Trunking vs tray

[D Skelton]

i love doing the metalwork stuff lol , i'd do containment for the rest of my career given the choice , hate all that faffing with wires & such ;-)
i have a dewalt cordless grinder so i can cut into existing tray already bolted to the ceiling , and quite frankly its the most useful gadget i've ever bought

How do you find the power compares to a corded? I have been umming and arring about a cordless for a while now but haven't had the opportunity to use one. The last one I used was some years ago and it was rubbish! I couldn't say what voltage or type the batteries were though.

 

[johnboy6083]

I'd agree, the only cordless grinders Ive used have had no power. Obviously it depends on what material and thickness your cutting.

 

[Guest55]

not as powerful as corded and eats batteries if you cut uni strut and anything else more than 2mm thick.
but the flexibility is stupendous , such as climb in roof space to rip out old metalwork with no power leads.

and i already had the 18v sds drill which shares the same batteries / charger so a relatively cheap add-on.

edit ; a lith ion battery version is now available but its big money if you need the full kit

double edit ; anything less than 18v 2.4Ah will be a waste of time.

 

[Bobster]

I use a 18v makita cordless grinder, batteries are interchangeable with my drill.

 

[Stuuk1]

Tray and trunking are totally different and are both there to cover their own purpose. It's not a case of one or the other.. Personally speaking of course.

As the BMS guy posted his pics, Part1-Type1 and Type 2 cable is better suited to tray whereas sometimes it makes sense to contain singles within trunking in a boiler room with a copex to the various valves etc.

You install the correct containment for the nature of the job.

I have always loved trunking and tray work and rarely used manufactured bends opting to make these myself unless asked for by the client, although never had to use the old style of forming an internal bend with the bar and slot (don't know the correct name).

When I next bring my laptop home from work ill see if I have some old BMS installs of mine to post up.

 

[Stuuk1]

I find tray's good for runs along walls, and who the h3ll decided 11mm AF was a good size for the square nuts?

Haha, I have always though that although I always threw them away and got hex nuts and a 10mm socket and adaptor for the drill.

They do however make a 10mm square nut now!

 

[i=p/u]

Don't you hate when someone has mounted trunking on side ??? We angle brackets are good for around edges . Don't do much metal work myself but have job conning up which il use trunking and pay another guy todo bends or il buy them....

 

[i=p/u]

I would get it eventually... But

 

[firespark]

A job I'm currently working on has utilized most forms of containment.
Tray work for SWA cable runs.
Galv Trunking for power and lighting.
Basket for other services (Fire, security BMS and Data)

If i get a chance ill snap a few pics when on site.

 

[i=p/u]

I've seen jobs where the stell pipe just cable tied to basket, is this the norm

 

[Knobhead]

I still can’t work just how you can compare trunking and tray? Each have there own job to do. You use whatever is best suited to the situation.

 

[i=p/u]

Someone said trunking inside , a lot of mod camps here have trunking running outside.. So must be allowed and after good few years it still looks in good nic..

 

[KAS1]

You can't beat a bit of iron fighting or metal munching.

 

[Dcf]

If I'm honest I prefer doing tray to trunking.only downside is it takes time to dress all the cables neatly.ie not crossed over with runs thought out. A throwback from micc days on my part. As a post I did a few weeks back I've just put 20 lengths of medium duty tray in a job and was quite surprised at how flimsy it was compared to a bit from even 15 years ago when I did a lot of the stuff.couple with using a box of tam lite nuts and bolts( worst I've ever used avoid at all costs) it could have been better.for swa micc FTP type cables it's ideal. Twin and earth its too sharp I find.i use a cordless jigsaw for cuts as I would have needed a hot works permit for a grinder .do agree a grinder is ideal for tray...and trunking to a lesser extent

 

[Stuuk1]

The best company in my books are Philip Graham.

The tray is by far the best! The trunking however, I hate the turn buckles, but it's nice rigid, no nonsense stuff.

If you are really stuck, you can measure up the angles and they will make any bend you want for trunking, although not sure on the cost implementation..

If you haven't tried the tray, try it some time, it's awesome!