smoking kills your projector enclosureBuyer beware! If you are about to install any electronic equipment in a bar, restaurant, nightclub, or any place that allows smoking, you may want to consider reading this article closely.

So what’s the big deal with electronics and cigarette smoke, and why should I consider placing my projector in an enclosure? The big deal is that with the amount of air the projector needs to operate effectively, the smoke in the air will also be drawn into the projector at the same rate. Cigarette smoke is made up of more than 4,000 components, and the ones we are concerned about have almost the same effect on the projector’s electronic components as the human body.

As the cigarette is smoked and the smoker exhales, a tar substance is released into the air that is lethal to electronics and the human body. This tar substance is extremely hard to remove. The human body takes certain steps to try and rid itself of this tacky substance, but your electronic components do not have the ability to try and clean themselves up. As the smoke (and tar) passes through the projector, it sticks to all of the hot components inside. This includes the bulb or projector lamp, the fans, filters, capacitors, LCD chips, and anything else that is reasonably warm or hot. Once it attaches to the surface, the tar limits the component’s ability to shed heat and causes it to remain hotter longer.

If you have read any of the other articles in our series, you may recall the amount of emphasis we place on removing heat and dust from the environment that your projector is in. Cigarette smoke contains both, and it is an extremely harmful combination. The tar from the smoke gums up and sticks to everything it possibly can, and creates irregular, sticky surfaces that capture yet more dust. All the while, the tar builds more heat on the already hot surfaces. No amount of compressed air is going to dislodge this sticky goo from the interior; they will need to be wiped clean, which is near impossible unless you are a trained repair technician.

If you do plan on installing a projector in this type of environment, a quick and easy way to limit these harmful effects is to place your projector into a projector enclosure. Projector enclosures will clean, filter, and cool the incoming air in order to prevent smoke and other contaminants from ruining your hardware. Our projector enclosures have an easily replaceable filter that will need to be changed once every thirty days in a smoking environment.


Screen Solutions International has stock enclosures that can ship in just a few days. We also can provide custom enclosures, hush boxes, indoor, outdoor, weatherproof, vandal resistant, industrial, and many other enclosure types for almost any situation. We can design and fabricate an enclosure for your unique and custom project too!

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