Suspending an outlet from the ceiling

So what's the proper way to suspend an outlet from the ceiling?

This would be in a commercial shop. What I gather so far is that a guy would want to use the following:

o Metal box securely anchored to joist/beam/etc. o Guy at the electrical supply house I called said to use SO cord o Seems I need something like a "Kellum grip" at the top as a strain relief o Standard large round female receptacle at the bottom

Some installations use quad boxes, but a single outlet will be enough here.

I'm not clear on the anchorage at the top. It seems something like what's described here would be what's wanted:

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So does the Kellum grip (or Woodhead's Max Loc) include a braid that runs the entire length of the cord? or just at the top? how far down? I think I've seen that arrangement before, with a cord run in a metal braid for support.

Reply to
David Nebenzahl
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The link shows just what was installed in my industrial shop YEARS ago.......I was pretty much a kid at the time.

It looked pretty weird to me but the electrician assured me it was code.

It gripped the exterior "covering" of an SO cord......the shop floor level (actually an easy reach above head level) was just a female twist lock cord end.

The gripper thingy was about a foot or so, not the entire cord length.....looked weird (mostly cuz' I'd never seen one) but worked fine for the 7 years I was there,

The concept is: the gravity & service loads are taken by the box, the box cover, the gripper, the cord cover & the female cord end.....the conductors are along for the ride.

cheers Bob

Reply to
fftt

I have electrical boxes on my ceiling, very convenient. They are attached to the joists. I'm 5'11" and can reach them easily when standing on my tip toes. There are retractable extension cord holders you can plug into the outlets. Another option is to fasten a 2x4 to the joist and fasten an electical box to that. I would not have a permanent outlet dangling (moving back and forth) though.

Reply to
Phisherman

On 6/3/2009 5:52 AM Phisherman spake thus:

Well, since the ceiling in this shop is, oh, 16 or 18 feet above the floor, I kinda doubt that would work here. (I don't even know how the hell I'm going to get up there. Rent one a'them fancy scissors lifts?)

Well, it's what the owner wants. And the only time it would be moving back and forth much would be during earthquakes here.

Hey, it could double as a rough-approximation seismograph. Kewl.

Reply to
David Nebenzahl

They are very common in labs, manufacturing, and machine shops.

Reply to
mkirsch1

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