Damp-chaser question

[jpiesik@arinc.com]

    Mark,

    Call Bob Mair of Dampp-Chaser (800) 438-1524.  He will be more than
    happy to assist you with any technical situations you have regarding his
    products.  I have found his assistance to be invaluable in the
    installations of these high quality systems.

    There are just too many variables for the situation you have described:
    placement of the Humidistat, wattage and number of the heating rods you
    used, placement of the humidifier tank, short tank or regular tank used,
    where the piano is located (by a heater vent, near a window, in direct
    sunlight, on the patio, in a wind tunnel!), etc., etc. to give you a
    quick answer.

    I would not unplug any part of the system - as long as you have it
    correctly installed.  You may need to experiment with the placement of
    the humidistat with relationship to the humidifier.  Also note that the
    system is never "off."  The humidistat toggles the humidifier and the
    dehumidifier back and forth - there is not a neutral state.

    My experiences are on the west coast - much different than your weather
    in the north-east.  Once the piano stabilizes (may take about a year)
    the results should be excellent.  Your clients should be aware of this,
    though.  The piano will go through a stabilizing (an UNstable period)
    process while it settles to the 42% RH the system strives to get it to.
    The D-C literature does not really describe this well.  I have mentioned
    this to Bob Mair, but have yet to see it in their info kits.

    When I first installed one of these system I was surprised to find that
    the piano needed tuning soon after installation (I had no idea of what
    to expect).  Now, I know the physics of why and what is happening, and I
    always schedule D-C installations right before the piano would have
    normally needed a tuning.  I tell the client to expect the piano to go
    unstable for a few months, then it will settle, and within about a year
    it should be solid.  These are my experiences.

    Anyways, call Bob Mair (800) 438-1524, he's a good guy and wants to
    help.

    John Piesik
    San Diego Chapter PTG
    JPIESIK@ARINC.COM

  I installed a damp-chaser complete grand system, with an additional 36"
dehumidifier back before Christmas in a 5' Kawai grand. Although it seemed to do
very well through the dry New Hampshire Winter, a fresh tuning I laid on the
piano in April went nuts within a week. The customer understands that the April
tuning was done at just the wrong time, (the weather had just changed from
Winter dryness to Spring warmth & rain), but was hoping for a more dramatic
improvement in tuning stability.
  One intersesting point he made was that he has still been filling the
humidifier with water about once every two weeks (half the winter consumption
rate).  Should he just disconnect the humidifier unit once the central heat is
off for the season?
  The installation has two de-humidifiers, one located behind the belly rail and
the other just forward of the rear leg, but both mounted below the posts. Should
I perhaps be thinking of installing a short one up in between the posts? Or
replacing an existing rod with a higher wattage?

  Mark Dierauf