Electrical box material?


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Old 02-21-10, 08:53 PM
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Electrical box material?

Basically all the electrical boxes in my house are made of this material(pictured below). One friend told me it was asbestos and another said he was crazy. House was built in 70's. Any ideas?





 
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Old 02-21-10, 08:58 PM
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That looks a lot like a plastic type box Raco made in the 70s. It didn't catch on like PVC did although it was much more rigid and a nice material to work with. It isn't asbestos. I would assume it was more expensive than PVC.
 
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Old 02-21-10, 09:16 PM
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Joe is correct. Those boxes are extremely hard and extremely brittle.
 
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Old 02-21-10, 09:17 PM
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You positive it's not asbestos? Just wanted to make sure before I go prying at one that needs to be replaced.

Thanks!
 
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Old 02-21-10, 09:18 PM
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Originally Posted by CasualJoe
That looks a lot like a plastic type box Raco made in the 70s. It didn't catch on like PVC did although it was much more rigid and a nice material to work with. It isn't asbestos. I would assume it was more expensive than PVC.
MY home was built in 1989 and all the light fixture boxes are this material
 
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Old 02-21-10, 09:22 PM
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Definitely does not contain any asbestos.
 
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Old 02-21-10, 09:45 PM
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That look like Fiberglass box type and no, it do not have any asbestos at all

I have done few like that the only modern manufacter I know they still makeing fiberglass verison is ALLIED MOLDED I am sure some big box store may still selling this.

Merci,Marc
 
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Old 02-21-10, 10:08 PM
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I'm pretty sure those boxes are Bakelite and not fiberglass. Fiberglasss would be tough and those brown plastic boxes are brittle, they break quite easily if you hit them hard with a hammer. Hammer on a fiberglass box and you may hurt yourself when the hammer rebounds and hits you in the head.
 
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Old 02-22-10, 06:04 AM
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Box Material

I agree with Furd. I vote for Bakelite.
 
 

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