[pianotech] Low humidity ok ?

Terry Farrell mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com
Sun Jun 20 10:17:17 MDT 2010


> adding some humidity to every part of the piano when needed .....

Maybe every humidity to some parts in an uncontrolled manner. I  
suppose in maybe an extreme condition it might be better than nothing.  
Whole room is best. A proper Damp Chaser installation with the  
humidity kit and a back/bottom cover is a very good second choice. I'd  
rate a small external humidifier near the piano as a VERY distant  
ninth choice.

If not whole room, why not just get a good DC unit?

Terry Farrell


On Jun 20, 2010, at 11:55 AM, allan at sutton.net wrote:

> Thank you Terry,
>
> That precision : "different pianos, different solutions" seems very  
> appropriate to me.
>
> Another question : Do many agree that a small external humidifier  
> near the piano will help significantly in adding some humidity to  
> every part of the piano when needed (soundboard and pinblock and  
> action, in a grand piano), albeit as a second choice to whole room  
> conditioning ?
>
> Allan Sutton, m.mus. RPT
> www.pianotechniquemontreal.com
>
>
> 2010/6/20 Terry Farrell <mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com>
>> Do many of you agree  that stability is much more important than  
>> maintaining a specific Relative Humidity level in the piano?
>
> More important, yes.
>
>
>> And that too much humidity is worse than too little?
>
> Maybe yes, and maybe no. Both should be avoided. All depends on  
> piano - old piano with marginal soundboard crown and almost-loose  
> tuning pins, higher RH might work better for it. New piano that  
> performs well at a lower RH, low RH may be just fine for that piano.
>
>> In other words, with an adjustable humidistat (Moisture King) and  
>> one or two heat bars we can keep Relative Humidity at 30 % or even  
>> 25 % and that is good, much better than swings from 25 to 85 % RH  
>> for example ?
>
>
> Steady 30 or 25% is better than 25% to 85% RH swings for sure.  
> Steady 45% or 50% is likely better than 30 or 25% RH.
>
> Steady is best. Mid-range RH is best generally. However, if the  
> piano in question performs better at a higher or lower RH, then an  
> RH adjusted in that direction may be beneficial.
>
> Terry Farrell
>
>
> On Jun 20, 2010, at 11:17 AM, allan at sutton.net wrote:
>
>> Dear list members,
>>
>> Do many of you agree  that stability is much more important than  
>> maintaining a specific Relative Humidity level in the piano ? And  
>> that too much humidity is worse than too little ?
>>
>> In other words, with an adjustable humidistat (Moisture King) and  
>> one or two heat bars we can keep Relative Humidity at 30 % or even  
>> 25 % and that is good, much better than swings from 25 to 85 % RH  
>> for example ?
>>
>> I found nothing in the archives about this specific question.
>>
>> I hope to hear you about this in Vegas and here on the list. Thank  
>> you.
>>
>> Allan Sutton, m.mus. RPT
>> www.pianotechniquemontreal.com
>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100620/df485837/attachment-0001.htm>


More information about the pianotech mailing list

This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC