# Help Need a Electrical outlet in a drawer



## Handyman (Jan 2, 2008)

Howdy Folks. I have a customer wanting an electrical outlet in a drawer. I haven't had any luck finding a company that makes such a thing. Does anyone have a source for such a thing?


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## Handyman (Jan 2, 2008)

I forgot to add this little detail. It is going to have to pass The Electrical code. So just a box and an S O Cord want do it.


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## Boss O' The Shop (Mar 21, 2012)

I'm not an electrician, so I can't tell you if this would meet code or not, but here's something that might be modified to fit the bill: *Sillites RR9.*

Good luck!


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

I think you better check the code where you live. I've never heard of an outlet in a drawer passing code in FL.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Why in the drawer? Almost afraid to ask. Lol


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I wouldn't make the outlet to pull out. One way you could do this is make the drawer a hinged false front with the outlet behind it. You could also remake the drawer box small enough you could put the outlet between the stile and the drawer box. Remember if the outlet is near water it will need to be a GFCI recepticle.


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## bob sacamano (Jan 24, 2012)

Steve Neul said:


> I wouldn't make the outlet to pull out. One way you could do this is make the drawer a hinged false front with the outlet behind it. You could also remake the drawer box small enough you could put the outlet between the stile and the drawer box. Remember if the outlet is near water it will need to be a GFCI recepticle.


steve -

i just did a pull-out with an outlet in it. it hides the electric shaver. nose hair trimmer. etc etc. from being on the top of the vanity. it was GFI. 

great idea on the false drawer front. i like that


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## rrich (Jun 24, 2009)

The way to do it so that it will pass code is to put the outlet in the back of the cabinet. Then drill a hole or cut a notch in the back of the drawer. After the inspection, have the customer plug a small extension cord or outlet strip and put it in the drawer.


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## ed_h (Dec 1, 2010)

My wife asked for the same thing. She keeps her hair dryer and curling iron and such in the bottom drawer of the vanity, and it was a hassle to plug and unplug it every time. Since the vanity is built in, it was easy to add an outlet to the wall under the adjacent sink. I just attached a good quality power strip inside the drawer with double-sided tape, ran the cord through a hole in the back of the drawer, and plugged it into the outlet. I made sure the cord was routed so as to not rub or catch on anything when the drawer is opened.

Does it meet code? No idea.


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## jharris (Jan 8, 2011)

I'm assuming that you want this to meet code for inspection purposes.

Ditto on the GFI receptacle being mounted in the wall as normally done and installing a power strip (after your electrical final).

Jeff


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## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

If it's on a flexible line or used for charging batteries I wouldn't do it, regardless of what a customer wants.
Flexible lines wear out even using stranded wire, over time, and battery/battery chargers have a tendency to go bad (and they burn) 
Consider the fire hazard.


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## Murphy's Law (Dec 15, 2011)

aardvark said:


> If it's on a flexible line or used for charging batteries I wouldn't do it, regardless of what a customer wants.
> Flexible lines wear out even using stranded wire, over time, and battery/battery chargers have a tendency to go bad (and they burn)
> Consider the fire hazard.


I agree with aardvark, it's an accident looking for a place to happen. Tell your customer that he will have to burn down his house on his own.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

I suggest that you to to an experienced electrician in your area and see what he/she has to say about how this can be done. 

As Donminik asked, Why? will certainly have a bearing on how or if it can be done.

George


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

bob sacamano said:


> steve -
> 
> i just did a pull-out with an outlet in it. it hides the electric shaver. nose hair trimmer. etc etc. from being on the top of the vanity. it was GFI.
> 
> great idea on the false drawer front. i like that


Yes there is a lot of different ways a person can put a receptacle in a drawer. The drawer only travels about 20" and all you would have to do is keep the cord out of the mechanics. If I wanted to do this on my own house where I had control of it I would do it. I do a lot of handyman work myself and it is unbelievable to what extend the homeowners I do work for abuse everything. What if they were to frequently pull the drawer out of the cabinet and left it dangling on the cord. I also have had a customer or two that wouldn't throw a piece of paper away. When you open the drawer you had to use both hands to pull it out because they had so much paper jammed into the drawer. I would hate to have an electrical outlet in the drawer too. They could someday sell the house to one of these people and once you've put an electrical outlet in the drawer you are responsible for it. Before you commit to it think about the creative ways they can abuse it.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I would not recommend it*

There is a concern that the moving of the drawer in and out will affect and eventually fail the connector cable/wire. However, an outlet in the rear of the cabinet like for dishwasher or disposal would meet code.
Then a rubber covered wire, SJ run from the outlet with it's own plug to a round cornered outlet box inside the drawer would be considered as an appliance/ extension cord. The el cheapo multiple outlet strips are not meant to flex like a rubber cover wire and could eventually crack as they have a relatively stiff PVC, or other coating.

You would want to make sure the cord has sufficient loop to allow full travel of the drawer and then some, so there is no strain on the cord. Additional strain relief might be the spiral covering from Radio Shack or trailer supply house. Also be aware of storing items in the space below that will interfere with the hanging loop of cord on which it may get caught. There are several considerations to the idea.  bill


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## TS3660 (Mar 4, 2008)

Just put a small Honda Generator in the drawer. :laughing:


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## RDK (Jan 31, 2011)

I almost feel like this is something that a lot of inspectors will frown on. Sometimes an inspector can be even more strict than the NEC. 

I've never had to do an application like this but I would assume that since securing your wire every so many feet and so many inches once it leaves a box would right away be an issue considering that you would have to have a lot of free standing wire in order to make it a pull out receptacle. I know that standard romex would not be sufficient and like the above stated, since this would be moving a lot, it's prone to have loose connections. It would almost certainly have to be GFCI protected. 

Best thing to do is get advice from local inspections bureau.


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## Handyman (Jan 2, 2008)

bob sacamano said:


> steve -
> 
> i just did a pull-out with an outlet in it. it hides the electric shaver. nose hair trimmer. etc etc. from being on the top of the vanity. it was GFI.
> 
> This is correct. The draw is for a hair dryer. They want to be able to open the draw and use the hair dryer without having to plug it in.


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## Handyman (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey guys thanks for all the input. I think we are going to run a home run wire from the panel to a wall box inside the cabinet. Then use a coiled S.O. cord from the wall to the back of the draw to a flush mount receptical box in the drawer. The new home run wire will be connected to a combo Arch fault/GFCI beaker. If there is ever a problem the beaker will trip. And being the SO cord is made out of THHN (Braided wire) wire and coiled, it will flex for many years.


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## jaydawg74 (Nov 24, 2011)

If you're gonna do it (which I wouldn't), maybe think about using steel jacketed cable. You can get it at home depot I believe. Or some other flexible steel conduit.


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## chirpfarm (Jan 30, 2012)

This: http://www.igus.com/default.asp?PAGE=EnergyChains is really what you need. It is designed to protect/guide/organize cables thru sliding motion like you describe. Don't know if it would pass residential inspection, but it is used all over the place on manufacturing equipment. not the cheapest, but the right product for the job I'd think.


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## KevinGe (Mar 16, 2012)

I have never seen a receptacle installed in a moveable drawer by an electrician. I would take the advice of most of the members responding to your original post and seek the advice of a electrician in your area before you do any work. Personally, I would never install an outlet in a drawer. Without getting into too much detail I believe that this would be a fire hazard.
Cheers


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## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Handyman said:


> Hey guys thanks for all the input. I think we are going to run a home run wire from the panel to a wall box inside the cabinet. Then use a coiled S.O. cord from the wall to the back of the draw to a flush mount receptical box in the drawer. The new home run wire will be connected to a combo Arch fault/GFCI beaker. If there is ever a problem the beaker will trip. And being the SO cord is made out of THHN (Braided wire) wire and coiled, it will flex for many years.


Like others have said, I would think that this would be a fire hazard, and I wouldn't do it. That being said, The coiled cord you refer to is designed exactly for that. If you decide to continue to do this, I would add that you you might want to install the outlet so that there is some protection from something accidentally getting shoved/forced into the outlet. Perhaps a "wall/partition" in front of it, with a gap on the sides that the cord can be fed thru to get to the outlet. The only reason I bring this up is how many times are things shoved in a drawer, and then the drawer shoved shut. I would hate to see some scissors or something like that be shoved into the receptacle, and create a major safety issue. 

Just a thought.


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## d_slat (Apr 10, 2012)

ed_h said:


> My wife asked for the same thing. She keeps her hair dryer and curling iron and such in the bottom drawer of the vanity, and it was a hassle to plug and unplug it every time. Since the vanity is built in, it was easy to add an outlet to the wall under the adjacent sink. I just attached a good quality power strip inside the drawer with double-sided tape, ran the cord through a hole in the back of the drawer, and plugged it into the outlet. I made sure the cord was routed so as to not rub or catch on anything when the drawer is opened.
> 
> Does it meet code? No idea.


not a chance in hell I woulda done this. It may be a hassle to unplug it to put it in the drawer, but at least she won't leave it on and burn the house down that way.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*clutter is way better than a fire!*

This was my first thought when I saw hair dryer and curling iron....no way I'd do it...... :no:

maybe with a 20 minute wind up timer that shuts itself off....

probably a shut off could be devised that when the drawer was shut everything gets shut down like a micro switch?


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## EWerner (Oct 14, 2010)

TS3660 said:


> Just put a small Honda Generator in the drawer. :laughing:


:laughingitto:laughing:

Talk directly to a state inspector (or city inspector if they have one for electrical) and see what they suggest. Hate to have you put alot of work into it and have it fail inspection.

I would worry about fatigue in the wiring that would occur by the movement fo the draw. It obviously can not be solid copper wire as it would surely fail over time.

Good luck.


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## <*(((>< (Feb 24, 2010)

woodnthings said:


> This was my first thought when I saw hair dryer and curling iron....no way I'd do it...... :no:
> 
> maybe with a 20 minute wind up timer that shuts itself off....
> 
> probably a shut off could be devised that when the drawer was shut everything gets shut down like a micro switch?


This is a very good thought, have the timer before the outlet so that the outlet would only have power to it when the timer is running. That way someone is right there (or within the timer max time limit) in case of fatigue problems of the wire. If you are going to do it that is.

How I would tackle this is to have the side of the drawer be removed and have the outlet attached to the inside of the cabinet beside the drawer with the side removed. This way the outlet is in one place not being moved and the cord for the appliance is what is moving in and out.


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## vursenbach (Apr 11, 2012)

I was thinking of installing an electrical outlet in the back of the cabinet, like you would under a sink for a garbage disposal. Then, install a manufactured power strip in the drawer which is not hardwired to the outlet. The home owner can plug it in or not.


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## dickeyjs (Jan 28, 2014)

*In Drawer Power Outlet*

Hi All,

If you need an in drawer power outlet, you can buy one here. 

www.dockingdrawer.com

Scott


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## TimPa (Jan 27, 2010)

good advice here - check with your local codes inspector, some aftermarket devices may be acceptable (as noted above)

bad advice here - after the inpection, do what you want/plug in an extension cord (please don't take offense)

nec codes are not written to make our life miserable (although they do at times), but to keep our house from burning down.

yeah, i'm one of them guys


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