Wire Tray - Cheap(er) Sources?

[Spudland_Dave]

Any online source for cheaper (shipping especially) wire tray?
What I'd like to do, is above my elec panel, install a wire tray the length of my building...throw all the circuit wiring in there, keeping things nice, neat & professional looking.
Looked locally at my elec supply house and they're wanting 125.00 for a 10' section of 8" tray!
Found these economical wire trays here: http://www.cableorganizer.com/economical-cable-tray/ and almost ordered them until I saw the $215.00 shipping cost...the tray itself would set me back 125...which I think is reasonable.

 

[Falcon67]

3 each 1x4s in 12' lengths or so. Make your own tray. I used a "tray" formed by the base of my strongbacks and a 1x4 - it really does help with cabling.

 

[Norcal]

You do realize that there will be derating issues w/ that product as the cables will be bundled. I doubt they would be that heavily loaded but the NEC does not seem to make that distinction.

 

[Aceman]

You do realize that there will be derating issues w/ that product as the cables will be bundled. I doubt they would be that heavily loaded but the NEC does not seem to make that distinction.

He would be better off using 4x4 gutter. Derating wouldn't start until the 30th conductor.

I don't think any of this would work very well anyhow considering he's using a flush mount panel.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

I don't think any of this would work very well anyhow considering he's using a flush mount panel.

How so?

My plan is to swiss cheese the top plate, run all my wires up & thru it and into the tray right there. How does flush panel affect anything? I've never seen a surface mounted panel in a garage before...

What I'm looking for is a nice, neat way to string wire from one of the building to the other (50' worth)....

 

[Aceman]

Are you mounting boxes on the surface or in the wall?

 

[Charles (in GA)]

How so?

My plan is to swiss cheese the top plate, run all my wires up & thru it and into the tray right there. How does flush panel affect anything? I've never seen a surface mounted panel in a garage before...

What I'm looking for is a nice, neat way to string wire from one of the building to the other (50' worth)....

So you want the tray to be mounted in the attic? and the wires to loop up out of the tray and down thru the header at each receptacle?

Charles

 

[jbberns]

Stub conduits out of the panel into the tray would be the best. Personally I like conduit for power especially. Tray is good for data cables, when there are a bunch of them. I'd go to a electrical contractor and see if they'd sell you some. The company I work for has tons of it just laying around.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Are you mounting boxes on the surface or in the wall?

In the wall.

So you want the tray to be mounted in the attic? and the wires to loop up out of the tray and down thru the header at each receptacle?

Charles

Yes in the attic, right at the eve edge...but not looking to go up and across each outlet with the tray...Easiest way to describe this would be I built 2 garages under 1 roof...wont completely be seperated, but there will be a stairwell/partial wall in the middle. Front half is where the panel is and where the Car & truck will sleep. Back half is my shop...Tractor & Excavator parked in there...metal working tools, welder, plasma, more outlets etc... In the front, I'll be going thru the studs from box to box like normal wiring is done...what I'm thinkin is I will have a whole lotta wiring dedicated to the shop out back...so it would be coming up from the panel, into the tray and running 45' back to the shop area.

Stub conduits out of the panel into the tray would be the best. Personally I like conduit for power especially. Tray is good for data cables, when there are a bunch of them. I'd go to a electrical contractor and see if they'd sell you some. The company I work for has tons of it just laying around.

That seems to be the story...I know a guy who built a whole dock setup for his lake cabin out of 12" tray (the nice extruded aluminum style) because it was taken out and cheap...of course now I'm lookin for some, nobody has any. You watch, I'll buy some and then come across a pile of it cheap/free. Another common "homeowner" use for it seems to be for scaffold planking...

 

[Charles (in GA)]

I would seriously look at running a fairly heavy feeder to a subpanel in the back shop. It sounds like that is largely where the electricity is needed. Might be cheaper and easier than running a zillion wires from the main panel back there.

Charles

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Hmm...good food for thought.
ORIGINALLY my plan was to enter (power) the building in the middle under the stairwell...BUT the calendar decided the placement of the panel. A) not ready to build stairwell yet and B) Ground is gonna freeze before we know it.
Your right, most load will be in back....out front I can only picture the little guy's Power Wheel battery charger and shop vac's being the largest load.

No issues running sub-panels off of sub-panels?

 

[Falcon67]

See my build link, post 240. I put the panel in one end and oops, most of the circuits ran to the other. That said, the cost difference -for me anyway- between a heavy feeder and sub panel vs the nearly 1000' of 12-2 romex was nada.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

I would seriously look at running a fairly heavy feeder to a subpanel in the back shop. It sounds like that is largely where the electricity is needed. Might be cheaper and easier than running a zillion wires from the main panel back there.

Charles

So...talked to my dad this am about it...and the more I think about it I think this may be the way to go. Between wire tray and the cost of wire (right off the top of my head I figured I'd need about 200' of 12-2 just to get back there for the various runs (thats just for 4 circuits) and I'm not counting the 6-2 I'd use for my welder, 10-2 for the compressor...etc.. buying a small panel and a few feet of wire...I actually have some 6 ga copper conductors which were pulled out from a sub-panel when some remodeling was done where I work. Rescued it from the scrap bin.

That being said...what size would you run back there....I'm thinkin 60A using 6GA CU wire.