I've installed about a dozen D-C systems (full systems) mainly in grands. In a vertical the humidistat hangs lower than the dehumidifier rod and is usually positioned about 4-6 inches from the end of the humidifier tank. OK, that's pretty straight forward, not much room for "interpretation." I use the 50W rod in a vertical piano along with the complete system. For grands I typically use at least 2 25W rods under the soundboard, 1 50W rod where the keybed meets the open soundboard space, and 1 35W rod under the keybed. I place the humidifier tank as close to the centroid of the soundboard as I can approximate it. Mostly I hang it under the beams, unless the client objects, then between the beams. So far so good . . . now the humidistat placement. In a grand installation, there is more "discretion" that the technician can use in the placement of the humidistat. (The instructions, unfortunately, are not complete and clear about the humidistat placement.) I shoot for 5-6 inches from the end of the humidifier tank. However, this sometimes requires placing the humidistat VERY near a dehumidifier rod. Since in grands the humidistat "window" is above the dehumidifier rods (as opposed to verticals where it is below), and heat rises, is there a detrimental effect when placing a humidistat close to a dehumidifier rod? How close is acceptable? Does it matter? Sometimes, the final placement of all elements of the system tend to end up with the humidistat very close to a dehumidifier rod - at least for some of my installations. I ask the D-C experts of this list what do YOU look for when "designing" your installation and placement of the humidistat in a grand piano? How far from the rim, from dehumidifier rods, and from the humidifier tank provides an optimal placement of the humidistat? And, how do you determine how much drying power (wattage) to put in the piano? Any discussion regarding the installation of "crippled systems" (as I call them - Dampp-Chaser installations minus the humidifier) might also be interesting. Thanks to all! John Piesik San Diego Chapter PTG JPIESIK@ARINC.COM
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