[Elevatorguy]

I just got a Panasonic 55" GT30 and have a dew questions about mounting the panel to my stand. The stand I have is a Tech Craft TRK50B and it is the type with a vertical support that runs up the back and has what is more or less a flat panel wall style mount at the top of it. My setup is in a corner and this lets me have the height and wall mounted look without having to deal with an articulating mount. I previously had a Sony LCD on this stand. My questions are about mounting the plasma to the stand. The GT30 has a bump-out at the bottom of the panel for the speakers that is almost an inch. In order to get the height I need for the best viewing as well as being able to fit my gear under the set and on the top shelf of the stand, I need to get the mounting brackets all the way to the bottom of the panel. Are spacers customarily used in this situation? I need to space the brackets off the back of the TV 1" so that I can slide them down far enough. If this is acceptable, what type of spacers are used in this application? Rubber, plastic, etc? Will spacing the brackets off the TV an inch and having all the stress of the weight of the TV being on those 4 mounting bolt points cause any issues? If the brackets were flush to the back of the TV it would seem that it would be sturdier as the weight would be distributed across the bracket arm instead of just at the 4 bolt points. Any information about this will be very much appreciated.

 

[car421]

I just hung my 50s30 on the wall this weekend and the mounting bracket had 1" spacers between the TV and the bracket.

 

[Dropkick Murphy]

The bracket probably came with spacers originally, if you kept any of the hardware they would be with the rest of it. If you don't have the original spacers your best bet would be to use 1/4" fender washers available at any hardware store. Stack up as many as you need. The weight of the TV is a non-issue. Those mounting points are designed to hold the weight of the TV.

 

[Elevatorguy]

Thanks for the quick replies. Car 421 what were the spacers made of? I am wondering of rubber would deteriorate and be too pliable and if plastic would become brittle and crack over time with the heat. Dropkick Murphy you are right there probably were spacers in the original hardware bag but this stand is about 3 years old and that stuff is all long gone. I am surprised that you recommend metal fender washers. I like the idea of the oversized fender washer to disperse the weight over slightly larger areas at each of the 4 mounting point, but for some reason it seems odd to me to use metal washers on the plastic back of the TV. Any other responses are welcome and appreciated as well.

 

[car421]

Plastic, I would just get a short piece of PVC tubing and cut that down.