Waterproof Box

Peter Scargillitead21 Comments on Waterproof Box

Itead weatherproof boxA quiet post day today, some exciting gadgets I’m expecting remain in the postal system… but this little box turned up unexpectedly from Itead… it’s a waterproof box no doubt intended for their Sonoff products – and it would do a good job as their smaller units will fit into it no problem – handy for an outside light and you still get to see the flashing communication light.

However, it immediately occurred to me that it would be good for various other projects – ESP8266 etc. where you need the whole thing outdoors and maybe have a display on-board. Indeed I have such a thing in Spain where I have a little LCD backlit display monitoring the solar installation. It’s in a wooden box and I’m just hoping the weather out there won’t get to it (not much I can do if it does).

So anyway, not too exciting but I thought you’d like a look – no it won’t fit a Raspberry Pi unfortunately – JUST – and there’s no way to shave anything off those pillars – but it would take one of the smaller SBCs or an ESP8266 + small PSU no problem.  Now, how practical it will be depends on postage from where you are.

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21 thoughts on “Waterproof Box”

  1. Be careful when using cheaper waterproof boxes. They may claim they have an IP67 rating, but generally aren’t.

    A good guide is to screw the box together without any electronics in it and dunk it quickly into a deep bath for a second or two, dry the outside off with a towel and then open it up to see if there was any penetration.

    If it doesn’t, then it’s fine for use outside.

    1. That’s very good advice Mick and not a lot of hassle to ensure your super new gadget doesn’t get a soaking.

  4. Here is a tip for mounting displays and indicators and getting them looking professional without cutting/drilling/etc.

    1) Take a display, remove and keep the screen protector.
    2) Hot glue the display in place (on the outer edges of the pcb!!!)
    3) Put the screen protector over the display on the outside of the box
    4) Carefully spray with Car paint – not too much
    5) When dry, carefully remove Screen protector film to reveal a window of the exact size of the screen!
    (use circular film etc for indicators)

    Very quick and effective!.
    Picture of one of my “IoTBox” demo sensors
    https://i1.wp.com/blog.spants.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2015-06-28-14.38.19-e1435500948433.jpg

    2. Well, now that I have Tony’s trick for spraying and using the display cover as a mask – I think I’ll be having one of those AliExpress boxes to tinker with as well. Very good.

      1. Nice idea
        I haven’t tried this but maybe painting the inside of the lid might work better as the paint can’t be scratched off

            1. I usually paint the outside after the display has been glued in place. That way I can get the display perfectly aligned. Was harder to paint and align inside

      1. You’re right but in that case, and even being exterior dimensions, a RPi shouldn’t fit inside the case?

            2. and why anyone should stick an EXPENSIVE raspberry out on the wild, instead of keeping it inside, well cared, and leave a “cheap stupid” esp8266 outside to do data collection sending it to the indoor *Pi…

                1. I quite agree, Neil – though when I use an ESP8266 it is normally talking to Node-Red on a full Pi machine…

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