I have bought plastic boxes for housing all kinds of things like relays , power supplies, charging stations, etc. The plastic boxes always fail the same way, they get brittle with UV light, and warp until they no longer seal out water. I have replaced water timers and other products because the plastic box they are held in all fall apart. So Again, I’m replacing a water sprinkler timer in a plastic box. This time though, I spent more on the box then on the timer to prevent future failures. I purchased the 16x16x6 all metal Vevor box ip66 box with a lock for my rental house. The housing is well made all powder coated steel with hinges and a grounded front cover with a bottom plate that is removable and can be drilled for power cords and wires that is sealed with a gasket. The front door is also sealed. Inside is mounted an exterior rated sprinkler timer by Orbit but since I’ve had so many supposedly exterior rated devises and boxes fail I decided no more. I mounted this sprinkler timer onto the removable back inside the box and ran a120 volt exterior duplex box with a gfci outlet to inside the metal box to power the timer and the wires for the valves come up through the bottom cover where I drilled two 3/4 holes in the cover and installed plastic hole bushings to prevent chafing of the wires and mounted the entire assembly to the eastern facing side of the house. I live in the SF bay area and all weather comes from the west and moves easterly. The box is on the leeward side of the house and is protected from weather by a 24 inch roof overhang in a sheltered patio. The lockable door is to prevent renters from getting into the box and changing the watering timer settings or unplugging it from the outlet. I’m a happy landlord now with it all buttoned up neatly inside this all metal box that should not leak or warp and is pretty secure. The door lock is a little chinsy and can be opened by a screwdriver if needs be but is enough to keep it fairly secure. If you need a real lock to secure the box and its contents you’ll have to find a lock with a key and replace the cheap lock. Overall, I am very satisfied with this box and it’s overall appearance as well as its build quality. It should now outlast me. Drilling the inside of the box to run romex and drilling the back and plate on the bottom as well as securing the timer and exterior rated duplex box revealed perhaps a 16 of an inch thick steel plate so, its definitely sturdy. The powder coating is even throughout and looks great.
