I would also agree that whole house humidity control is ALWAYS best. But, as Jonathan states, control also means having the unit work properly, keeping windows shut, etc. I can testify for the other end of the spectrum - dehumidification. I have a simple Sears dehumidifier in my 900 sq.ft. shop. Mother Nature never lets the RH dip below 40%. I set my dehumidifier at 40% and it keeps the shop precisely between 42% and 43% RH. I should think this better than a DC installation because it stabilizes ALL parts of the piano and the soundboard area will not experience significant changes in temperature as it clearly does with the DC system. Please, believe me, I think DCs are great - as most piano environments do not and will not ever have proper whole-environment humidity control. These situations are where the DC comes into it's own. But I don't think one can successfully argue against whole-environment humidity control being the better (again, assuming it truly is being controlled). I do not and likely will not ever have whole house humidity control in my home. I don't want to spend the money on re-doing the furnace/AC system. I have a nice DC dehumidification system installed on my piano. Works great. .............But if I were building a new house................ Terry Farrell ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jonathan Finger" <johann@tollidee.com> To: "'Pianotech'" <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Thursday, February 13, 2003 12:09 AM Subject: RE: DC > Hi Don, I'm in Colorado > > The key to your response was "back covers" and "bottom covers". In this > case, I would have to agree with you. Humidity doesn't stay put, and to > think that it will just hover around a certain area is false. But as > you said, with back covers, and bottom covers, I would suspect much more > stable results. > > As for the systems I was talking about, you can get a skuttle whole > house humidifier for around $500. There are cheaper versions, but this > is the one that self flushes, creates steam (instead of water wall), > etc. > > In this case, the price differential between the two isn't that great. > Whole house systems only work however, if the customer understands what > the unit's doing, and the scientific properties of humidity/temperature, > etc. For instance, the nicest unit won't do much in a house where the > windows and doors are always open. But here, we're typically around 40% > in the summer (with AC running), and so there's no need for the unit. > Again, stability in the house only happens if they keep it buttoned up. > The winter on the other hand is a different story. It's not uncommon > for RH levels do drop below 10% during a cold snap. I do have customers > with whole house units, who are able to keep the humidity at 40% all > winter long. This unit will work in most houses, even fairly large > ones. It puts out (if memory serves me correctly) about 16 gallons a > day. I'm measuring this with a Rotronics hygrometer, which is extremely > accurate, so I'm fairly certain that the figures are reliable. > > In other words, a person who does their part, along with a climate > controlled house, can for about the same dollar amount keep their home > at 40% year round. At least here :) > > Don't get me wrong, I certainly see the usefulness of the DC unit, but > for the climate here, I think there are better alternatives. > > Jonathan Finger RPT > > -----Original Message----- > From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On > Behalf Of Don > Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2003 10:52 PM > To: Pianotech > Subject: RE: DC > > Hi Jonathen, > > Your post does not provide details about the costs of such a unit. I > suspect that in a forced air home which is what most northern climates > have > such a unit would far exceed the cost of the piano. I also doubt that > humidity could be kept within 5% on a year round basis. My research > indicates that a 5% change in humidity causes a one hertz variation in > pitch at A4--and far more than that at the bass break. It also "smears" > the > unisons. I could live with + or - 4 cents at A4 but can't live with what > happens to the octaves at the break. > > My results with damppchasers with back covers and bottom covers are less > than 2 cents pitch change on any note over a one year period. (Assuming > piano is stablized). This is not an opinion, it is a documented history > on > more than a "few" pianos. > > What part of the country do you live in? > > At 02:57 PM 2/12/2003 -0700, you wrote: > >Don, > > > >I just meant that there are other options such as climate control. I > >know a lot of this depends on the climate, but where I live, I have > seen > >better results with whole house humidification than I have with DC > >systems. And when I say whole house humidification, I don't mean the > >"water wall" method which relies on the furnace. I mean a high > quality, > >steam generating humidification system. It is my opinion that (at > least > >in this climate) these systems produce more of a stable environment > than > >the DC system. And from measuring RH levels under the piano, they > offer > >a much more consistent solution. Again, I haven't had experience with > >this all of the country, so I'm not making a blanket statement. > > > >Also, as already mentioned, the unit is pretty useless if it isn't > >filled. Unfortunately, this is often the case. > > > > > >Jonathan Finger RPT. > > > > > > > >-----Original Message----- > >From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On > >Behalf Of Don > >Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2003 2:49 PM > >To: Pianotech > >Subject: RE: DC > > > >Hi Jonathan, > > > >Would you care to elaborate? > > > >At 09:57 AM 2/12/2003 -0700, you wrote: > >>There are also options which will not create a > >>gradient in the way DC’s (at least in my experience) do. > >>Jonathan Finger RPT > > > >Regards, > >Don Rose, B.Mus., A.M.U.S., A.MUS., R.M.T., R.P.T. > > > >mailto:pianotuna@accesscomm.ca > >http://us.geocities.com/drpt1948/ > > > >3004 Grant Rd. > >REGINA, SK > >S4S 5G7 > >306-352-3620 or 1-888-29t-uner > >_______________________________________________ > >pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives > > > > > > > >_______________________________________________ > >pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives > > > > > > Regards, > Don Rose, B.Mus., A.M.U.S., A.MUS., R.M.T., R.P.T. > > mailto:pianotuna@accesscomm.ca > http://us.geocities.com/drpt1948/ > > 3004 Grant Rd. > REGINA, SK > S4S 5G7 > 306-352-3620 or 1-888-29t-uner > _______________________________________________ > pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives > > > > _______________________________________________ > pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
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