Fred, Alan & all, >From what I have seen, it would seem to me that older buildings w/out hvac are often better than newer buildings with hvac....at least in certain climates. While the pitch swings have been a bit less this year, the proir 2 years were not bad. The RH is relatively stable here, though it does have some bumps, dips & spikes. The worst time was last summer when the recital hall was closed up after classes ended & nobody really looked in there for about 3 weeks until it was time to get ready for music camp. It was like a huge walk-in cooler and the concert pianos were way out of whack. I had nightmares of Chicago for about a week! By the way, does anyone have the e-mail address of the gentleman from UT who gave the hvac lecture in Dallas. I need to get a copy of his presentation, but seem to have mis-placed the address he gave. For those of you who were not there, that was a great lecture. It would be worthwhile to get a tape or video and a copy of his power-point slides. Really some good information. We need to give our specifications in terms of pitch deviation, rather than just RH guidelines. Makes the engineers do their homework before they design a system which makes things worse. Alan, my advice to you is "pull the plug & open the windows!". Not the conventional wisdom, mind you, but then I'm seldom conventional, & let others judge the wisdom. :-) I doubt that it would fly anyway, especially since you would probably have to break windows to get some fresh air. Otto ----- Original Message ----- From: "Fred Sturm" <fssturm@unm.edu> To: "College and University Technicians" <caut@ptg.org> Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2003 6:43 AM Subject: Re: filling Dampp-Chasers > Interesting, Otto. Could be that lacking AC was a good thing, with respect > to humidity. Higher temps may have meant lower relative humidity (and would > normally mean that, assuming the same source of air, with the same actual > moisture content), hence less pitch drift upward, assuming the normal rise > in humidity over the summer. Often I think that older buildings without > modern HVAC systems can be easier on pianos than newer ones without > humidity control - depends on all the details of the systems involved. I > always tell my customers that the stuffiest room in the house is probably > the best one to put the piano in. Just hermetically seal it, and pitch will > stay constant for years :-) > Regards, > Fred Sturm > University of New Mexico > > --On Tuesday, August 26, 2003 4:08 PM -0700 Otto Keyes <okeyes@uidaho.edu> > wrote: > > > Had an interesting developement over the summer, in that the AC compressor > > for the main recital hall & large classroom packed it in. As a result, > > those areas, as well as all the studios around them were much hotter than > > usual this summer. This has also been a much hotter summer than we have > > seen in some time. > > > > However, though the pianos were in need of tuning, they have remained much > > closer to pitch than expected. In general, they were within 2-5 cents of > > pitch -- in contrast to Alan's 20-30 cent swing just 60 miles or so up the > > road at EWU. We have virtually no humidity control here, yet the pitch > > swings are very manageable for the most part. Pitch adjustments are > > required, but are not the general fare. These generally come on the new > > pianos and Wurlitzer studios, which one would expect anyway. Do you have > > "humidity control" on the hvac system in your building? I assume so, > > since it is much newer than our buildings. If we were down east, or in > > the mid-west, we would > > be managing the pitch much like one does a yo-yo. > > > > There seems to be some move afoot on the part of the upper admin. to fix > > the problems with the music building, which makes me somewhat nervous. I > > need to get a data logger in here to see what's really happening so we > > can have some intelligent input into the process. Otherwise the cure may > > be worse than the disease. > > > > Otto > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Fred Sturm" <fssturm@unm.edu> > > To: "College and University Technicians" <caut@ptg.org> > > Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2003 1:52 PM > > Subject: RE: filling Dampp-Chasers > > > > > >> Hi Alan, > >> Our university server has finally cleared out enough worms and viruses > >> (and mostly overload caused by the latter) that I can receive and reply > >> to emails, at least sporadically. > >> After 15 years, I now have a grand total of three full systems installed. > >> Patience is the operative word here. Let me recommend a gradual approach, > >> beginning with half systems on a few critical pianos, then a few more, > > then > >> some upgrades to full systems. Half system being humidistat plus adequate > >> drying tubes - at least one 50 watt, for grands plus one or two > > additional, > >> possibly lower watt. I like the dry humidistat for my climate anyway, but > > I > >> think the dry would be best just about anywhere for this application - > >> would keep the piano within the low end of the cycle (assuming the > >> ambiant humidity goes below 35% on a regular basis). > >> I have a couple Steinway B's with half systems with one 50w and one 25w > >> installed along with dry humidistat, and another B with just one 25w with > >> standard humidistat (that's what I originally used, maybe 12 years ago). > >> The higher wattage pianos were plus and minus 8 to 10 cents (up to plus > > 10, > >> up to minus 8) at the end of the summer (high pitch time here). The low > >> wattage was plus 10 to 25 cents. I don't have any naked B's now, but they > >> used to be plus 15 to 40 cents. > >> I also have a couple B's with G6PS installed (full system, with 50w and > >> 37w drying units). Both were within plus or minus 5 cents throughout. > >> If you demonstrate the results to someone who will pay attention (a piano > >> faculty member?), you can possibly recruit an assistant lobbyist for > >> funds to install more. > >> I like the idea of including a system in the purchase of any new piano. > >> The cost is insignificant in that context - less than 1% the cost of a > >> grand. > >> Regards, > >> Fred Sturm > >> University of New Mexico > >> > >> --On Wednesday, August 20, 2003 12:25 PM -0700 Alan McCoy > >> <amccoy@mail.ewu.edu> wrote: > >> > >> > Now this is a problem I'd like to have. I have, instead, the problem of > >> > getting money to purchase dampp chaser systems. And, of course, 20-30c > >> > pitch changes to knock my head against. > >> > > >> > Alan McCoy > >> > > >> >> -----Original Message----- > >> >> From: caut-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org]On Behalf Of > >> >> Keith McGavern > >> >> Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2003 7:54 PM > >> >> To: College and University Technicians > >> >> Subject: RE: filling Dampp-Chasers > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> At 7:01 PM -0500 8/19/03, Mark Cramer wrote: > >> >> > ...Anyone progress with ideas for porting the water from room to > > room? > >> >> > >> >> Here's what I've been doing for years: > >> >> > >> >> This involves 27 Sohmer Studios *without* fill tubes. I go down the > >> >> hall to each room, turn on the light and remove the lower front > >> >> boards. > >> >> > >> >> I then access a water faucet in the custodian's closet on each of the > >> >> three floors with a 3' black rubber hose fitted with a connection > >> >> device for the faucet. From that I fill two gallon plastic jugs that > >> >> I walk to the pianos. The tanks are hung low enough to pour the water > >> >> in the humidity tanks. . When the jugs become empth, I refill. I do > >> >> add Humidity Treatment to the jugs each fill-up. > >> >> > >> >> During the filling of the humidity tanks, I check the rods to make > >> >> sure the units are operating and check the pads for crust. This > >> >> process takes between 45-60 minutes depending on how empty the tanks > >> >> are. > >> >> > >> >> I have a notice sign on each piano asking for the users of the rooms > >> >> to call when they notice a Low Water Light blinking. > >> >> > >> >> If just one call comes in, I go and do all the tanks. I do reschedule > >> >> in conjunction on the chance of not receiving a call. This maximizes > >> >> the effective purpose of the DP systems. I now can float the pitch on > >> >> each piano and seldom do pitch changes on these pianos. > >> >> > >> >> I have found no quicker, reliable or efficient way for me to do this > >> >> task. > >> >> > >> >> Keith McGavern > >> >> Registered Piano Technician > >> >> Oklahoma Chapter 731 > >> >> Piano Technicians Guild > >> >> USA > >> >> _______________________________________________ > >> >> caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives > >> > > >> > _______________________________________________ > >> > caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives > >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives > > > > _______________________________________________ > > caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives > > > _______________________________________________ > caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
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