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Home audio & video: Is it safe to mount a flat screen over my fireplace?
- 2/27/09 2:41 PM
fireplace;
by ronnem - 2/28/09 12:25 AM In reply to: I reckon DLP by TreknologyNetwhy dont you place a thermometer where you plan to place your TV, and then take recordings.electronics need to disperse heat not gain heat.
MOUNTING TV OVER FIREPLACE
by Petes - 2/28/09 12:40 AM In reply to: I reckon DLP by TreknologyNetTV and fire simultaneously, YES, i have this set up and it is cool. No distraction from watching tv. Check your inner chimmney piping to see if you have space between it and the outer chimmney wall(inside your house) for any heat to dissipate. You should and that should give you green light to mount tv as I have. Also using a tilting mounting bracket is the ideal way to go for added spacing from wall and perfect angling of line of sight to you on couch!
Not if it's a wood burning fireplace
by weinmang - 2/20/09 6:44 PM In reply to: Is it safe to mount a flat screen over my fireplace? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
A gas fireplace emits very little soot and only after a long period of disuse such as a week or more. A wood fireplace always spills out soot until the flue heats enough to draw well. Any TV mounted over a fireplace will attract soot, especially a plasma TV. Whether to mount the TV over the sheet rock or to remove a section of sheet rock is more a matter of how the TV looks. I would worry more about the flue heat if the sheet rock were removed, particularly if it is an older brick chimney.
TV over the fireplace
by BHarris - 2/20/09 6:44 PM In reply to: Is it safe to mount a flat screen over my fireplace? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Outside of certain electronics that are designed for the military and NASA, there is none that is designed to withstand the added heat of a nearby fire. Heat is one of the most destructive environmental things you can do to electronics after "wet."
It certainly does look great to have your big screen hanging over the mantle where the family portrait used to hang, but it is one of the worst places you can put the screen. The heat and extreme dryness will prematurely age all the electronics and plastics in the unit. The plastic frame around the screen and the protective plastic surface on the screen will discolor, grow brittle, and warp. It may even invalidate your warranty as that is not a "normal" temperature and humidity environment for any electronics.
Now, having brow-beat you with that warning, let me suggest something. Gas fired fireplaces rarely produce the kind of heat a wood or charcoal fireplace do. Before you hang the screen (because, I assume, like most people, the aesthetics will win out), put a thermometer on the mantle and monitor it while you run the fireplace for 12 to 18 hours or so (I suggest that duration to mimic your starting the fireplace when company comes for the big game in the afternoon or for dinner and you forget to shut it off until you wake up in the morning.) If it doesn't get over a reasonable room temperature during that time, then you can probably assume that the screen will survive just fine. If it gets much hotter up there, then I'd strongly suggest that you find a different place for your new flat screen.
Additional considerations even if the heat isn't an issue: most plasma screens have a glass front and most LED and LCD units have a plastic front and the additional dust and particulate matter disbursed by the fireplace will quickly find its way into the electronics (and stick to the screen) due to static electric charges, That coating of dust will also make the electronics heat up more and end up with a shorter lifespan as well.
I should not have to point out that digging into the sheet rock over the fireplace (where the flue is!) gets the set closer to the heat rising off the fire from behind and will just increase the risk.
Now, if you replace the actual fire with a fitted flatscreen playing an endless loop of a fire and the crackling sound you'll be fine!
Probably, but ....
by Watzman - 2/20/09 6:48 PM In reply to: Is it safe to mount a flat screen over my fireplace? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Before we get into the considersations that promted your question .... let me raise another issue: Installation over a fireplace may simply be too high. You may end up with a sore neck after watching a movie.
That said, your primary concern was damage to the TV from the fireplace. I doubt that is likely to be a problem. I'd be more hesitant if it was a wood burning fireplace, but by comparison gas fireplaces are pretty "tame". Still, I would want to monitor the temperature above the fireplace. Buy a digital thermometer with a wired probe (the outdoor probe of an indoor/outdoor thermometer ... probably about $10-$20 for an indoor outdoor model) and place it in several areas (top, bottom, center, corners) of where you are going to mount the TV and see how hot it gets. I'd be getting concerned if you find readings above 90 to 100 degrees (F), and I'd be very concerned if you get readings above 120, but I doubt that you will.
As to how to mount it, no way would I cut out the drywall (sheet rock). I'd use a bracket, which MUST be fastened to the STUDS, not to the drywall.
Another consideration for mounting over a fireplace is that you can't drop cables "down" from the TV, either inside the wall or on the front of the wall. So give that some thought also.
I put ours IN FRONT of the fireplace
by heidrichj - 2/27/09 11:23 PM In reply to: Probably, but .... by WatzmanOur fireplace is raised up about 14 inches, set in the middle of a rock wall, with a hearth deep enough to accommodate our 50" HDTV. Although it would be nice to have a fire every now and then, we just put the TV in front of the FP. Nobody knows there is one there, but it sure makes a nice TV stand, and puts our KDFE50A10 at the perfect height.
Another option for fireplace-friendly TV watching.
I do worry sometimes about wind dislodging some dirt from the chimney that might go into the TV, but so far for 4 years that has not been an issue.
It's a bit chilly tonight. I guess I better fire up the TV. <grin>
mounting tv over fireplace
by catebeckstein - 2/28/09 7:03 AM In reply to: Probably, but .... by WatzmanI recently did just that. I have a vent free gas fireplace which does throw a lot of heat. It works fine. I put glass doors over the component parts and sometimes I have to crack the doors open a bit but everything is working fine. One thing in retrospect that I should have done ( because I moved the fireplace to a corner and had it built in) was to run a pvc pipe down the chase to the floor to fish wires for speakers etc to the basement. The way the electrician did it was pretty stupid looking back because the holes in the floor to basement and then out the entertainment center are too far apart to make threading anything easy.
It is likely safe....here's why:
by metacinema - 2/20/09 7:23 PM In reply to: Is it safe to mount a flat screen over my fireplace? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
To qualify this reply, let me state that I have been custom designing and installing home theaters for over 20 years from So. California to Portland, OR, from Hawaii to Texas.
And I have mounted many plasmas and LCDs above fireplaces.
Most fireplaces have a mantle, a kind of shelf where precious family photos and other flammable items get routinely perched. Notice that they do not burn, or even yellow over time. That is because the heat projects out into the room more than curls directly up the wall from the combusting hearth.
Some fireplaces do not have this shelf, but even then rising heat is not a factor. Many fireplaces also have a set of tempered glass doors which further contain and/or radiate the heat directly out into the room.
Your biggest concern in this type of installation scenario should be "To what material will I actually be attaching the hefty lag bolts that hold the TV mount to the wall?" Construction above a fireplace opening is often a hollow framed "box" employing non standardized stud spacing and can have 2X4s set sideways (the more shallow way as opposed to the deeper way in the rest of the house).
An accurate stud-finder will help you discover how the wood is situated. The better scanario is to find "narrower" studs, indicating that the 2X4 are set in the more structurally load-bearing position. It is a good idea to take a lot of readings and make a lot of pencil marks to get a clearer "picture" of what you've got back there.
Another trick is to make an outlet-shaped hole between the most centered of the studs, get a small mirror (taped to a stick) and a flashlight and take an actual look at what you have back there if you can. This hole will be needed anyway to get your video interconnects and power up behind the TV, so dont' worry about making one (just be sure its not bigger than the retro-fit back-box you fit into to finish the job off.
If the fireplace and above it is solid brick instead, don't hesitate to drill holes exactly where your TV mounting plate dictates. You should not worry about breaching the flue, as that is embedded much deeper into the structure than a 3" lag bolt or expanding bolt-sleeve will require.
To sum up, heat is not a factor...unless you have a poorly designed fireplace, in which case mounting a TV there should be the least of your concerns!
Good luck and let me know how it goes.
Radames Pera
getitwired_dot_com
lcd on to a fireplace
by cdmike50 - 2/28/09 10:03 AM In reply to: It is likely safe....here's why: by metacinemaim my opinion if you are cutting holes into a flue i would get a gasengineer to check if it is safe to do or you could poison yourself with co2 from your fire
Is it safe to put a flat screen over a fire place?
by geofbrewer - 2/20/09 7:28 PM In reply to: Is it safe to mount a flat screen over my fireplace? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
No! Ergonomically it is bad for your neck and the necks of other viewers. In addition the viewing angle is less than ideal. Granted, the viewing angle of flat screens has improved dramatically, children will be greatly disappointed if viewing from a prone position. Now for the technical answer or rather the technical question. Is the fireplace functional and will it be used at any time? Technical answer is still: No! Heat is bad for the display itself and the electronics inside the case. The unit will overheat and the life expectancy of the unit will be greatly diminished. Probably the warrenty will be voided as well. I sell these things. Cool air and the space to allow cool air to circulate around a flat screen is very, and I mean very important. It's a decorators nightmare, but so were component stereos. Wait awhile the new thing will be "wall screens" ala "Fahrenheit 451".
LCD's Over the Fire Place Should Survive However
by galvang - 2/20/09 7:30 PM In reply to: Is it safe to mount a flat screen over my fireplace? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Being in expert in displays and working with them for many years, LCDs should survive over the fireplace, however if there is any extra heat propagating from your fireplace the heat may degrade the life of the display and additionally may affect some of the performance parameters of the panel.
LCD’s coming from a reputable manufacture should be able to operate reliably up to and maybe beyond the ambient air temperatures of 50C (120F). Sony, Samsung, Sharp, LG should be fine. Fireplaces should not get that hot. With the additional heat source the following could be affected:
1. CCFL lamps may have shorted life from 40Khours perhaps to 30K hours.
2. Response time of the LCD may be slowed. However, I do not believe human eyes will notice it.
3. Brightness and contrast and therefore color gamut may be affected.
To make sure I would suggest in measuring the air temperature in and around the mounting of the LCD and determine if it’s too warm. Check the specifications of the LCD to make sure there is no doubt. The LCD manufacture should specify an operational temperature. If the temperatures are not overly hot you should be fine.
Expert in displays
by geofbrewer - 2/20/09 8:02 PM In reply to: LCD's Over the Fire Place Should Survive However by galvangI don't doubt your expertise in displays. I do question your understanding of domicile construction. Barbara mentioned encasing the display. That would mean additional insulation, fireproofing and forced air ventilation. You might want to consult an architect, mechanical engineer, possibly refer to the National Electrical Code or one of those helpful references. What would really be interesting would be the heat shimmer in front of the dispaly.
I am Assuming it is Mounted Outside the Wall
by galvang - 2/20/09 9:01 PM In reply to: Expert in displays by geofbrewerI agree it is critical to have airflow or ventilation especially from bottom to top. Heat coming from the internal power components need to be dissapated and airflow transfers that heat. I do not reccommend inside the wall unless there are proper ventilation meaning no airflow obstruction to the flat panel.
It's a TV, not art.
by mwindeler - 2/20/09 7:51 PM In reply to: Is it safe to mount a flat screen over my fireplace? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
TVs are meant to be at eye level. People seem to have forgotten that now that flat TVs have arrived. I have a suggestion. Sit down on your coach or chair and "watch" the area over the fireplace for 30 minutes. Trust me, that little incline is going to kill your neck. And if you slouch down to get a better angle, then you're back will hurt. It's just an awful idea. Also, many TVs aren't meant to be looked at from that angle - just like many TVs fade out too far left or right. Resist the urge.
No ill effects watching tv above a fireplace
by dgradijan - 2/20/09 8:23 PM In reply to: It's a TV, not art. by mwindelerMy family as well as many friends have had our tv's mounted above the fireplace for more than a year. Result: no neck pain, no back pain, or any other malady. I can only imagine it would be an issue if you were positioned too close for any angle.
If you tilt the screen like the mounts are designed to do you don't have the issue of proper angle.
The eyes do most of the moving not the neck or back unless again, you are simply too close.
the benefits of more floor space, no pets or kids cutting off the view far outweigh concern over viewing angle(which is not an issue if properly mounted)
An added benefit if you have an open floor plan is the ease of viewing while doing other activities.
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