Reliance Controls Non-Metallic Power Inlet Box, Amps 50

So upon receiving item I knocked a piece out with my finger and realized my 3/4 connector wouldn't fit. After further the outer ring looked like it wasn't that strong. So I knocked it out kinda like a typical knock out. Grabbed my flat head and a rubber mallet and was able to knock the whole ring out and fit my connection. In the pictures you can see a piece was still attached, this was my fault. Halfway through I decided to grab plyers to grab the rest out, I don't recommend doing that. Just knock the whole right out with yiyr screw driver.

I was a little unsure about buying a "Plastic" power inlet box for my generator connection, but was pleasantly surprised by how sturdy this piece is. It is a thick piece that should withstand the elements for years to come. I like this model the "Reliance PBN50" as it offers more room inside for wiring and the plug comes from the bottom which offers a little more protection from the elements. Using 6ga wire this made it an easy choice for me.

Like others said, I had to drill a 3/4"conduit hole around the 1/2" hole. This isn't exactly easy, but I know how to get that done. Also, one must have the correct size drill bit, or buy one. The instructions literally said "use 3/8" or 1/2" conduit only". Both of which are too small for 4 stranda of 6 guage wire (the wire necessary to carry 50 amps).Lastly, beacause this box is relatively large, it was too big for the standard 6"x7.5" vinyl mounting box used with vinyl siding. It is too small for huge 8.5"x12.5" mounting box, so I used no mounting box at all. There are 7.2"x8.2" monting boxes (Ply Gem) that I think would have worked, but stores don't typically shelve those, so on my install day I could not get one.

Having the outlet on the underside reduces stress on the hookup cord. And gives it some protection from the weather. Which is nice, because a lot of power outages happen when it’s raining.For those who say there’s not enough room for six gauge wire…. make loops, not right-angle bends. Fits great, plenty of room.

First off, I generally like the box. I would have given it a 5 if this one particular issue had not shown itself. It's well built, has plenty of room to wire it up, and slides together/apart for easy installation which is dead handy instead of having to disassemble/reassemble it screw by screw.HOWEVER, upon mocking up my components, I found that it does NOT have 3/4" knockouts. It comes precut to 1/2" with well fitting caps that you can remove with your thumbs to install 1/2" conduit. ( after using the finishing adapater, to be mentioned again shortly ) To get to 3/4" you must CUT/DRILL the opening larger. By definition that is not a "knockout/punchout", which takes all of 3 seconds to set on a metal box.I called Reliance directly and told them that their box doesn't accept a 3/4" fitting, and asked if I received a bad box or what, and the response I was given was "you have to modify/cut it like any box even metal. It should only take you 5 or so minutes with a razor knife". After going around in circles with the guy 4-5 times not understanding that "modifying" and "punching out" were very different things I hung up and pulled out my step drill, because although it's annoying that it's falsely advertised as 3/4", I like the rest of it enough to just deal with it. ( though I drilled in another area to be mentioned )With that said, the plastic is ( in my opinion at least ) too thick to safely/accurately cut with a razor knife, which made the suggestion absurd, and I was annoyed by the fact that the guy was giving me an answer telling me that you have to "modify" metal boxes as well, which is simply not true. A screw driver, a hammer, and 3 seconds is what it takes to PUNCHOUT the correct size on a metal box. There is no such perforation/gauge on this box, so you just cut until it fits, which again is not anything close to punching/knocking out.Additionally, there is a ridge on the interior diameter of all of the factory cut holes, that you are supposed to add a small ring component to ( that comes with it ) if you're going to use 1/2" conduit ( which again I find absurd, because basically you either have to "modify" it larger, or use a component to finish it out to 1/2", so basically the hole that they cut is pointless as is, as opposed to providing a proper factory finished 1/2" or 3/4" hole, and instructing to drill larger to a pre-scored diameter, or adapt down )The factory ridge becomes very annoying while drilling out to 3/4", as you don't have a particularly stable place to drill unless you use a drill press and vice or something, since there's already a 1/2" hole in the thing, and frankly is wider than what a 3/4" fitting requires to penetrate, so the integrity between the 3/4" fitting and the box itself would be a lot weaker than it should be. My solution was to simply put the plug back in, and drill a fresh hole ( the box is big enough that this wasn't an issue ), so that it properly fit a 3/4" EMT male fitting ( with a nice a snug fit, no gratuitous/unnecessary gaps, as would have occured if I attempted to use the factory hole with the ridge )What I've decided ( with no data to support me other than the fact that I only found one other review criticizing this issue, and many reviews with people talking about using smaller gauge wire ), is that most people are incorrectly using 8 or 10 gauge wire, and thus 1/2" conduit, ( as putting 4 - 6 gauge wires through 1/2" conduit is just too tight to be safe and not knick up the sheathing as you pull it through ), so most people never realize the issue of the box not truly being set to receive 3/4" conduit without having to work on it with additional tools beyond that which would be used to "knockout" or select the hole size you want/need.In summary, Considering it's a 50amp receptacle, it was very disappointing that the factory cut for conduit is 1/2". To me, it clearly should come as a factory 3/4", and not simply advertised that way, without making it very clear that you will have to modify the hole WELL beyond what a punchout requires sizing wise. At the very least, considering how large the box is, they could VERY easily include both 1/2" and 3/4" factory holes on all three sides, and eliminate the need for customer modification/adaptation all together, instead of trying to maintain that their box is no different than a metal box in regards to having to modify is, which is flatly inaccurate/wrong.

I really like this box--it is heavy duty enough that I think it will weather well, and I was able to install it with 3 1/4" bolts though my siding and sheathing, and I'm confident it can handle the weight of the huge cord as well as the pressure of plugging it in.The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is, much like others here, I can't figure out what they were thinking with the cutouts. Inside the box is a shim you are supposed to add if you want to use 1/2" for some reason (I can't think of a single valid reason), but you can't just leave that out. The punch-out leaves a plastic rim that you have to get rid of. I suppose you could use a razor to cut it, but it wouldn't be very clean. I luckily have a twist-bit that is sized for this, but most people don't, and without a center to anchor on, you can't use a spade bit. It literally would have been better if they didn't include any punch outs, and you just drilled a hole where you need it. At least that way you can use a spade bit, which most people have.All of that said, the plug itself is very sturdy, the box is very sturdy, and I have no regrets.One note: the instructions say not to go above 3/4" for some reason. If you're trying to run 6/3 through a right angle connector, you really need a larger one. I don't see any reason why you couldn't drill a hole for a 1" or 1 1/4" connector somewhere, but it does say not to in the instructions for some reason.

très dur a placer du 6/3 dans les connections,entrée du filage est trop proche pour les vis, et on sait que du 6/3 ne plis pas facilement. si la boite serait plus longe , ce serait beaucoup plus facile. je ne recommande pas ce produit

Great productEasy to install

Works as it should however not even 4 months in and it’s already yellowing from being outside. Not pleased as it wasn’t cheap.

easy installation

Works great as advertised easy to install.