# Advice on installing a television outside



## kennykenny (Sep 23, 2007)

I have a covered patio on the back of my house. The patio is a screened in porch. I am wanting to install a television in the porch. I am looking for advice on do/don't's on the how to install, the type of tv, should it be left out over the winter outside etc?I live in Kansas) I am looking to install it over a two sided fireplace on the patio. Is this safe to do? Can the wires be run through the fireplace box? I have a cable box above the fireplace on the interior. 

Thanks for any advice.


----------



## nap (Dec 4, 2007)

> Can the wires be run through the fireplace box?


what is; the fireplace box?

if this is only a covered area I would imagine snow could blow onto the television. Probably not a good thing to have happen since unless an ice age starts between now and the winter of 2015 and you never turn it on, the snow will melt and the electronics inside could be exposed to water.


----------



## kennykenny (Sep 23, 2007)

Wrong terminology, the flue. 

The area that I am considering installing the television will about 10-15ft back from the open screens where the snow water could be coming in. I am considering covering the TV in the winter or disconnecting the television and bringing it inside during the winter. Thus, I would need to cover the wiring during this time. 

I am just throwing out ideas at this point. Thanks!


----------



## nap (Dec 4, 2007)

you surely could not run it through the flue. That is the part where the hot gasses pass through. If you mean between the flue and the chimney, well, I guess it would depend on how hot it gets in there. 

I would imagine it could get quite toasty between the flue liner and the chimney. If so you would not want electrical wiring in there or at least, no wiring that is not rated for whatever temperature it could be exposed to.


----------



## rjniles (Feb 5, 2007)

Regular TVs will not last long in damp humid conditions. Weather resistant TVs are available but quite expensive.


----------



## kennykenny (Sep 23, 2007)

So unless I want to spend a lot of $ for an outside tv, I am out of luck?


----------



## rjniles (Feb 5, 2007)

Install in a weather proof box you can closeup when not using.


----------



## Bob Sanders (Nov 10, 2013)

We leave ours out with no issues (42 inch lcd). We just unplug it and cover it with one of those large 3mil contractor garbage bags to keep any flying snow out. Been doing it for years.


----------



## rjniles (Feb 5, 2007)

Bob Sanders said:


> We leave ours out with no issues (42 inch lcd). We just unplug it and cover it with one of those large 3mil contractor garbage bags to keep any flying snow out. Been doing it for years.


I live in coastal SC. Very long humid summers. Results would depend on your climate.


----------



## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

Personally I would get a bracket that you can have a plate attached to the tv, that you can slide onto the wall mount. Take it out there when you want to watch something. End of the day, unhook the power & HDMI and take it back inside.

As for the weather resistant tv's. Yes they are expensive. But they are expensive, because they are made for outdoor environments.


----------



## wkearney99 (Apr 8, 2009)

There's always a trade off between buying something designed for outdoor use and just planning on replacing it with something cheap every few years. The biggest issue would be viewing quality. Indoor TVs don't always put out enough light, or have glare issues. It would depend on how the light varies on your particular patio. My suggest, try using one of your other TVs out there and see if the picture works.

There are such things as removable TV mounts. Ones designed to allow regular removal of the TV. I use a Levelmount one on our boat. Like one of these:
http://www.levelmount.com/p-37-leve...extends-105-fits-10-to-32-tvs-and-45-lbs.aspx

It has a cleat that gets screwed to the wall. The TV and mount slide down onto the cleat. There's a spring catch that you press to release it from the cleat. 

Just bear in mind that not all cabling and sockets lend themselves to being plugged/unplugged over and over. HDMI sockets can be a bit delicate, so keep them in mind.

As for wiring, you definitely should not put wires through the flue. If it's a manufactured fireplace, one with metal ducting, not masonry, then there MAY be some room inside the structure for wiring. But you'd need to be absolutely sure to avoid having any cabling or other materials ending up in contact with the ducting (or closer than the vendor requires).

What will be driving the TV? Where are you going to put the cable box or other gear that will provide the signal? And if it's not local to the TV then what are you plans on controlling it remotely? One bit of advice, AV receivers that claim to have multiple zone support ARE TERRIBLE AND NEVER WORK AS EXPECTED. So don't go thinking you'll just use a second zone output from a nearby AVR.


----------



## barnabas131 (Oct 9, 2014)

Friends of ours have a pavilion and their outdoor tv is about the same distance out of the weather as your describing and he spent almost 5k on an outdoor TV and says he would never do it again... he said its technologically outdated already and too expensive to be logical to replace he said if he did it again he would just replace it every few years with another cheap tv. you can can get a 50" for $300 these days and putting a new one in every year would still take 10 years + to equal a single outdoor tv.


----------



## carmusic (Oct 11, 2011)

just be sure that ambiant temp will never be over 35-40C where the tv is. as for storage if the tv is covered it can go down to -40C to 70C


----------

