mess of a wiring closet

[rismoney]

I am going to attempt to redesign my wiring closet.
I am looking to organize it.  Right now, I only have a 28" leviton can.
At the bottom of the can is a power, and a cable scoop.
I was thinking of installing a 2nd 28" leviton can below to house an omnipro and keep all alarm/security stuff separate.
 
In there now every wire is entering through the top of the can, and the only items in it are some xantech and phone/data unit to just give me immediate functionality around the house.
 
I want to properly layout and position each component, and not sure what I should I do for optimization.
 
Is there a methodology to systematically laying out the location of each component, and routing the wires properly?
Is it silly to route wires through the top, for them to just come out the scoop?
Many wires pass through the can out the scoop to av gear I have on shelves.  I am not sure how to bring ordliness to this.
All the cables are mixed together (speaker, alarm sensors, cat5, etc)
I would like to use this thread to talk about the reorg and ultimately blog about the awesomeness I turn this mess into.
If you guys need any information I can provide it.
 
 

 

[rismoney]

Realized image didn't upload

 

[drvnbysound]

I have (2) 28" Leviton cans installed above each other. Here's a shot of my top can:
 

 
You can see all the wiring on the left that passes through and into the bottom can:
 

 
The bottom can no longer holds any of the networking equipment (router, switches) as shown above as I moved to Cisco rack mounted devices. Now I have a scoop below the bottom can, and wiring from the patch panels run through the scoop and into the cabinet/rack that I have adjacent.
 

 
Here are pictures from another install I've done as well:
 

 

 

[Del91574]

Looks like it's trying to shoehorn too much equipment into too small of an area. I'd suggest starting to look at what doesn't need to be on top of the can first, like STB's, receivers, etc. Then separate out as much as possible.
 
You need to terminate the permanent cabling and then connect via an appropriate patch or standard method. If it's an option, I'd group cables by type/function in your upper knockouts (remove can if possible) then route appropriately and manage (personally, I'm a fan of lacing, but velcro can also work).

 

[rismoney]

Is there a reason to put elk/omni on top vs bottom or is everything arbitrary? Is the actual placement just space consideration or is there a method to madness. What do you do for components that don't perfectly align? Like I have some xantech stuff and whatnot and the holes don't align. Do you drill into the can of use adhesive?

I think the cans you guys posted are phenomenal!!!

Do you start with a particular piece and get that fully cabled up and move on or do you systematically plot out all the pieces as a collective? IE all phone and data ports. Then speaker wires. I noticed in one can there is a powerstrip. Is that legit? LV w 110?

 

[rismoney]

Also do you avoid cutting wires and instead feed slack back into the wall or do you size length for perfect placement within can

 

[drvnbysound]

Is there a reason to put elk/omni on top vs bottom or is everything arbitrary?

In my case, I previously had a Vista security panel installed where the Elk is now, so my security wiring was already there and shorter. When I pulled that can out and decided to go with what I have now, it just made it easier for me to keep the top panel for security because of the wire length. All the other wiring was done post-construction, and as such obviously done over some time.
 

Is the actual placement just space consideration or is there a method to madness.

I don't know that I have a set method, but I place components into the enclosure and move them all around to try and determine the best placement for each module before I do any wiring. Basically considering how wires are going to be able to be routed, cable radius, where they can be tied down/attached, etc.
 

What do you do for components that don't perfectly align? Like I have some xantech stuff and whatnot and the holes don't align. Do you drill into the can of use adhesive?

Many people just drill holes. I'm anal and have typically bought universal pieces that allow the device to be mounted to that so I can still use the push down tabs and allow everything to be modular. For example, when I removed the router and switches from my can above... you can't tell anything was ever there.
 

I think the cans you guys posted are phenomenal!!!

Thanks

Do you start with a particular piece and get that fully cabled up and move on or do you systematically plot out all the pieces as a collective? IE all phone and data ports. Then speaker wires.

As mentioned above, I typically get all modules/pieces and figure out where I plan to place everything first. When it comes to wiring, yes, I start with a single piece and get it completely wired before moving on to another.
 

I noticed in one can there is a powerstrip. Is that legit? LV w 110?

Yes. Channel Vision offers 2 different models depending on how you prefer the outlets be oriented...
 
C-0702: http://channelvision.com/product/power-strip-module-with-6-outlets-c-0702/
C-0705: http://channelvision.com/product/power-strip-module-with-6-outlets-c-0705/

 

[Neurorad]

Nice work, drvnbysound.

 

[Del91574]

I had a pretty large Vista install also, then migrated to the M1. I have 3 28" cans side by side, 2 for security, 1 for CATV, voice, and data. I split them and then piped between the enclosures in my basement.
 
In my case, I have Elk cans and used SWG's for the security hardware. You can pack a good sized panel in an Elk enclosure. I don't like laying the parts flat. The other parts take their own flat mount grid space.
 
I have the non-structured hardware mounted accordingly.

 

[rismoney]

I had a pretty large Vista install also, then migrated to the M1. I have 3 28" cans side by side, 2 for security, 1 for CATV, voice, and data. I split them and then piped between the enclosures in my basement.
 
In my case, I have Elk cans and used SWG's for the security hardware. You can pack a good sized panel in an Elk enclosure. I don't like laying the parts flat. The other parts take their own flat mount grid space.
 
I have the non-structured hardware mounted accordingly.

 
Do you have a full wall pic?
 
drvnbysound
I should have clarified wrt the power "outlet"-  that the powerstrip is connected to?  That's inside the can?
I have a 4 plug outlet just below my where my top can is.

 

[Neurorad]

My Channel Vision enclosures have electrical gang box knockouts, for hardwired power outlets in the enclosures. Leviton surge protected outlet works well for this knockout.

 

[rismoney]

My Channel Vision enclosures have electrical gang box knockouts, for hardwired power outlets in the enclosures. Leviton surge protected outlet works well for this knockout.

 
 
I wonder if I need Leviton 47605-acs

 

[drvnbysound]

I wonder if I need Leviton 47605-acs

 
That is what I have, however, it's actually overkill (surge) in my situation, because both of my cans are provided power via a UPS. Because of the inherent protection from the UPS, I could have used a standard receptacle.

 

[pete_c]

Here too utilize a Leviton 47605-acs in one tinkering 42" Leviton cabinet.  Note this is not for my OmniPro 2. 
 
One thing recently done is that I upgraded to a managed 24 port fanless switch with a tiny footprint replacing an older switch (which worked fine for almost 10 years).  The switch lays flat in the panel.  I have though extended my network out to two more managed 24 port switches plus a managed 24 port POE midstream injector.

 

[drvnbysound]

Here's the networking setup I have now that replaced the in-wall equipment that was pictured above... 
 
This was taking a couple of weeks before I transitioned the wiring from the in-wall switches to the one pictured above here:

 
Here's a shot of the ports used currently, plenty of spares on that 48-port switch: