Dear Wally; This would not be my recommended way to handle the higher humidity levels along the south east coast. I don't believe the Technician who wanted to sell you his business used the higher powered dehumidifiers available now. My guess is he used 25 watt units or perhaps even less. I'd kill two birds with one stone, and put sufficient wattage (a 50 watt and a 25 watt minimum) under the sound board, and expect the reduced moisture content of the sound board to reduce the humidity level above the sound board sufficiently to prevent rusty strings. This provides protection all around for the piano. Of course, I'd provide humidistat control. Now having said this, each situation is different, and I think the answer to handling humidity lies with your analysis of each one of these. For instance, the piano located in front of normally open windows in a beach front home requires an approach that is different from that employed to protect a piano in an air-conditioned home where the windows are never (or rarely) opened. If you run into the former situation - windows open, beach front home - I'd provide the humidity control described above, but I'd add a string cover. This set up should produce exceptional results. If you don't know about string covers, I'd suggest calling Edwards String Covers at 1-408-338-1828. Good luck. Best Regards, Bob Mair -----Original Message----- From: Wallace Scherer <WallyTS@compuserve.com> To: INTERNET:pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org> Date: Tuesday, June 23, 1998 10:10 PM Subject: Speaking of Humidity control ... >I met a piano technician in Florida recently (the one who wanted to sell me >his business, remember?) who said he sold a lot of the Dampp Chaser heater >bars for grand pianos, but mounted them over the top of the strings with a >felt "blanket" over the heater bar. He said he did this because the biggest >problem with humidity in south Florida was rusting the strings, and not so >much the wood expansion and shrinkage. > >Has anyone else, especially in normally humid areas, used this process? > >Wally Scherer, Norfolk, Virginia >E-mail: WallyTS@iName.com (Please use this new address now!) >Web page: http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/2411 >"Old piano tuners don't die - they just go beatless." > >
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