I just had a new Trex deck installed by contractors. While the deck overall looks phenomenal, I am disappointed by the ugly electrical connection to the timer / photocell driving the DC transformer, shown in this photo:
![Image]()
![Image]()
The DC transformer is installed underneath the deck boards, and is connected to the underside of the black photocell / timer via a NEMA 5-15P plug. This timer is screwed to the side of the house, and is plugged into a receptacle in the side of the house via another via another 5-15P plug. This receptacle is on the load side of a GFCI receptacle located inside in my basement.
I happened to see the timer box when the installers were working, and it was marked "only for connection to receptacle rated for wet location with cover open" or something close to that. My receptacle is labelled "wet location only when cover closed". That's problem #1 right there. To fix this I could probably get a cover such as this: https://www.amazon.com/Intermatic-WP1010HC-Horizontal-8-Inch-Outdoor/dp/B003A3WV7Y/ref=sr_1_16?dchild=1&keywords=weatherproof+outlet+cover%2C+horizontal&qid=1590177782&s=hi&sr=1-16
FYI, here are the installation instructions for the Trex lighting package, although they don't say anything specific about connecting the photocell / timer: https://documents.trex.com/is/content/Trex/trex-installation-guide-deck-lightingpdf.pdf.
Ideally I'd like to make this a lot cleaner. Is there a safe and code-compliant method of hard-wiring this photocell / timer into the house wiring so that all of this crap isn't hanging off of my wall?
The DC transformer is installed underneath the deck boards, and is connected to the underside of the black photocell / timer via a NEMA 5-15P plug. This timer is screwed to the side of the house, and is plugged into a receptacle in the side of the house via another via another 5-15P plug. This receptacle is on the load side of a GFCI receptacle located inside in my basement.
I happened to see the timer box when the installers were working, and it was marked "only for connection to receptacle rated for wet location with cover open" or something close to that. My receptacle is labelled "wet location only when cover closed". That's problem #1 right there. To fix this I could probably get a cover such as this: https://www.amazon.com/Intermatic-WP1010HC-Horizontal-8-Inch-Outdoor/dp/B003A3WV7Y/ref=sr_1_16?dchild=1&keywords=weatherproof+outlet+cover%2C+horizontal&qid=1590177782&s=hi&sr=1-16
FYI, here are the installation instructions for the Trex lighting package, although they don't say anything specific about connecting the photocell / timer: https://documents.trex.com/is/content/Trex/trex-installation-guide-deck-lightingpdf.pdf.
Ideally I'd like to make this a lot cleaner. Is there a safe and code-compliant method of hard-wiring this photocell / timer into the house wiring so that all of this crap isn't hanging off of my wall?
