Update on upgrade!

[Born2RV]

I know that my husband and I have bothered all of you with sooooo many questions, and all of you have come through with so much GREAT advice! Needless to say, we could never have gotten this far without you. Yes, I realize we're not done yet - so I'm sure we're gong to need more help!

I thought maybe you'd like to see our progress so far. The first picture is our updated diagram with number coding. (Please let me know if you see any mistakes!!)

The second picture is the empty cabinet with old tube TV removed. Hubby painted the interior black and installed molding along the bottom to secure the receiver, which will sit under the 32" LCD TV. The holes on the left side of the board which holds the mount is for the necessary cables to pass through since it's a flush mount. There will be approximately 1/2" above the TV, and the receiver will show underneath. The shape of the TV BARELY allows the doors on both sides to open.

The third picture is a close up of the mounting board, secured on the inside with four metal "L" brackets and wood screws.

The fourth picture shows how hubby has marked and numbered all the cables to correspond with the drawing.

One other question - since the old tube TV completely filled the space, and now there will be a large empty space behind the TV, should we put any insulation in the front cap? You can see the back of the fiberglass. There's insulation on the ceiling, but it looks as if it was pulled away behind the TV. Is this for safety sake?

Thank you for listening! Again, let us know if you see any problems when you look at the drawing. This project, although very detailed for us, has been rather fun!

[paz]

Born2RV, thanks for the update. I'm going to be doing a similar TV conversion soon, and I'm always interested in seeing and hearing how others have done it. That's what iRV2 is all about - RVers helping other RVers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Born2RV One other question - since the old tube TV completely filled the space, and now there will be a large empty space behind the TV, should we put any insulation in the front cap?

In regard to your question about insulation, our front cabinets get quite hot when we are parked facing the sun in summer. I installed a cooling fan in the cabinet where our satellite receiver box is located, but the receiver still sometimes shuts itself down if it gets too hot. We get a message on the screen saying the internal temperature has exceeded 150 degrees, and we have to get out a larger fan to hang on the cabinet door and wait until the unit cools.

So in answer to your question, I would say insulation behind the cap would probably be helpful - as long as you leave a path for cool air to reach the back of the TV. Just insulate the back of the cap and don't stuff the whole space behind the TV full of insulation. I plan to insulate the back of the cap when I install our TV.

[Tincup]

I upgraded my TV in a similar fashion and had the same large void behind the LCD. I did insulate the the front cap, I also put a 5" muffin fan behind the TV to aid in moving air during the summer, we boondock in the desert and it can get quite hot behind the TV.

[Born2RV]

Thank you! Good to know! We'll insulate in the front cap but leave a void behind the TV. Any special type of insulation that we should use?? Living in Michigan, we usually don't have too much of a "heat" problem - just cold! It's currently 8 degrees and windy!! However, when we go south for vacations, I'm sure it'll help. Let me know if you see anything we've missed in our drawings. Thanks again! We'd love to see pictures of your TV upgrades, too! Always good to get ideas.

[Tincup]

Born2RV,

A friend had a bunch of that rigid styrofoam that comes in packaging, I used that as insulation. It fit just fine and kept it out of the land fill. I covered it with some black cloth the wife had and you can't see it.

I lucked out in my upgrade, the new 32" Sharp TV slipped right into the opening the old TV came out of. There's about a 4" space above the TV which aids in ventilation. I didn't have to re-route any power or TV cables, it's almost like Fleetwood new I was going to do the upgrade

[Retired and Happy]

When you put a muffin fan behind the TV, where does the hot air go?...into the RV? AndI often wondered why the mfgr didn't insulate in the front cap. Too cheap? There's a ton of heat in there most of the year down here, and it's all open to the compartments on both sides of the TV.

[Tincup]

Yes the heat goes into the RV, but don't get visions of heat waves pouring out of the vent space it's almost imperceptible if you put your hand in front of it. The key to keeping electronics happy in a hot environment is to move air across it, even if it's warm air

Here's how I did mine. First I removed the two windshield fans that hung from under the TV over the dash, using a hole saw, I cut two 3" holes where the fans hung and inserted a round plastic vent. Again, I lucked out, the vents match the color of the vinyl,. When I installed the LCD there is a 3" space above the TV, the muffin fan draws air through the vent on the bottom, draws it over the back of the TV and out the top. I switch the muffin fan using the existing wiring and switch for the windshield fan.

Some folks use those windshield fans a lot and would have to figure a different way to cool the TV. In my case, I turned the fans on once to make sure they worked and never again so removing them was no loss for me.

Hope this helps.