Now the problem I have is getting a USB plug into this outlet. The smallest USB power I could find is https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KXFHHCQ - it has the additional advantage of the USB port being located on the side of the cube so the USB wire doesn’t need more clearance. However, even with the recessed outlet and the small cube, it still sticks out!
I need it to be flush so my tablet can sit on top it . The way I see it, there are 5 options:
Replace the box inside the wall with a deeper box and that can house a regular usb outlet in a recessed manner. Rejected due to potential wall damage
Find a 1 piece recessed outlet that already has a USB port built in. This would be ideal but I haven’t found one - any leads here would be appreciated.
Find an even smaller USB cube that can fit inside my existing recessed outlet (which has a depth of 7/8"). Again - this would be ideal but I haven’t been able to find one.
Find an inline, wire adapter that would convert 110v to the 5v USB A connector I need and just leave the box open behind the tablet. This one makes me a bit nervous but would consider it if I could find the right adapter.
Find a thicker frame for the tablet that will hide the extra thickness of my current setup. I have a Fire-Mount and a MotifsEtc (from Etsy) that are not thick enough, can anyone point me to a Fire 7 (2017) mount that can accommodate an extra 1/2 inch behind the tablet?
If anyone has additional idea that I haven’t considered or solutions for the ideal scenarios I’ve outlined, I’d greatly appreciate it!
There Are lots of options for this. Legrand‘s Pass&Seymour line has a couple, but they may be hard to find.
However, a much easier option is just to buy the empty recessed box frame and then install the separate outlet with the built-in USB charger into that box. You can see a discussion of that option in the following
It’s not hard to do although you may need a second frame piece to cover the screws on the outlet. These are becoming more common because of various home theater setups.
You can also find a lot of discussions of panel mounting options in the following thread:
Another possible option… What is on the other side of the wall? I put an outlet in closet for water softener and it also worked for plugging in USB charger. Then I poked a small-ish hole right behind my tablet for a flat charging cable.
As @kevin suggested, you may be able to find a USB charger small enough to plug into the recessed outlet and still stay inside the box.
I would probably try starting with this one. It’s about half the thickness of the one you tried in your option 3. Note that it’s not a “cube,“ so it might be a different search term than what you were using.
The outlet can accommodate an charger no more than 1.5" wide so the flat one, although good on the depth, is too wide.
The wall behind is a closet so technically I can cut a new outlet box in the closet and wire it from the old switch and then swap the switch out for a pass-through plate. I shudder to think of that though. My other option is to go with something like Brilliant but it costs sooo much.
Since you don’t want to do much work inside the wall, another option is to make a custom picture frame around the tablet that will hold it far enough up off-the-wall to let you use one of the other options.
You can also put the shadowbox frame just around the existing outlet and then use any frame that you like around the tablet itself. The shadowbox frame is there just to hide the wall wart that you are using to power the tablet. That gives you the pedestal effect.
Or you can use a shadowbox for the whole thing and then just hide the wallwart behind the tablet.
