An Interesting Find in Mexico....But.... Eaton WDL1510S Enclosure

[Visitor]

I'm still in Mexico, for around another month. This place, with its perfect weather (this time of year) and awesome food is kind of addictive.

We visited a couple local hardware stores recently, and I'm blown away at the amount and varied stuff they have. Literally several aisles of LED bulbs and fixtures. Of particular interest was the number of nice electrical enclosures they had on the shelf at very reasonable prices. This picture is just one type from one company.

This are polyethene or maybe polypropylene, with an IP55 rating. Of particular interest is the WDL1510S.

$138? Don't worry, that's 138 pesos, around US$7.50. So why do I like this enclosure? It's the perfect size to fit a 100mm x 100mm cheap board from the Chinese fabs. The mounting holes are 92mm apart, and a 100mm wide board will just fit between the grommets (the short dimension).

A low-cost enclosure that fits the standard size cheap board, with nicely positioned mounting bosses. Pretty neat, right?

Well, not so neat apparently. Eaton is a world-wide company, but they don't seem to acknowledge this enclosure line exists outside of Mexico. Searching on the part number only reveals Mexican sources, and searching on Eaton's website doesn't find the part number. Well, I'll be taking a few of these home at least.

Here's a link to one of the hardware chains I visited.

Boxito:Tienda en línea con productos necesarios para mejorar tu hogar

The other just has a Facebook page, but you'll be amazed by the pictures.

(8) Vaqueiros Ferreteros | Facebook

 

[rjenkinsgb]

They don't exist elsewhere as "Eaton" - they are rebranded Schneider ones!

Excellent value, as you say - £3.59 each here:

Error 410 | Screwfix

Thousands of products at low trade prices | FREE next day delivery available | 30 day money back guarantee on all orders.

www.screwfix.com

That rectangular one is a bit more pricey:

Error 410 | Screwfix

Thousands of products at low trade prices | FREE next day delivery available | 30 day money back guarantee on all orders.

www.screwfix.com

 

[Visitor]

The Schneider Electric box is similar, but with a crucial difference. It does not have the plethora of mounting bosses the Eaton box does, so mounting a 100mm × 100mm board wouldn't work. Still, a nice resource to know about; the sizes seem to be common between them.then.

 

[Visitor]

Altech Enclosures has a similar product line, but it's also lacking in an optimally sized box with mounting bosses for my application.

Industrial Enclosures

 

[rjenkinsgb]

The Schneider Electric box is similar, but with a crucial difference. It does not have the plethora of mounting bosses the Eaton box does

You are right; I've used them for years but not paid particular attention to internal mountings...
I'm sure they are out of the same factory, there are just too many similarities; even the black moulding that splits to a set of seal caps.

 

[rjenkinsgb]

Interesting - the versions of the Schneider ones RS sell appear to have all the internal mounting points.. I thought I'd put DIN rails in them in the past..

ENN05007 | Schneider Electric Mureva Series Grey Polypropylene Junction Box, IP55, 105 x 80 x 150mm | RS

uk.rs-online.com

Or do you mean the "cross" slot in the centre?

 

[Visitor]

The cover detail is slightly different.

What I find fascinating is here in Merida, Mx, a city of about a million people, I can drive a few miles and find these at a large number of different stores.

At home in Seattle, I doubt I could find anything similar locally.

 

[Visitor]

Interesting - the versions of the Schneider ones RS sell appear to have all the internal mounting points.....

Look at my picture of the Eaton box. On the long sides, notice there's a mounting boss next to each grommet opening. The Schneider box only has a mount by the center grommet. The distance between bosses in the short dimension is 92mm, perfect for a 100 mm board.

I believe the distance between the 3 bosses on the long side is 34mm I think, which provides good support for 100mm × 100mm board.

 

[rjenkinsgb]

Look at my picture of the Eaton box. On the long sides, notice there's a mounting boss next to each grommet opening. The Schneider box only has a mount by the center grommet.

The Screwfix version has NO internal mounting points, other than the fixing holes!

 

[rjenkinsgb]

The nearest ones I can find to the eaton ones are either Gewiss or ABB.
Both of those look to have multiple slots and/or bosses.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

The cover detail is slightly different.

What I find fascinating is here in Merida, Mx, a city of about a million people, I can drive a few miles and find these at a large number of different stores.

At home in Seattle, I doubt I could find anything similar locally.

They should be freely available at any store that sells items for electricians, they aren't project boxes, they are for electrical installations - hence the conduit installation holes.

 

[Visitor]

They should be freely available at any store that sells items for electricians, they aren't project boxes, they are for electrical installations - hence the conduit installation holes.

Perhaps they are some places, and I am well aware of what their intended use is. Once again, your worldview is rather more limited than you imagine. This type of enclosure is not in common use in the US, and certainly IS NOT available at every home improvement big-box store or even electrical suppliers. I did pretty much state that above. Furthermore, while similar boxes can be ordered in the US (Altech Electric), the enclosures that are available (via mail order) do not have the plethora of mounting bosses (which have been discussed at length above with several pictures), that make the Eaton enclosure uniquely suited for applications with cheaply available 100mm × 100mm boards.

For your information, here are links to two major US electrical equipment suppliers that are located in most cities. Please show me listing for similar enclosures since "They should be freely available at any store that sells items for electricians, they aren't project boxes, they are for electrical installations - hence the conduit installation holes."

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