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Getting Power to a Rack Enclosure?
JazzyJ asks: "I need some ideas on some fire/electrical code compliant ways to get power into some bare bones rack mount enclosures I have. The racks are essentially in the center of a room with 3 ft around all sides. There's a 4 outlet box on each wall. Other than getting building maintenance to drop me a circuit along the floor or out of the ceiling, what options for getting power into these monsters do I have? Extension cords are right out, that is against fire/electrical code. Help!?"
- Pick up local yellow pages.
- Look up number for an electrician.
- Call the number, and ask whoever answers the same question.
depending on the local code, the extension cords might only be restricted from running across the floor because that could be a tripping hazard. It might (again, might) be ok to string the cord up the wall, along the ceiling, and dropping down to the rack. Another option may be getting one of those long (several feet long) rubber covers that go over the cord and provide a small hump to walk over for people in the room. (like these - first hit on google)
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Easy to get a chessy metal pole for your ceiling drop. We use several in our office (open floor plan, no desks near a wall) that have both power and ethernet jacks. Takes all of about 20 minutes to install, plus time to run cabling to the desired location. Ours are even UL listed.
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That's one option. Another (and possibly better) is just to put wires in conduit (run it 7 feet off the floor to avoid trip and head-banging hazards). You'll have to check your building codes to see if you can put a fat 3-wire cable inside conduit for the run through the air and down the wall to an outlet, or if you are required to run separate wires (better heat dissipation) and wire things directly into a junction box. That latter will certainly require intervention from building maintenance.
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First, extension cords are limited to 6' by the National Electrical Code and UL. If the cord is longer than 6', it is supposed to have larger wire than what is normally provided (#14 for 15A vs. #16/18 typical extension cord). Outlet strips are generally considered "temporary" wiring, and is a code violation. YMMV
Running cables along the floor is a bad idea both because of the tripping hazard, and the potential to short out the wires.
Get an electrician out there and have him move the circuits to the racks. I would recommend having a about 3' of slack (LFMC conduit), and attach the outlet box to the rack via "temporary" means.
(If you are in CA, you don't want to make a permanant connection to the racks, as supplemental seismic bracing may be required.)
Technically, this doesn't meet code in most jurisdictions. You can end up needing to put in an EPO system (big red button that makes the room quiet) if you go that route.