I am installing fluorescent lights on my bathroom wall. I was planning to mount them over electrical boxes, but for one of the fixtures, a stud is in the way. Now I can cut a huge notch out of the stud if necessary to fit a box, but I was wondering if electrical code allows me to just put cable clamps on the fixture itself and make the wiring connections inside the fixture's housing. This would require a considerably smaller notch on the stud.
Adrian,
They make electircal boxes the same thickness as drywall so it would mount on the face of the stud after you cut the drywall away.
Good luck,
AZCRAIG
Maybe it is too late at night and I will see that I misunderstood your question tomorrow, but you should follow the manufacturer's installation instructions. The fluorescent fixtures I have installed all had the connections made in the fixture (yes, with cable clamps provided by the manufacturer), so your situation would have been fine. If your fixtures need a box, then they need a box; there is probably a good reason for it.
Just a consideration. Are those lights designed for bathroom use?
It is done all the time. Drill a hole in the area of the fixture that you need the hole. The fixture needs to be UL listed for making splices. I do not know of may that are not listed for the use.
A 1/2" thick electrical box? It's hard to see the point in a box that small.
The fixture is intended for bathroom use, UL listed for damp locations.
The instructions list two installation schemes: one involves using an electrical box and the other involves wiring it from the end (for the case where you have two fixtures in a line with the ends touching). There is a hole already knocked out where I could install a clamp. I asked the manufacturer about not using a box and was told:
According to the National Electrical code all Lighting Fixtures should be mounted to a Junction Box within a least 6ft of the fixture.
Which seems like a kind of weird requirement.
"cm" writes:
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