Plasma Above Fireplace

[ssjody]

I am mounting my plasma TV above my fireplace in an opening I am constructing. This will be a pocket that will be completely sealed off from the actual flue area of the fireplace. I plan on putting some vents in the top of the pocket to allow the heat that rise's a place to escape out the top. My plan is to have the front of the TV flush with the wall with about a 1 inch gap completely around the perimeter of the TV. The TV will be mounted on a bracket and will have plenty of breathing room on the back side. Before construction began I took a heat reading directly above the fireplace and the heat hardly even rose directly above the mantle. The fireplace is a gas unit that vents horizontally straight out the back rather than having a flue that runs vertically.

My question is: Am I going to be ok as far as heat goes by placing the TV inside this pocket? I'd hate to ruin my new plasma TV by making a stupid mistake. Thanks Jody

 

[saurabh]

The heat might not come from the fireplace only, it could be from the plasma TV running over time also. So plan for a proper ventilation.

 

[JohnA]

As Saurabh said, the Plasma will need to breath; they do heat up over time and need proper ventilation. You may want to consider placing a small fan on a thermal switch so that if it reaches over a certain temp. then the switch will turn on and the fan will help to circulate the air to cool things down. Good Luck

 

[ssjody]

Thanks for the advice. I'm thinking the cooling fan may be the way to go.

Jody

 

[av-man]

I have several installed above fireplaces. If the heat rising from the fireplace is not a problem then an inch or 2 all the way around the unit has proven to be enough so far. Most manufacturors print their clearance requirements.

 

[ssjody]

I bought a Toshiba and the manual address the clearance for the Rear but did not give the requirements for the perimeter. It's good to know someone has did what I'm doing and didn't have any problems. Thanks for the input.

Jody