I have a project coming up that had 2 short racks installed with the original system. To get to the backs of these "cabinet racks" you have to slide them out from the wall to reveal the cable mess behind them. Stuff gets unlplugged every time. I am replacing these nightmare racks with 1 real 44 space rack.

I would love to turn the rack sideways so that it faces to the right. It would let me...
a. Hide the wires coming out of the wall.
b. Give me full complete access to the back of the rack.
c. Let me use a fixed rack so it never has to be moved.

The issue is that i might not have enough space to comfortably walk/stand in front of the rack. The existing racks are basically 1/2 box cabinets with rack rails in them so they have a small foot print. A full size rack...slightly off the wall to avoid the "bump" on the back wall may black access enough to stop me from doing it. My drawing is from memory and not to scale. We basically wet out for a service call and an hour later we were hired to replace the entire system. I haven't been back yet to take measurements and i just want to have all my ducks in a row.

IF i have to go with a rolling rack (absolutely hate racks that move) how can i safely bring the existing bundle-out-of-wallplate into the rack so that it can be rolled from the against-the-wall home position to a position where i can access the rear.

To be clear i have done these a dozen times...every time its a series of strategically placed straps zip ties and velcro wraps. What im looking for is something better. A sleeve or tube or whatever you guys have used.

Not interested in slide rail racks or twist racks. I hate those even worse than rolling racks.

Where is the door that enters the space?

The only thing i can remember is that there was just enough space for option 1 fixed rack assuming i dont use a super deep rack.

For easy access to operate controls, I like the forward facing rack. This will also better utilize space because one does not need to reserve an access area for front and rear. If the room is also used for storage, one must protect the rear of the rack unless there is a closed door on the back.

For small cable bundles this doesn't matter much, but I like to use a firm termination at the wall exit and at the rack entrance. (A pair of cable clamps screwed to a stud and the rack) This avoids any strain at the wall exit and inside the rack if things are ever moved. You can use tubing, spiral wrap, Velcro, or ties to keep the bundle neat. I avoid making the ties absolutely tight. This risks that they might slip over time, but it retains a little more bundle flexibility. If the bundle is absolutely ridged, it turns into a large lever arm that tends to break things if disturbed.

Edit: Now that I see the drawing -- if the room is very small, it is probably prudent to have the controls face a door.

It looks like there could be a lot of traffic in this space. I would entertain the idea of front and back doors. Unfortunately, this will impede cooling.

These things can be handy:
[Link: delcity.net]
[Link: delcity.net]

Swing-out wall-mount? I like Paul's work.

MA WR series roll out and rotate?

MA WRK AXS? What do you have against sliding on rails?
(I know a little German, he's right over there.)

These racks suck IMO. They always add an hour to service calls/troubleshooting. Every time i have been to a project that another firm installed they are barely operational or you disconnect everything trying to pull them out.

Wall mount isn't an option. No budget for opening the walls and routing cables etc.

All of the wire in the house comes out of a 2 gang bulk plate and heads to the floor where it then explodes behind the existing racks. It just occurred to me that i could maybe leave it that way and bring it into the bottom of the rack. I could wrap the bundle and attach it up the rack rails instead of trying to hang it into the top. Something like this but with a sleeve around the bundle.




If i can get the fixed rack in sideways im going to have a front and back door and a side panel only on the visible side. That way i can just route cable through the side directly across from the wall plate its coming out of.


This is what i normally use for protecting small bundles. I need something like this but bigger and with a zipper. I just sketched out what i need and emailed it to my mom to see if she can make it for me.

Absolutely the BIGGEST PAIN IN THE you know what rack EVER made. Take longer to set up and take down than it does to get to that little thing you need to do behind the rack.

I remember I used to help another guy with job's that a particular electrician did.

The electrician thought he was a low volt guy, and he used to wire up shorter, side by side pull out/rotating racks, inside wooden cabinets that were just big enough.

Then he would pre-wire with that really thick garden hose sized structured wiring from AudioQuest (with 5 mini coaxial cables and a Cat5).

What a god-awe full mess!

The wall mount racks that I've used aren't ideal, but they are the best fit for some projects.  These are DWR and there are knockouts in the top so the wiring doesn't need to enter from the wall behind the rack.  I dressed up the wires with Panduit finger duct:










Here's a job I'm working on right now with a pair of BGR ganged together with the cable chase between them and wiring coming in the top:











This is a single ERK with cables coming out of the wall high up and then into the top of the rack:





Problem with having the cables down low and on the floor is that the always get bunched up under the rack so you can't roll it back.  If you have access behind the rack might not be as much of an issue, but a big bundle of wires on the floor attracts dust and makes it difficult to clean.

How big is the trunk?

I assume if it fits through a 2gang box, it won’t be bigger than a 4” pipe.

[Link: lowes.com]

This is slightly off topic, but you're going to be hamstrung by the length of the existing cables.

I know I'm very much in the minority, but I consider it a best practice to land all structured wiring - except category cable intended for HDMI distribution - on wall mounted patch panels.

That way, you spare stressing the structured wires (which you cannot readily replace), can make the patch cables running to the rack any length you need, and can swap patch cables as needed when you change the rack layout.

I don't have a good picture to illustrate this, but here it goes...

To ensure that I can push the rack all the way back to the wall and also swing it out of the way, I'll situate the rack so that when it's against the wall, the bundle enters the rack from the wall *just* inside one of the rails. Then I put a flat (non-offset) lacing bar as high as I can, usually in the top rack space.

I'll allow a few feet or so for a loop, then tie the bundle to the lacing bar on the opposite side of where the bundle exits the wall, then run the bundle along the lacing bar. The length of the loop will ensure that the bundle doesn't bend much at all.

If I do it correctly, what ends up happening is that the bundle will basically fold up within the rails of the rack when it's pushed back, and as long as there's nothing in the way, you can push the rack all the way back until the rack touches the baseboard. Plus, you can sort of pivot the rack out of the way and the bundle won't be crossing in front of you when you're there for service.

I'll try to get a picture...

We do it this way as well. never a problem, looks great.