Poke Thru Devices | The Communication Blog

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Poke Thru Devices

By June Leuizamo

In the past, your options in terms of poke thru devices have been limited. If you were able to use poke thru devices at all, they were small, inflexible and sometimes they were even against fire code. In case you were wondering just what poke thru devices are, this article will start by a summation of the product.

When you have multiple wires crisscrossing through your office, this can be a hazard to people walking through, as well as a fire hazard. People used to try to manage the wires by stapling them to the wall and covering them with plastic coating. This is often unsightly, and requires much longer cords to accomplish your goals. Another problem with this way of doing things is that if something goes wrong with your wiring, you have a puzzle to figure out.

Poke thru devices are the circular, flat coverings that are installed in the ground that wires can come through. Typically, poke thru devices contain two coverings, which wires use to access the above desk or entertainment unit. The problem with many poke thru devices is that they pose problems for fires, or they are too small to be beneficial. Additionally, these openings for wires often do not open fully, which is almost more hassle than it is worth.

Fortunately, some newer models of poke thru devices aim at solving these problems in an economic and resourceful manner. On today?s market, you can find poke thru devices, also called floor boxes that offer twice the capacity of older lesser brands. You may wonder how this is possible, and one way in which this is accomplished is simply by offering larger overall devices. Now you can buy six or eight-inch poke thru devices, many of which offer a full opening. These new types of openings will open a full 180 degrees, so you can fit more wires through one side.

You can get fully recessed activations, which helps in the fire rating. Also attributing to the fire rating is the fact that many of these poke thru devices boast a flush-mounted conduit for power. The die-cast aluminum cover makes them ideal for many demanding environments, and the intumescent material will maintain fire ratings similar to a concrete or steel floor for approximately two hours.

This intumescent material is very different and more advanced than anything previously seen on the market. Rather than burning, when faced with extreme heat, the material will turn into a glutinous semi-fluid mixture, expanding and bubbling to fill all the spaces. After this, it hardens into a dense material that is impermeable. This intumescent material also meets all the Underwriters Laboratories UL514A and UL514C standards.

The benefits of installing poke thru devices are numerous. With the newer models, you can prevent anything from water to dust from reaching your electrical compartment. This will elongate the life of your wires, and maintain better safety codes. In addition, you can buy dedicated a/v versions of poke thru devices so you no longer have to worry about your computer communications during a given emergency.

If you are thinking of installing poke thru devices, know that they are ideal for almost every environment or floor material. Whether you own carpet or wood floors, you can install poke thru devices for your cables. Keep in mind that these poke thru devices are not meant to be used in damp locations, like bathrooms. Be prepared to be amazed at the various new and improved poke thru devices.

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