Why After Two Years.....

[Gregor _]

Hi Don,

what were the results of your experiment with the hydrocel unit? Your region seems to be very extreme concerning humidity changes! Perhaps you could do a further experiment, using two of the units: one on the bottom, one on the upper side of an upright.

In my area the humidity swings between about 30 % to 85 % (in rooms) and for these conditions the hydrocel is enough and a must for floor heatings. I used to live in a house directly on a riverside and had a floor made of wood. I.e. that in summer it was quite wet and in winter the wooden floor soaked all the humidity out of the room. I measured 27 % in winter. I installed one unit on the upper side of my private upright at the begining of the heating period. At that moment the piano was out of tune but I wanted to wait with tuning until the heating was on for at least one week (yes, I am lazy - instead of tuning twice). After one week the tuning was much better, so my piano tuned itself :-) 

Which material is used for the active part of hydrocel? No idea. Bt the main thing is it helps.

Gregor

> Date: Sat, 6 Sep 2008 07:44:59 +0000
> To: pianotech at ptg.org
> From: pianotuna at accesscomm.ca
> Subject: RE: Why After Two Years.....
> 
> Hi Gregor,
> 
> I'm glad to hear it helps. In most of North America the swings are so wide
> that it simply can't keep up with the "load". I've done "hands on"
> experiments with one in an upright piano, just to make sure.
> 
> I do wonder if the "active" part of the hydrocel is one of calcium sulfate,
> calcium chloride, cobalt chloride, silica gel or some combination of them.
> 
> I'd love to experiment with this product called Art Sorb.
> 
> http://www.cwaller.de/english.htm?howto.htm~information
> 
> There is a product called Music Sorb but their own test results show that
> it is inadequate to control a piano year round (i.e. staying within a + or
> - 2.5% "window"). It does appear to smooth out humidity, so it is of some
> use. Have a look here:
> 
> http://www.musicsorbonline.com/PianoTest.htm
> 
> What helps here is to isolate the piano--for uprights a plastic back
> cover--and for grands bottom "dust" covers made from stretchy fabric--and
> string covers.
> 
> The next line of "defence" is a dehumidifying only system such as the
> moisture master with adjustable controller.
> 
> The very best system appears to be the Damppchaser, where in extreme
> climates like mine (4% to 84%) an upright in a home may show pitch change
> of less than 2 cents per year on any note in the instrument.
> 
> At 10:24 AM 9/6/2008 +0200, you wrote:
> >    Yes, it´s the Hydrocel system. Cheap, simple and works well. The
> tuning lasts longer and the pins get tighter. The customers fill it with
> water in winter (i.e. heating period) and ignore it in the summer. In
> summer it soaks humidity if the air is wet and gives it free when it´s
> getting dry. I think it´s a good alternative to Damp Chaser, but it might
> be too weak for very dry regions. Can´t say that because  it´s not so
> extreme dry in my area. Anyway: it´s better than nothing.
> >Gregor
> Regards,
> Don Rose, B.Mus., A.M.U.S., A.MUS., R.P.T.
> Non calor sed umor est qui nobis incommodat
> 
> mailto:pianotuna at yahoo.com	http://us.geocities.com/drpt1948/
> 
> 3004 Grant Rd. REGINA, SK, S4S 5G7
> 306-539-0716 or 1-888-29t-uner
> 

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