Don't feel alone. 95% - plus DC installations I see down here in Florida are a rod only. Your point #1 is a good one. Perhaps Roger Wheelock from DC might consider such an idea. BTW, I had not heard that he is a "DC muckity-muck". I suppose that is good to know. I'll note it. He seemed like quite a decent fellow to me. Regarding point #2. Its like so many things related to pianos - if nobody is going to make a profit from a study, who on earth is going to do such a study? Regarding your reference to improper installations, I think that would be like anything else - if someone installs it wrong and it does not perform as advertised, I hardly think it is the fault of the manufacturer.' BTW, I'm not terribly biased regarding DC systems. I install only a couple per year. I think they do work quite well however, and recommend them highly. I think their performance graph in their literature suggesting that room humidity swings of 15% to 95% will be tamed by a DC system to keep the piano interior between about 40% to 44% is perhaps pushing the limits of a real-world DC system installation. Terry Farrell ----- Original Message ----- From: "Matt Wynne" <rustraze@optonline.net> To: <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Saturday, July 27, 2002 9:50 PM Subject: Another heater bar without a control... > Well, add one more to the list! > > I can't count the times I've shown up at a new customer's house and found > this scenario. The previous tech installed a heater bar with no humidistat > and not even any instructions to the customer to unplug it in the > winter. It even has a label stating not to use without the control. I'm > not a big fan of these systems and I believe that Dampp-Chaser, et.al., can > be held liable for damage to pianos caused by misuse of their > products. I'm aware that there is a DC muckity-muck who subscribes to this > list so, I put these questions out there: > > 1) Why don't they manufacture heater bars with keyed plugs that will only > plug into a humidistat - not an electrical outlet? The warning label > obviously doesn't cut it. > > 2) Is there any INDEPENDENT study published that backs up the claims that > are made regarding these system's supposed beneficial effects on > pianos? When I say independent, I don't mean a study paid for by > Dampp-chaser. The company has a vested interest in the results and would > not publish a contrary report. I also don't mean a study performed by > techs who are proponents of the equipment. They has a similar vested > interest as well. > > > Any takers? > > Matt Wynne >
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC