I was wondering peoples thoughts on patch panels. I was using loaded patch panels but the cost seemed be going up and up. I am able to get deals on jacks and lately have been using unloaded panels. It also seems quicker to terminate an unloaded patch.
Any thoughts?

Big vote for unloaded patch panels from me for several reasons.

1)If it's even remotely possibly that you could end up needing a 48 port patch panel, there's hardly any difference in cost between 24 port and 48 port unloaded patch panels. Standardize on the 48 port unloaded patch panel, and you can plan for proper cable management right from the start. Otherwise the 24 port patch panel you add later will never quite fit right with everything else.

2)If you have a wall mount rack, unloaded patch panels are the only way to go. You can't do proper cable management with a loaded patch panel if you can't get behind the rack. If you need to work on it later, or worse, terminate a few more runs, there's no contest which one is going to be easier.

3)It's not ideal, but if you really need to you can mix categories on a single patch panel. 6 position, 8 position, Cat5e, Cat6, no problem. Maybe the customer originally went with Cat5e but they insist on the 5 new drops being Cat6.

4)Someone plugged in a line cord and bent the pins? Easy to fix vs. this patch panel always has a bad port.

5)Cable management: We really shouldn't be strapping the cables in a bundle to the back on the patch panels any longer. Can't really do that with an unloaded patch panel. It forces you to at least look at doing proper cable management.

6)As you mention, sometimes you can get deals on jacks. You probably have lots of jacks in your inventory, but you don't want to carry hundreds of dollars worth of patch panels as well. Smaller investment in the unloaded patch panels means you can keep a few in the truck making you more flexible when requirements change or jobs come up out of the blue.

The place I buy my patch panels from, it's cheaper to get them already wired if the port count is more than 50%. It's close on the 12 port, but 24 or larger, I'll just buy the loaded panel. I always carry a 12 and 24 port loaded and a 12-port empty plate on the truck.

Carl

I've been using unloaded for quite awhile

I've used both extensively over the years, in various manufacturers and configurations,

In retrospect, I'd say I'm partial to the unloaded.

Sam

Same reasons as Clinton plus you can color code your jacks for different applications.

There's always the issue of an unloaded panel that's manufacturer specific such as Amp, Panduit or Systimax. Even keystones can vary enough to be unusable or unstable enough the jack has to wedged in. Unloaded panels do offer flexibility, no question about it.

Unloaded, always. It's rare to fill a whole 24 ports in one job in my town, but common to go and add one or a few at a time at some later date.
A cheapish rack and dozen jacks is easier for the customer to swallow at the begining than a loaded panel they may never use.
Being able to add runs without disturbing a live network is well worth it. There's enough 'service man syndrome' - something unrelated fails while you were in the building and you get blamed, that we don't need to go increasing the odds of actually being at fault by handling loaded panels for those little quick jobs. Once the CG laces it up with spaghetti and banjo strings I want to to be near them as little as possible. Unloaded FTW.

I normally use loaded panels, on big jobs anyway.
Sometimes all I need is a 12 port that fits an 89D bracket.

Funny "unloaded" patch panel story:

I struggled once to terminate a job that someone else started. The wall-mount lockable rack was in an ackward position...you had to lean off-side the ladder to reach/punch-down. 40+ cables on two 24-port patch panels. By the end of the day, I was hurtin'.

I go back a few weeks later to add a cable, dreading the lower back & foot pain from being twisted-up trying to punch-down. About 1 min. in, I take a closer look (for the first time) at the patch panel and realize all the jacks snap in individually. It was an unloaded panel and I didn't realize it until the very last cable was added...

Sign me,

Chief Idiot

Unloaded is the only way to go using jacks and a quick termination tool...like the Jackrapid. The only exception to this for me is if I am filling up a 12 port or smaller panel...then the 66 mounted panel works fine.

Thanks for everybodys input. It is nice to hear that we think alike on some things.

It must be that because I'm such an enormous fan of Leviton that I cannot cost-justify an unloaded patch panel.

Oh I agree that they're a cool, flexible, pay-as-you-go solution, but those individual keystones add up. Of course I can pass the cost along to the customer, but if we're talking about apples to apples COSTS (alone) of say a 48-port loaded versus unloaded, man I don't see how you can justify using the unloaded.

Perhaps it's that I'm just getting a nice deal on the loaded Leviton P/Ps, because I consider my keystone price to be pretty low (they are bought in large quantity).

Tim mount that loaded panel on a rack that has very little space behind it and terminate 5 cables to it. Leave it there with the CG for a couple months then go back to install another 15 cables. Now figure your labor time vs the cost of loaded or unloaded and see how they compare.

How 'bout when the IT dept. uses 1' patch cords to the switch on a Front accessible (hinged) loaded panel.. thank you very much!