Electrical wire in fireplace

[bournemouthboys12]

Hi

I'm currently in the process of fitting a led tv to a blocked out chimney breast. The fireplace is all boarded up, with a vent at the bottom and capped chimney at the top. I have cut a hole in the wall for the cables to go through the wall and down inside the old chimney and one at the bottom for the cables to come back into the room. I was just wondering whether it would be safe for the tv electrical cable to equally go down through the chimney and be plugged in in the tv unit. The chimney doesn't seem to be damp or anything. Is this ok or a no no? Would it be better to get a flexible tube and feed it down through the hole and out the bottom, and put the cables through this?

Thanks

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

The main concern would be if ever the chimney was put back in to use in the future, the cables would then need to be removed.
I preferred option would be to chase down the chimney breast for cable route.
Be aware also that the coax/digi cable, should be installed in a separate route/compartment than the electrical cables.

 

[bournemouthboys12]

Thanks for your reply. Why do you need to separate the power cable and the coaxial? Will it cause interference with the signal or does it affect the power cable? Would I be able to have a HDMI cable buried together with a power cable?

Cheers

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

The reason why the differing types of cable should be separated are:
The insulation of cables are likely to be rated at different voltages and this could cause a potential hazard if a short/fault across them occurs and electromagnetic interference can also occur.
So the wise option is to keep apart!

 

[SimonH2]

Power and date/signal cables should always be segregated - for two reasons.

1) Safety.
Most extra-low-voltage data/signal cables/connectors would not provide anything like a safe level of protection if they were live. Also the insulation is generally not designed for mains voltages.
Thus, if the cables got damaged by (eg) something conductive dropping onto them, you could have live exposed connections.
Also, for things like phone cables, you can stuff 240V up the phone cable where there may be a guy somewhere perched at the top of a pole working in a junction box ...

2) Performance.
While your HDMI cable is screened, it is best to keep it a few inches (minimum) away from any power cables to minimise the chance of interference. This is even more important for antenna cables where the signal levels are so much lower and more vulnerable to interference.
Using good quality, well screened cable also helps.

 

[bournemouthboys12]

That's great thanks for your advice. One more set of questions if that's ok. How far away do the runs need to be. Is 4 inches plus a wood stud suffice? I presume that coaxial cables can run with HDMI cables? Also if i wanted to run another power cable for led lights that i'm positioning behind the tv can that go in the same conduit as the tv power cable?

Thanks again

 

[SimonH2]

How far away do the runs need to be. Is 4 inches plus a wood stud suffice?

Yes, 4" is a commonly used guideline, and the presence of a wooden stud does mean you can reduce that from a safety POV. IIRC the old guidelines from when telecoms was deregulated (who remembers Busby ?), for phone cabling I think it was a minimum of 4", or separation by s solid barrier (either earthed metal or insulator).

I presume that coaxial cables can run with HDMI cables?

Yes.
[/quote]Also if i wanted to run another power cable for led lights that i'm positioning behind the tv can that go in the same conduit as the tv power cable?[/quote]
Depends. Is this a mains power to the LED supply, or the extra low voltage cable between supply unit/driver and LEDs ?
If it's the mains, then yes it can run with the other mains.
If it's the latter, it's advisable to try and segregate it from both the mains and signal cabling. From the mains for safety, and from the data/signal because it can potentially be electrically noisy.

 

[bournemouthboys12]

It is the power cable to the transformer, so i guess that's ok.

Thanks again

 

[bournemouthboys12]

Last question if that's ok. I would like to purchase a remote control extender

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IR-Repeat...otn=21&pmod=170758806102&ps=54#ht_1846wt_1037

Presumably the cable with the ir emitters can go in the conduit with the coax cable etc and the power cable can go in the conduit with the TV electrical cable??

Thanks