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Plasma TV Over Fireplace - Blower Needed?

18 years ago

We are planning on putting a plasma TV on a mantle above a gas fireplace. We have just been told that we should consider installin a blower inside the fireplace to blow heat out to save the mantle and TV. Does anyone have any experience with this or stories to share? How much noise does a blower make?

Thanks.

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Comments (8)

rawcmr
18 years ago
I would get one because of the tremendous amont of heat that your tv would absorb. I actually do not know how loud it'll be tho

Here is a link that might be useful: Outdoor Fireplaces
senecastren
18 years ago
I have a gas stove insert in my fireplace (it came with the house and was installed by a previous owner after a chimney fire from burning wood scared them away from woodburning). The stove is cast iron and radiates heat into the room. It also has a blower mechanism inside to assist with pumping out the heat. The blower is quieter than the blower on the central forced air furnace, quite a bit quieter. It comes on automatically when the stove is hot enough and turns off as well when the stove cools down. I consider it a valuable added feature.
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I put the TV on a separate wall than the wall which will eventually have a wood burning stove. (The mantle and backdrop is already in place. Right now I am dealing with homeowners insurance that doesn't want me to have one.) I don't watch much TV at all, and I really dislike - for me - having an ugly black box being the center of living room attention. When I have guests over, we're here to talk. I can think of exceedingly few occasions I'd be watching the idiot box with guests. Probably if they were here several days, we'd rent a movie or two via Amazon Prime. (Moot point right now, COVID and all.... but hopefully that won't last...) And with a wood burning stove, the exhaust pipe will go up and bisect the view of any TV over the mantle. I sat down on the couch to figure out the best viewing height - which is well below what the mantle might ever be, at least on this couch. It would be fine if I could lean back and rest my head, to have something over mantle height - assuming I'd go with a regular fireplace. But at six feet tall - there just isn't a couch or sofa like that. Plus as others have said, what about decorations? I enjoy decorating my mantle for various holidays! After all, that's really what mantles are for, right? The thing is off to the side, and it does not get glare there, either.
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To be honest, I'm only putting in the fireplace because it would look stupid without one, as EVERY new home in my area has one. (Most people try to convince me I need one in the office/den and master as well, which I am refusing to do). We will likely seldom use it, though maybe with a gas one I may switch it on some evenings for a bit. We live in California, though we are both transplants here, so we seldom find it cool enough to warrant needing it. Ideally I'd like the fireplace and TV on different walls altogether, but I can't do that without giving up windows, and that isn't an option! Currently our TV is over our fireplace and it doesn't bother me as our mantel is relatively low, and with those new landscape fireplaces it could be lower. For instance, in the second image the TV isn't too high, and I think the fireplace could even be dropped another few inches. I do think I solved my own issue as with the curtains it wouldn't be safe (or look good) to have a corner fireplace. So TV over the fireplace it is :) Also, now that I stare at all these photos some more I realize I like the clean look of not having a table beneath the TV, and if there wasn't a fireplace it looks silly to not have anything under the TV. So the decision is complete! Thanks for your advice, and helping me talk myself into a decision! :)
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mountainstoveguy
18 years ago
Instead of toasting your nice new plasma tv, why dont you just ship it to me.
MountainStoveGuy
P.o Box...
pjjview
18 years ago
We have had a 50" Panansonic Plasma over our wood burning fireplace for two years. We do Not have a blower and we have had no problems. That said, we live on the west coast and only use our fireplace 10 times a year.
pesto_sauce
18 years ago
Hi, this may be unwanted info, but I'm a big AV enthusiast, and everything I hear and read in the AV / Home Theater community strongly cautions against mounting TV's above fireplaces. This is both for the concern you have, but also because it's after a while considered a pain in the neck (literally) to have the TV mounted up there.
It's apparently preferred to have it at eye level when you're sitting down. From my readings, both in AV magazines, as well in online forums, I hear it is uncomfortable having to look up to see the TV, especially w/prolonged viewings.

And I admit, the idea of having it exposed to the smoke and possibly the heat makes me uncomfortable enough to not have tried it myself.
niineta
18 years ago
Last year when we looked at the "parade of homes" almost every home had a fireplace with a TV on the mantle. What a great idea we thought. It solves that problem of what to put over the fireplace. So we built a room for a home theatre over the garage, put in a gas fireplace and are in the process of mounting a Stewart Firehawk screen over the fireplace. We had a cabinet built into the wall across from the screen for a projector. It is too late to change the location. We have realized that the "pain in the neck" is going to be a real issue so now our only option is to put the seating up on a platform. I wish we had posted here before we started the whole thing!
clking003
18 years ago
You should check with the manufacturer, as this type of application may render the plasma television's warranty void.
woodinvirginia
17 years ago
Somewhere on this board I saw a couple that had their TV (in florida mind you) mounted INSIDE the fireplace. It was a plasma TV as well.

In the Fireplace convention this year the rage is the Gas fireplace that turns into a Waterfall . Oh, about the TV over the fireplace, they are a pain in the neck to watch!

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