[CAUT] Undercover - hooks and grommets

[John Ross]

That wouldn't be a finger would it? :-)
John M. Ross
Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada.
jrpiano at win.eastlink.ca
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alan McCoy" <amccoy at mail.ewu.edu>
To: <caut at ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2006 12:27 PM
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Undercover - hooks and grommets


> Hey Fred and David,
>
> This digital sensing device to prevent overfilling exists already. 
> I've been
> using one for years and it is foolproof, infinitely adjustable 
> on-the-fly
> and cheap. It's in everybody's tool kit.
>
> Alan
>
>
>> From: Fred Sturm <fssturm at unm.edu>
>> Reply-To: "College and University Technicians <caut at ptg.org>" 
>> <caut at ptg.org>
>> Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2006 14:47:17 -0600
>> To: "College and University Technicians <caut at ptg.org>" 
>> <caut at ptg.org>
>> Subject: Re: [CAUT] Undercover - hooks and grommets
>>
>> Hi Mark,
>> I can hear the end of the trickling sound okay, but I like to "push
>> the envelope" and add another half a liter or so beyond, to take care
>> of the last day of those two weeks between fillings during dry
>> periods. Me, I have no help and have to fill the darned things
>> myself. Once every two weeks I can handle.
>> It's a matter of learning how much water to add beyond the point
>> where the sound diminishes to nothing, and the precise timing of the
>> end of the trickle noise. Of course, this depends on the end of the
>> tube (its setting in relationship to the top/bottom of the tank)
>> being consistent from piano to piano. I overfilled precisely two
>> times (we have hard water, so it left plenty of evidence in the form
>> of minerals). Fine enough for me, but if you are training student
>> help, you'll want something more concrete.
>> There are plenty of possibilities, including installing one of those
>> beepers at just the right level (probes set at just below the target
>> water level), with a switch in its cord. Turn the switch on so it is
>> beeping when you start to fill, then stop adding water when it stops
>> beeping. And remember to switch it off now, to avoid annoying the
>> sensitive ears of the piano prof between services <G>.
>> Regards,
>> Fred Sturm
>> University of New Mexico
>> fssturm at unm.edu
>>
>>
>>
>> On Jun 6, 2006, at 1:20 PM, Mark Cramer wrote:
>>
>>> Question: Since you listen to the (faint) trickling sound when 
>>> filling
>>> tanks, how hard should it be to make the filling process "noisier"
>>> i.e.: add
>>> somthing that rattles around at the end of the tube... ?
>>>
>>> or for that matter, why not a simple float that rises with the
>>> "tide" until
>>> it blocks the end of the filler tube?
>>>
>>> We really should be able to solve this thing.
>>>
>>> best regards,
>>> Mark Cramer,
>>> Brandon University
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org]On Behalf Of
>>> Fred Sturm
>>> Sent: Tuesday, June 06, 2006 9:36 AM
>>> To: College and University Technicians
>>> Subject: [CAUT] Undercover - hooks and grommets
>>>
>>>
>>> Hi all,
>>> Here are some pictures, as promised earlier, of my method of
>>> attaching an undercover, using hooks and grommets. It's the first
>>> such installation I ever did, and is an "under the beams"
>>> installation (before the new tanks which fit between beams), and 
>>> with
>>> 48" (50w) rod (extends beyond the fabric - a neater job can be had
>>> with 38w, less wrinkling of fabric). Took me less than an hour to
>>> install, and really doesn't look too bad. I am better at it now, and
>>> can make a neater job of it for a fancy living room. This is in a
>>> faculty studio, and not at all in view. I was experimenting, and the
>>> grommets were added after a trial with tape, staples, and a hole. I
>>> find now that, with grommet squeezing pliers, I can just use the
>>> grommet to hold the fabric (create the "hem" and attach to the 
>>> hook),
>>> and don't need the reinforcement of tape. The grommets in the 
>>> picture
>>> were applied using a hammer, with punch and shaped anvil. The 
>>> results
>>> were not very consistent, and it was much more time-consuming than
>>> pliers. $15 for the pliers was well worth the expense.
>>> Besides ease of installation. what I like about this system is ease
>>> of removal and replacement. Literally seconds to get it out of the
>>> way to service the tank and pads, and seconds to replace it. The
>>> observant among you might notice the tell-tale signs of over-filling
>>> the tank. I listen to the fill noise more carefully now. I manage to
>>> get two weeks between filling by maxing almost to the top of the 
>>> tank.
>>> If anyone has questions, I'll do my best to answer, or perhaps take
>>> some different pictures. This was a hard set up for photography, as
>>> it is rather cramped (two B's next to each other), but it's the only
>>> undercover I have ready access to. The others I have installed are 
>>> in
>>> private clients' homes.
>>> Regards,
>>> Fred Sturm
>>> University of New Mexico
>>> fssturm at unm.edu
>>>
>>
>
>