Dampp-Chaser sold on the internet (cheap)!

[Farrell]

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I agree with you Dave. Here in the Tampa Bay area of Florida I have =
never installed the humidifier portion of a DC system. My Boston grand =
has 190 watts of heater rods and an H2 humidistat. Pitch simply does not =
vary on the piano and you won't find any one string more than two cents =
off after a year. I think one winter day I noticed an RH level in my =
living room (where the piano is) down at 35% - but that is the lowest I =
have observed. Simply does not make any sense to me to install the =
humidifier and all its associated headaches. I know that I would forget =
to fill it with water - let alone any of my customers who can barely =
remember to tune the darn thing once every five years!

But of course, if I lived in Duluth, MN, my piano would have a full DC =
system - with an undercover - with a string cover - and maybe a piano =
cover - plus maybe whole house humidity control........

Terry Farrell
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: David M. Porritt=20
  To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
  Sent: Monday, September 20, 2004 10:15 AM
  Subject: Re: Dampp-Chaser sold on the internet (cheap)!


  I've been reading the thread on half/whole Dampp-Chaser systems with =
interest.  Here (Dallas area) humidity gets low quite infrequently and =
for very short periods of time.  Generally, I've thought that the full =
system to be unnecessary.  The full system is not only more expensive, =
but is the only thing that takes maintenance (fill the tanks, do the =
treatment, change the pads etc.).  Then when you remember that the DC =
system does not keep the piano at 42% but rather turns on the humidifyer =
when the humidistat gets down to 38% and stays on until it reaches 50%.  =
At that point the dehumidifyer comes on to undo what has just been done =
until it's back to 38% again. =20

  Given the climatic conditions we have here I'd much rather the system =
take care of the high humidity, turn off when it gets down to 38% and =
just wait until nature brings it back to 50%.  When it is humid, why =
would I want to force more humidity to the piano when the most =
propitious thing would be to just turn off and wait for the humidity to =
rise.  This also eliminates the possibility of mold growth that comes =
with that added humidity.  Mold is a problem in this area.

  If I were in the North and had heaters drying out the air 9 months of =
the year, I'd recommend a complete system.  Here I think they are =
superfluous, expensive, labor intensive and counter productive.

  dave

  __________________________________________
  David M. Porritt, RPT
  Meadows School of the Arts
  Southern Methodist University
  Dallas, TX 75275
  dporritt@mail.smu.edu


  ----- Original message ---------------------------------------->
  From: "William R. Monroe" <A440WRMPiano@tm.net>
  To: Pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org>
  Received: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 07:51:05 -0500
  Subject: Re: Dampp-Chaser sold on the internet (cheap)!

  Cy,

  Dunno.  I agree that with a humidifier, it would certainly be capable =
of increasing the humidity faster, but, if the ambient humidity is only =
45%. the humidifier would never turn on, right?  Again, going further, =
when the humidity drops below the "magical" 42%, and the humidifier is =
activated, even in an environment where the RH is still close to that =
42%, of course it would raise it quicker, and keep it closer to 42%. =20

  Mainly, I offer partial systems as a more affordable way to help =
eliminate some, and in my opinion,  the greater part, of the climatic =
changes that we experience here.  I always try and sell a full system, =
however, as I believe they are clearly superior here in this area, and =
worth the cost many times over.  However, a half-system does a bang-up =
job for less.

  William R. Monroe
  Madison, WI
  Assoc.
    ----- Original Message -----=20
    From: Cy Shuster=20
    To: Pianotech=20
    Sent: Sunday, September 19, 2004 9:46 PM
    Subject: Re: Dampp-Chaser sold on the internet (cheap)!


    Isn't there a chance that a complete system might be able to raise =
humidity faster than a heater-only system, even with ambient 45% =
atmospheric humidity?  This would keep the soundboard closer to its =
target for a greater percent of the time...

    Don't know if this would make a perceptible difference...  In =
theory, "theory" and "practice" are different, but in practice...

    --Cy Shuster--
    Bluefield, WV

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