Hi Bill, I don't know about Hawaii to SoCal -- hard to believe, but I never experienced that particular "routing". Likewise, I've never made tests of RH per your suggestion. I usually work from a cause and effect situation. Lemme' share just a few examples as applies to Dampp-Chaser. [Thank goodness for that subject line -- I typed it wrong again!] Case 1 - No CC system: Close to you... Pacific Palisades CA. Brand new M&H 'A', a real sweety that I followed from brand-new to... at-death, within a five-year period. Owner was a piano teacher who was adamant about _not_ spending money on a climate control system. One might think of the Palisades area as wet; however, I found a transient environment just over the first mountain range from ocean -- an environment that could shift gears at a moment's notice. Client would call to report "strange sounds" coming from piano. By the time I arrived (from Pasadena area), no such strangeness could be heard by either client or me. However, piano developed huge pressure ridges, especially for a smaller grand. The plastic key covers cracked longi... lengthwise because they couldn't keep up with the expansion/contraction of the keysticks below. I won't even mention the action, and frankly, I'm surprised she kept me as a tuner, since I could not keep a stable tuning on that piano. Case #2 - complete CC system: Somewhere in Florida south of where space shuttles are launched. [Don't know what they're calling it this week.] Tuning instability was reported as a warranty claim matter. Piano was tuned once or twice a week (yes, week). It was in a nightclub. Problem was two-fold: (1) "soft tunings" because the tuner said "The people talk too loud, so I'm in a hurry to finish and leave"; and (2) the Humidistat was "mounted" incorrectly. It was sitting on the floor underneath the piano, covered by a vinyl-covered throw pillow. (It didn't end up there by falling off either). %-} Case #3 - complete CC system: My piano, my living room in Pasadena. I installed the system to see the results for myself. In addition to the low-water light (all there was at the time), I added an additional box under the keybed with two indicator lights. One was wired to the humidifier, the other to the dehumidifier. Since one or the other would always be on, I always had visual verification that the system was plugged in. Two interesting observations came from this experiment: - during Santa Ana conditions, I had to fill the water reservoir once a week. I could understand this in a grand, but this was a console piano. - at other times, I noticed the humidifier (and light) would come on during strange times, like 2:00am when things were calm and cool. I asked (Allen Foote at the time) about this. He suggested that, like a frying pan, the plate was warming up during the day. At night, the plate was returning that collected heat back into the piano. This in turn had a drying effect (mini Santa Ana) inside the piano, so the humidifier portion kicked in. I don't really know if the last example represents what's actually happening. Regardless, I came to trust the Humidistat to know what it was doing -- whether when or why. Sorry I couldn't answer your questions. I'd almost bet DC has some statistics on "out-of-control" heater rods -- they have stats on just about everything. Now, get back to your reports! <g> At 10:28 PM 4/6/99 -0400, you wrote: >In a message dated 99-04-06 20:33:17 EDT, you write: > ><< Invariably, the client has moved from a location that this installation >actually worked! In some cases, the piano could possibly have used a higher >wattage unit or > multiple rods... still without the need for a Humidistat. >> > >Hi, Jim: > >Couldn't resist responding to this - although it may not be my best way to >jump back into the fray during a short break from making reports to my >schools. I still have a hard time with a Dampp-Chaser (Dampp-Chaser, >Dampp-Chaser - practice makes perfect) humidifier without a humidistat. A >few times that I serviced pianos right after they came from Hawaii to So. >Calif., when they had little time to dry out - and they were already dried >out! Loose pins, actions, etc etc. > >Still, you have seen a lot more of these situations than me - still in place >in a humid climate. What do you speculate the average RH is inside a >vertical piano with a heater bar ( always on? > >Bill Shull >University of Redlands, La Sierra University >BDShull@aol.com > Jim Harvey, RPT Greenwood, SC harvey@greenwood.net ________________________ Redmond, WA -- Microsoft announced today that the official release date for the new operating system "Windows 2000" will be delayed until the second quarter of 1901. -From Penny Pennington (p2)
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