Plasma Storage & Transport

[Trean]

I know there are several threads but I have some fairly specific questions.

The television I ordered could not be picked up before I went back to school for the few weeks between Winter Break and Thanksgiving. My dad and brother picked it up for me. I have no idea how they stored it, all I know is its in my brother's room where my bed is when I go home for brief periods.

So if they laid it on my bed, what sort of defects should I look for when opening the box that should lead to me returning my new television? (As noted in the update, the TV is upright next to bed in box)

If nothing is wrong, I have to figure out how to transport a 54" panasonic plasma 90 miles to school (about 1.5-2 hours travel time). I have read that it should be upright (many times over) but also have read about those that have transported one lying down. My brother has a truck and sister has a minivan. With the truck I am concerned about transporting it outside and in the bed, it would be upright though. I cannot seem to find storage temperature numbers only operating temps and with transportation in mid-winter it gets cold outside. With the minivan I would be more concerned about it actually fitting in it, any suggestion how to get one to fit; I would believe that it should fit between the seats up the middle of the van but getting it to that position might be odd.


I appreciate the help.


Update
Good news, its not laying down at home; its standing upright in box next to my bed.

Thinking my sister's minivan is my best bet for transport if it will fit in the van.

[blu_world]

best thing i did was remove the rear seat and drive normal,standing upright as it should,yong most likely heard it might crack the screen if you have it on it's side...or at least run the risk of cracking the screen while on it's facing up or down...

[xneox]

What ^he said. Look for a busted panel. You've seen cracked glass..? Yeah, that's it.

That's why you should NEVER transport a plasma panel flat. Anyone who tells you they have without issue is probably not lying, is absolutely lucky, and most certainly won't replace yours if you aren't.

[My_Two_Cents]

Can't be said too many times: Don't lay a plasma flat and NEVER transport it laying down. The weight of the glass can and will cause it to crack eventually. Don't worry about transporting it in cold temperatures. It's done all of the time. You'll want to let it warm-up to room temp before you set it up, though. The plasma gas does funny things (so I've read) when it's cold.

[Trean]

Update:

Good news, its not laying down at home; its standing upright in box next to my bed.

Thinking my sister's minivan is my best bet for transport if it will fit in the van.

[The Big Blue]

Good luck getting it home safely.

Here is my story (sorry for the hijack ). We got our 5020 back in May or so at a BBY about 15 or 20 miles away (it was the nearest one). I didn't want to wait for them to deliver so I decided to take it home in the pickup even though the wind was gusting up to about 25 or 30 mph. Stood it up against the passenger side of the bed and tied it down as best I could.

I got it home safe but that was the most stressful trip I've had since I was 8 yrs old lying on the rear seat floorboard of a 72 VW bug going up ice & snow-packed Wolf Creek Pass in the dead of winter.

[drvasek]

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

Can't be said too many times: Don't lay a plasma flat and NEVER transport it laying down. The weight of the glass can and will cause it to crack eventually. Don't worry about transporting it in cold temperatures. It's done all of the time. You'll want to let it warm-up to room temp before you set it up, though. The plasma gas does funny things (so I've read) when it's cold.

Where can I find these warnings / instructions? Owner's manual or manufacturer's website? This is the first place I have heard this. Thank you guys for giving me the heads up before I go out and purchase my second Plasma. Luckily I transported the first one correctly.

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by drvasek

Where can I find these warnings / instructions? Owner's manual or manufacturer's website? This is the first place I have heard this. Thank you guys for giving me the heads up before I go out and purchase my second Plasma. Luckily I transported the first one correctly.

Should be right on the box.

- THIS end UP
- DO NOT lay flat
- Etc.

As for the reasons why, I've been reading about AV stuff for years and have just picked it up along the way.

[HdGuy]

Originally Posted by xneox

What ^he said. Look for a busted panel. You've seen cracked glass..? Yeah, that's it.

That's why you should NEVER transport a plasma panel flat. Anyone who tells you they have without issue is probably not lying, is absolutely lucky, and most certainly won't replace yours if you aren't.

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

Can't be said too many times: Don't lay a plasma flat and NEVER transport it laying down. The weight of the glass can and will cause it to crack eventually. Don't worry about transporting it in cold temperatures. It's done all of the time. You'll want to let it warm-up to room temp before you set it up, though. The plasma gas does funny things (so I've read) when it's cold.

We shipped a Gmc Envoy from Detroit MI, to the Middle East with a cargo ship. While we were at it, we threw in the trunk two 50 inch Panasonic plasmas to ship overseas. We laid them flat one on top of the other in there original packages as we bought them. I call Panasonic and they said that the panels will break, but I did it anyway. It took 65 days for it to get there, and the plasmas got there the exact same way we put them. Up until this day its been 4 months since they arrived and they are working perfectly fine.

[Trean]

Originally Posted by HdGuy

We shipped a Gmc Envoy from Detroit MI, to the Middle East with a cargo ship. While we were at it, we threw in the trunk two 50 inch Panasonic plasmas to ship overseas. We laid them flat one on top of the other in there original packages as we bought them. I call Panasonic and they said that the panels will break, but I did it anyway. It took 65 days for it to get there, and the plasmas got there the exact same way we put them. Up until this day its been 4 months since they arrived and they are working perfectly fine.

The fact that they didn't break doesn't mean they won't break. The physics behind the reasoning for the glass breaking is sound. I understand that the probability is not 100% for the glass breaking, several other variables come into play during shipping as well. But like I said, the physics behind the glass having a greater probability of breaking is sound.