use multipurpose 3" adapter plates (ELK-SWP3) in the
enclosure for mounting several Elk expansion cards. Will these fit properly in the enclosures other than the Elk brand?

How do the other brands compare in overall quality of construction, thickness, cost, etc. with those offered by Elk?

I would welcome any comments on this.

Thanks!
Brian
 
You can get Leviton enclosures up to 42" or Channelmaster has up to 50" (I think). Both are standard enclosures. If you click on my home theater link below you can see pictures of my M1G install in a Leviton 42" enclosure. They are available through Automated Outlet.

As far as the ELK plates. They do NOT fit all of their cards, especially the smaller ones (M1XEP, PD9). In these cases I used Leviton security strips that come with self tapping screws. They come in 12" and 6", which are the standard enclosure hole spacings. Also, you can use the 12" to mount the main M1 panel, but I chose to drill out the enclosure. I am using brass standoffs vs. the plastic ones for mounting the cards. Be warned also, the ELK battery shelf will not fit a standard enclosure, I use the Leviton one there as well. And I also have 1 1/2"cable management from automation direct.

I wish I could take credit for all this, but I got most of these ideas from Electron. :)
 
As far as I know, the 50" ChannelVision (CV) cans are the largest available. They are roughly 14" wide. In fact, the trend is now for even narrower cans, like 12". I think DataComm makes some of these. I guess the theory with narrower is so you can run wire on the outside of the can and just bring it in the sides.

Personally, I use the ChannelVision 50" ones. I also am not a huge fan of the Elk SWP-3. You can get more parts in the can by using a multipurpose plate like the CV c-308/9 and mounting components on those with plastic standoffs. The brass ones work well if you want to stack cards for even greater flexibilty like Electron did. You can see pics in My sisters install in the gallery, or just look at the pics. Channel Vision makes a complete line of accessories and the Leviton stuff for the most part fits in it as well. Also, the Elk battery shelf *will* fit in the CV can. You also have the choice of a metal hinged cover, a flat plexi sheet cover or a nice smoked acylic door.
 
As far as I know, the 50" ChannelVision (CV) cans are the largest available. They are roughly 14" wide. In fact, the trend is now for even narrower cans, like 12". I think DataComm makes some of these. I guess the theory with narrower is so you can run wire on the outside of the can and just bring it in the sides.

Personally, I use the ChannelVision 50" ones. I also am not a huge fan of the Elk SWP-3. You can get more parts in the can by using a multipurpose plate like the CV c-308/9 and mounting components on those with plastic standoffs. The brass ones work well if you want to stack cards for even greater flexibilty like Electron did. You can see pics in My sisters install in the gallery, or just look at the pics. Channel Vision makes a complete line of accessories and the Leviton stuff for the most part fits in it as well. Also, the Elk battery shelf *will* fit in the CV can. You also have the choice of a metal hinged cover, a flat plexi sheet cover or a nice smoked acylic door.


Doh, meant ChannelVision. The ELK battery shelf did not fit in my Leviton can. Because it had hooks on it, at the top that wouldn't line up with the standard holes. I don't see how it would fit in any can with standard sized holes. Maybe I got a different one than you.
 
I have 2 50" Channel Vision cans, and I don't see how the battery shelf would work in it, without making some modifications. I went with a separate 'power' can, which houses the battery shelf, and some other power related accessories. This used to be the old can that came with the Elk M1, so it has the holes for the battery shelf.
 
Well, here is the battery shelf in the CV can. Actually now that I think about it I think I did just snip a small piece of the aluminum so it would fit in the hole. Took all of 2 seconds.
 
I have 2 50" Channel Vision cans, and I don't see how the battery shelf would work in it, without making some modifications. I went with a separate 'power' can, which houses the battery shelf, and some other power related accessories. This used to be the old can that came with the Elk M1, so it has the holes for the battery shelf.


I want to use multipurpose 3" adapter plates (ELK-SWP3) in the
enclosure for mounting several Elk expansion cards. Will these fit properly in the 50" Channel Vision Cans?

Brian
 
I have 2 50" Channel Vision cans, and I don't see how the battery shelf would work in it, without making some modifications. I went with a separate 'power' can, which houses the battery shelf, and some other power related accessories. This used to be the old can that came with the Elk M1, so it has the holes for the battery shelf.


I want to use multipurpose 3" adapter plates (ELK-SWP3) in the
enclosure for mounting several Elk expansion cards. Will these fit properly in the 50" Channel Vision Cans?

Brian
Yup
 
Do you need adapter plates for a Leviton can for all of the accessories, or do they mount directly into the can?

I used the Elk SWP-3 plates in that one can with the batteries and in the other one I used the CV C-0308 mounting plates. The CV C-0308 plates have two sets of holes one for the Levition can and one for the CV one. In the CV can you can mount them touching each other but in the Levition can there is a space between each one.
 
Here you can see the space between each plate, pic, but if you look at Steve's you'll see they are touching. The space actually worked out good for me though as I put wiring channel in-between the plates: Pic
 
Here you can see the space between each plate, pic, but if you look at Steve's you'll see they are touching. The space actually worked out good for me though as I put wiring channel in-between the plates: Pic

Great! Thanks for the info. It looks like the CV plates will be a bit more flexible, plus I like the idea of having space between the plates for wires.
 
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