Floor Mounted Receptacle Question

[Alan Turner]

In the new shop, a number of tools will not be close to any wall, and thus I will need to mount receptacles on the floor. The shop is on the second floor, and the wiring, all metal clad, will be on the underside of the decking. The decking is 12/4 southern yellow pine, topped with 3/4" T&G oak flooring. The SYP is T&G, 7 1/4" wide.

I would like to have the floor receptacles mounted flush with the face of the floor. Via google I see several options for residential 15 amp. circuits, but I need both 20 and 30 amp single phase circuits, and several 3 phase circuits. Does anyone have any information on boxes that could be mounted flush with the floor? My concern is tripping, of course. Once placed, I would anticipate that most of the tools will never be moved very far, if at all. If that is true, then maybe this is a non-question as surface mounted 4x4 boxes could be located so that there is no chance of someone tripping. My guess is that the planer and jointer will never be moved, but I can imagine moving several of the tools from time to time, such as an edge sander and shaper, and perhpas the table saw and bandsaws. Most of the vertical tools, such as DP's, mortisers, etc., will live against a wall, so I will plug them into a wall mounted receptacle. Thus, I think I would need only 5 or 6 of these.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks, as always.

[Jerry Todd]

Alan,
I can't help with the floor mounted receptacles however I solved that problem with ceiling receptacles. Purchased some retractable extension cords and mounted them next to the receptacles. Works great.
Jerry

[Jim Becker]

You may need to use pedestals for this application, Alan. You need big and deep for the heavier conductors the big iron will use, too.

[Larry Browning]

Alan,
Another problem with floor flush mount is saw dust getting into the receptical and box. I have a few floor mount recepticals where I mounted the boxes so that the recepticals were standing up. This is working out well for me. I even have a receptical box mounted on the side of my assembly table with the wire coming from below.

Larry

[Alan Turner]

Thnaks for the suggestions. I am told by my electrician that a surface mounted box is OK per the code, but it is the possible tripping that I am trying to avoid. Maybe on the Bandsaws, I will do drops as they are tall enough, esp. the big one, that the cord hanging down will not be annoying. Cheaper too. If the flush mounted floor boxes exist, I am sure that they are expensive. Everything about wiring is getting more and more expensive. When we started the main building rewire in July, 2" conduit was 1.70/ft., and on the next invoice 3 weeks later it was $2/ft. Blegg.

[Frank Pellow]

I investigated floor mounted receptacles when I built my new shop recently and decided that they would be both expensive and problematic. So, I opted for ceiling receptacles instead and I am very happy with them.

[Larry Reimer]

"Wiremold" makes some nice options for floor mounted.
http://www.wiremold.com/www/commercial/products/index_family.asp?major_system_id=4

[Jamie Buxton]

Carlon sells a nice floor box intended for residential use. http://www.smarthome.com/2540fb.html. I've installed two. However, I'm pretty sure the outlet would be good for only 15 amps. Carlon has larger floor boxes. http://www.carlon.com/Brochures/2B38.pdf I don't see any reason why they couldn't be used with higher-amperage outlets.


Heck, in that big ol' building, you could make your own. Cut a hole in the floor. Build a box between the floor joists. Install a conventional surface-mounted electrical box on one side of the box, with whatever outlet(s) you want. Make a lid for the hole with a hole just large enough to fit the machine's power cord. The lid should be flush with the floor. Use gravity to hold it in place. In a sense, the lid like a giant version of those little grommet things you see on office desks. The outlet, on the sidewall of the box, will be above the sawdust until it gets very deep; vacuum it out once a year, and you'll be all set.

[Ellen Benkin]

I debated these when I had a new floor poured in the garage. My electrician convinced me they would be a bad idea, so I have boxes hung from the ceiling. They meet code and were approved by the building inspector. I'm glad I did. The tools are not where I thought they would be, so the floor recepticles would be a nuisance. Having the power cords go up also keeps them out of the way and I'm reminded to unplug when I finish with a piece of equipment.

[George Summers]

I ran the power (and DC) for my table saw under the floor (I have a crawl space under the shop). I put the power outlet on the top of a 2x4. I only have a 3/4" hole in the floor that I will have to fill if I ever move it. It is handy to plug and unplug and not have to bend over. It is out of the way, tucked under the left wing of the saw.

http://www.woodworkersweb.com/modules.php?set_albumName=albur91&id=100_0289&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php

George