wall mount, are you supposed to use spacers?

[sparkymarky]

I have bought the following wall mount: PLB105M Super Slim 37-50" LCD/Plasma TV Wall Mount Bracket Height Adjustable


it comes with two diferent length screws- 20mm and 40mm -so you can use the supplied spacers with the longer screw.

which is the ideal method (ignoring ease of hdmi conectors etc) n terms of load bearing etc. the reason i ask is the screws seem to be out of the panel a long way (the spacers are 20mm so there is 20mm of screw inside the spacer and not in the panel).

should i not be concerned by this? i take it other people use spacers and the plasmas dont fall off!

[M.D. Klapwijk]

It looks a lot like mine from Audipack, which also had 2 different bolt lengths (even multiple diameters) washers and spacers.

The plastic spacers are used to keep the vertical beams from hitting the tv casing and the metal washer is to prevent the casing from cracking when bolting the beams to the tv.

The most important is that the bolt uses most (not all, if it is threaded to the end!) of the thread in the tv, so when tightning you don't damage the screen. Please note that using only 30% of the thread in the bushing, wouldn't be a great idea as well...

[M.D. Klapwijk]

And fitted to the tv. Notice the metal beam between the 2 plastic spacers...

[albriscoe]

Mmmm!!

I`ve used the plastic spacers when mounting the bracket to a dot n dab plasterboard wall as it saves the plasterboard from cracking.

I certainly wouldn`t use them for spacing the tv off the bracket, whats the point

Right or wrong I`ve no idea but would like to hear why people would want to use them on the bracket to tv issue

[M.D. Klapwijk]

Normally a wall mount only has the fastening material for the tv, not the wall. This because of the different types of walls (concrete, plasterboard etc.) and their different type of mounting plug/bolts.

The plastic spacers are to keep the beams from the plastic tv case, preventing it from braking/cracking. (My Samsung isn't flat at the rear for example...)

[chelsea.tone]

Never used spacers on mine, defeats the point of a slim bracket.

[M.D. Klapwijk]

Just make sure you space it out just enough, so that the mount doesn't touch the plastic of the tv housing. It would be a shame to crack your tv over 2 mm of spacing, imho.

[sparkymarky]

thanks for the pictures and posts guys.
so, seeing as the back of my tv is perfectly flat, i should be able to use the shorter m8 screws without the spacers and not do any damage?

from what you guys are saying, its only if i have a slight curve on the back of the tv that i need to be worrried about cracking it and so in that case should use spacers?

[sparkymarky]

albriscoe, i just look at your thread, and you have a pic of your samsung tv and you have got spacers between the tv and the two brackets...? have i misunderstood u ?

Big Al`s Big Basement Build Bonanza............Part 2 (my god he`s still here)

[M.D. Klapwijk]

This picture is a lot clearer indeed:

Just use the washers, so you get 1 or 2 mm of clearance between the mounts and the back of your tv. This will make sure is applies only presure to the metal supports in the tv.

[sparkymarky]

yea, i think the washers alone. unlike the picture which has
the spacers.....

[M.D. Klapwijk]

On my tv the mounting points are lowered in the casing so I needed the spacers to get 3 mm clearance. I even used the bigger spacers at the bottom, to get the tv level...

Succes with your project.

[albriscoe]

Originally Posted by sparkymarky

albriscoe, i just look at your thread, and you have a pic of your samsung tv and you have got spacers between the tv and the two brackets...? have i misunderstood u ?

Big Al`s Big Basement Build Bonanza............Part 2 (my god he`s still here)

No you have`nt Mark

I used the spacers cut down so I could get the front of the lcd flush with the wall, I then measured the gap and made a full length piece of hardwood to fit between the bracket and lcd for better support

[sparkymarky]

ah i see. just a question for you al, i've got my tv bracket up using 4 coach bolts, as it says in the mount instructions. however none of these are around the edge of the bracket..see here: can someone photoshop my tv onto my wall please?

(scroll down to the close up of the mount)


Do you think i should put more fixings in as security?
I don't want to take the mount off again though so i would only be able to use screws stright through the holes into the plasterboard, or screws with stright nylon rawlplugs or similar (cant get toggle/spring fixings through the holes in the bracket as they're too wide)

i've hung the plasma on it today and its been on it all morning (it weighs 30kg with the four coach bolts going through 1 and 1/4 inch (which seems very thick to me!!!) and into two wooden vertical studs behind (they are 400mm apart and feel quite thick).


so do you think anything would be gained by screwing in more screws around the edges of the bracket? or will it be fine as it is taking into account that i'd rather have as few holes in my wall as possible?

[neilball]

As others have stated the spacers are necessary for some screens which don't have flat backs or can be used with screens where the low profile bracket does not give enough clearance between wall and screen-back to allow cable connections to plug in.

You also need to be careful if you are cutting down the spacers as you also need to make sure the bolts don't bottom out in the threaded hole on the back of the TV, reaching the full depth of the thread and contiuing to tighten can/will damage the screen internally. you should find that the bolts are all standard lengths of use with or without the supplied spacers so that there is a similar length of threaded bolt within the screen depending on whether spacers are used or not.