Pancake box under exterior light canopy

[ycgoat]

I keep going back and forth on this and was again corrected (reasonably) that you can not use a pancake box outdoors. The lights I am installing are advertised as waterproof and seal to the wall not the box, so would the space inside the fixture that is sealed to the wall be protected. Wet Location is A location in which water or other liquid can drip, splash, or flow on or against electrical equipment.

Is this reasonable thinking or am I reaching; trying to justify what I already want to do.

 

[Zeke]

You would think yes, but not all fixtures have that feature. So the next guy changes the fixture and the pancake is not protected — so, no.

There are 2 other threads on the first page of this forum dealing with this.

 

[sparky 1971]

If the box is recessed so that the face is flush with the wall, you're ok. You can't surface mount the pancake box outside.

 

[Zeke]

If the box is recessed so that the face is flush with the wall, you're ok. You can't surface mount the pancake box outside.

One would wonder why if a person could recess a pancake, why not a 4" octagon?

OK, I know sometimes there are headers, etc. But in general, most things like that can be avoided. I guess what I'm saying is >90% of the time pancakes are laziness.

 

[sparky 1971]

One would wonder why if a person could recess a pancake, why not a 4" octagon?

OK, I know sometimes there are headers, etc. But in general, most things like that can be avoided. I guess what I'm saying is >90% of the time pancakes are laziness.

I do it all the time on garages that aren't going to be finished on the inside. I run a 4" hole saw through the siding, but stop at the sheathing. The pilot bit goes into the sheathing far enough to mark the center, I then ran a hole saw through the sheathing that was just large enough for a rigid coupling to fit into. Attach the rigid coupling to the box via a chase ******, screw the box to the sheathing with the coupling poking through on the inside, screw a flex connector (usually a 90°) into the rigid coupling. Done, and it's way faster than setting blocking to mount the octagon to.

 

[Zeke]

That sounds good ^^^^ but the thing you said was '"siding" and I was talking about masonry. If siding, I too would go about it differently taking the easiest path, which it sounds like you've perfected.

 

[sparky 1971]

That sounds good ^^^^ but the thing you said was '"siding" and I was talking about masonry. If siding, I too would go about it differently taking the easiest path, which it sounds like you've perfected.

I was answering your question as to why someone would recess a pancake vs. an octagon. I have no idea what the OP has on the exterior.

 

[ycgoat]

Its a metal building, I am likely going to recess a single gang, since I can’t surface mount a box that will be concealed under the fixture.

 

[Zeke]

I was answering your question as to why someone would recess a pancake vs. an octagon. I have no idea what the OP has on the exterior.

Yeah, I was crossing my posts with another thread. Still, pancakes limit wire fill so you must plan your runs accordingly. As I said, it sounds like you've got a good thing going there that saves time finding blocking, etc. Being hard in a SoCal city, I run into metal siding about once a decade.

 

[yeldogt]

I do it all the time on garages that aren't going to be finished on the inside. I run a 4" hole saw through the siding, but stop at the sheathing. The pilot bit goes into the sheathing far enough to mark the center, I then ran a hole saw through the sheathing that was just large enough for a rigid coupling to fit into. Attach the rigid coupling to the box via a chase ******, screw the box to the sheathing with the coupling poking through on the inside, screw a flex connector (usually a 90°) into the rigid coupling. Done, and it's way faster than setting blocking to mount the octagon to.

I'm trying to picture this .... ??

What type of box and why the need for flex?

I like the hole saw retrofit and using the hold saws pilot hole to drill for the wire ... are you doing exposed conduit inside?

 

[sparky 1971]

A pancake box. Flex to a box about a foot away because they won't let us use romex in an unfinished garage.