Waterproof connection for surface mount panel


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Old 07-14-20, 06:53 PM
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Waterproof connection for surface mount panel

I want to install a surface mounted RV power panel on the outside of the house. The house has wooden clapboards.I want to run the cable (NM-B 10-2) right through a hole in the house into the 1/2 inch knockout on the back of the metallic panel enclosure. What kind of a clamp or setup would provide strain relief for the cable and be waterproof right around the panel hole, which of course lines up with the hole in the house?
 
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Old 07-14-20, 07:13 PM
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In order to get a waterproof connector to go thru wall into the back of the panel..... the hole needs to be quite large. You'd put the connector on the wire...... pass it thru the wall into the back of the panel and then put a locknut on the inside.

This would not be my recommendation. The back of the RV panel and the hole in the wall should be sealed. There would be no reason to seal the connector at the panel as there shouldn't be any water in the wall. I'd just use a snap-in grommet in the panel.

However.... it may be tough to get a knockout out of the back of the panel and a hole drilled thru the wall.
 
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Old 07-15-20, 05:08 AM
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Hi, post a pic of what you are trying to do, why not just mount the panel and connector and then run a bead of chalking around the the panel.
Geo
 
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Old 07-15-20, 08:34 AM
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There's waterproof and there's rain/ice resistance. A NEMA 3R is not waterproof. It does allow some water ingress, but allows draining out the bottom. This is why they have a TOP side UP. The door is not sealed; it used a labyrinth to limit ingress. It is not resistant to water jets, for instance (pressure washer). So, the potential issue, as I see it, is wood siding or even wood framing rot. You really want to keep the wall interior dry. Caulk the thru wire well at the external wall surface, then mount the box. Use the clapboard design to your advantage to gain that space behind the steel.
 
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Old 07-15-20, 09:45 AM
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Hi, how involved do you want to get? Here is another option.
Arlington | MM23 Product Information
Geo
 
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Old 07-15-20, 06:36 PM
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Let me clarify a couple of things. The panel is a box about 6x5x4 inches and is not installed yet, so I have full access to it. It holds one 30 amp 120 V receptacle specifically for RVs. When I said "waterproof", I misspoke as you pointed out, I really meant rain/weather resistant. I'm concerned about the rain running down the wall behind it. I thought I could simply attach it to the house and come in through the back with my NM 10/2, which is indoors only of course, and avoid conduits and such. And I would use the standard grommet/bushing/clamp thing that everyone else must use when they attach panels to houses, and then I searched around, and found there seems to be no such thing! In fact, the panel only has a place for a knockout on the bottom, and a 2 inch round hole in the top, which has a gasket and a cover with screws. Also, I could drill a hole if needed of course.
So, let me back up and start over and ask this, what's the best way to attach this thing to the house? The caulk-the-heck-out-of-it method that has been suggested? Would a picture help? And thanks to everyone who responded.
 
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Old 07-15-20, 06:42 PM
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Pictures are always a help...... How-to-insert-pictures.
 
 

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