Our builder was asked to put sockets on the chimney breast (new build) so we could mount a flat screen tv. he has said "no" as the cable could melt or tv could blow up!! Has anyone else had a tv put on the chimney or are any experts out there can advise if this would be safe enough to have a tv on the chimney and we could have sockets put on ourselves when we move over

Well I guess it depends on the chimney design, but in general I wouldn't think of putting one on mine. The heat generated by the wood burning cassette is quite intense, and hot air comes out of vents on the chimney. Although the wall exterior is not hot, the wires would be buried in the wall and could be subject to heat. Also heat from the fire would rise over the TV

Also, if you are having a plasma, some of those can generate a fair amount of heat also.

If you have a working fire, I wouldn't have thought it to be a good idea

That's really funny you should mention it!

You're buying a house similar to ours. One observation from visiting the site last weekend is that the chimney breasts are quite high up (almost head height) compared to typical UK fireplaces. I remember thinking "glad we didn't opt to have a flat screen TV there as it would (a) look stupid and (b) we'd all end up almost staring at the ceiling."

Probably the better the fire is at heating the room, the greater the chance of toasting your telly.

One thing - we haven't watched TV (other than a few DVDs) since moving here. Can anyone tell me who won big brother? And did Claire really start that fire in Corrie or was it that strange woman who seems to have a shine for Ashley?

Thanks for the advice, will just have to re-think!!

Brian won BB8. Twins came in 2nd!

Strange woman did it - also slept with Ashley - Claire and Ashley then split up but got back together on Sunday

Back to the tv, I have a house with fireplace and due to the stupidly large size of the patio doors, have decided about a plasma on the chimbreast. I spoke to a tv guy who said you can do it but advised to place a fireguard under the tv to protect against smopke and heat. The metal plate holding the tv allows space to ensure the back of the tv isnt touching the chimney wall. BUT the way I was going to do it and have planned it is to place it above the mantelpeice, placing all wires in a plinth upon which the tv sits. This protects the tv from the rising heat and possible smoke and allows access to all the wires, back of tv etc in case you need to get to them.

Dont forget though, plasmas run hotter compared to LCD, and you're going to introduce it to an area of increased heat even if you put a guard up

linda;
you can have heat resistant cable installed the cable can withhold temp's to 1000C its expensive though its a twin & earth power cable rated at 27Amp but as i say expensive, then again someone said the TV will generate excessive heat, so would you want the heat from the TV also heat from the fire place in the one area, i would suggest moving the TV. the cable would be OK But i would be looking at the temp at the rear of the Tv that will almost certainly build up the longer the TV is on.???????

FP200 will only withstand up to 125 degrees C (normal operating conditions) depending on the manufacturer - the 950 degrees rating is for when the cable is actually on fire and will only last for three hours! Only MICC will run at just over 1000 degrees, but at a greatly reduced life.

Neither cable is particularly expensive - it's just finding someone who would sell you a couple of metres rather than a 1km roll!

Both cables require proper termination - especially MI - and that's where you'd come unstuck - the termination will cost more than the cable and still won't solve the problem as one end would be in the heat affected area! How do you then transfer safely to a non-rated outlet as this would preumably need to be buried in the wall too?

And, yes, I suspect the life of the telly, in the event of using the fire, would be seriously diminished.

I just checked the safety instructions for a Sony LCD and it says:-

"Do not install the TV in places subject to extreme temperatures, for example in direct sunlight, or near a radiator or near a heating vent. If the TV is exposed to extreme temperatures the TV may overheat and cause deformation of the casing or cause the TV to malfunction."

I would think mounting it on the chimney breast would qualify under that warning. Whether a Plasma set is more vulnerable I don't know but either way you can kiss your warranty goodbye!

Most good builders yards sell it off the roll, but placing a lcd or plasma above a working wood fire is not a good idea as the smoke and soot build up inside the tv could if the right damp conditions became present might well become conductive. And then it would be au revoir, adiós to the tv. And high temps reduce the tv's life span

http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/p...fireplace.html

No matter how good the chimney is at removing the smoke, some will escape and rise to the TV, eventually this will coat the screen AND the inside, and it's very corrosive. So NOT a good idea above an open fire no matter how good the insulation behind it is. The ones you see on Programmes on the TV are all above CLOSED fires, so no smoke can affect them, and the smoke etc from the fire is ducted away, which means the chimney breast doesn't get very hot.

So glad i found this site!! Thanks everyone for the advice, much appreciated