---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment In a message dated 1/25/01 8:30:50 AM Central Standard Time, :=A0 =A0=20 RustRazor@AOL.COM writes: > That's right - the heater bars were plugged into "HUMIDIFIER" and the tank= =20 > was in "DEHUMIDIFIER" and those heater bars were humming. =20 This can and does happen, as "Murphy's Law" says, if it can happen it will.=20= =20 I heard about such an instance just last week and in December, I was called=20 to tune a very sick Baldwin Hamilton which had only the dehumidifier plugged= =20 into the humidifier outlet of the humidistat. The pitch was very low and al= l=20 of the flanges were rattling. The temperature outside was below zero, the=20 house had no humidifier so indoor relative Humidity was in the 15-20% range=20 and this piano's *dehumidifier* was blazing away!=20 The customer said she thought that you were supposed to change the plug from= =20 one outlet to the other each season. She didn't quite understand how the=20 heater rod became a "humidifier" but she had been told by a neighbor that yo= u=20 were supposed to do this. Yesterday, my first call of the day was to a Betsy Ross spinet. It had only= =20 the dehumidifier which was plugged in, uncontrolled. The piano was very out= =20 of tune, with rattling flanges and the elbows were crumbling like pieces of=20 hard candy. Now, the part about making money is true. I got good money for tightening=20 flanges and regulation on both pianos, and real good money for replacing=20 elbows. Neither customer got the piano tuned, however because aside from my= =20 not recommending it at that time, until the piano recovers from the extreme=20 dryness, neither one could now afford to have the piano tuned anyway after=20 having paid so much for the repairs! This does seem to fuel the position that one local dealer here has had for=20 some 20 years. They always disrecommend Dampp-Chaser products, saying that=20 they "will void the warranty", don't work in a controlled enough manner, at=20 best, create a constant battle between humidification and dehumidification=20 and are promoted by tuners just as a way to make extra money". While these kind of statements have been a thorn in my side all of this time= ,=20 I can see their point. I have heard of other such instances from time to=20 time over the years. Nearly every installation I have made in a public plac= e=20 has been neglected or somehow tampered with after the novelty wore off. Man= y=20 residential customers abandon the use of the systemm after a few years=20 saying, "I get *tired* of having to water the thing all the time!" These products have, however improved over time. Matt's suggestion is an=20 excellent one. Make the plugs fit only into the proper outlet somehow. I=20 also suggest providing alternative power cords for public places. Expecting= =20 a 10 foot lamp quality cord to hold up to decades of use in a public place i= s=20 to *guarantee* that the system will not function as intended. Bill Bremmer RPT Madison, Wisconsin ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/11/27/5d/e3/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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