This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment Thanks, guys (and gal!) for the input. On second thought, I think I may = move to San Diego... :-) (Especially after reading your account, Otto, = which was frightening on many different levels :) So the winters have been mild, Tim? My aunt, who lives in Brookings, = says the same thing. I'll be residing in a small town rather north of = that, so I hope that holds (she's lately referred to a rumor about an = impending "harsh winter" that sounds almost like an anticipated ice age = or something:). This business of heating up the garage from very cold and then spraying, = and then, presumably, letting the garage cool down some time thereafter = is somewhat worrisome to me. I don't doubt it could work, but it seems = that if you didn't keep the place warm enough for some period -- a day = or two? -- you'd be putting your finish at risk. Also, unless the = garage or shop is really insulated, even to keep at it near-70% for a = day or two would be costly, wouldn't it (that would include keeping it = warm all night)? I had thought, as John Ross suggested, to damp-chase = any piano I had in my garage; the suggestion about moisture rising from = the cement floor struck me as a good caution (incidentally, John, any = relationship to the famous Cherokee Indian John Ross?) Damn, I may just take up ice fishing or something in the dead of winter = instead of piano work... :-( JeffO ----- Original Message -----=20 From: Tim Coates=20 To: College and University Technicians=20 Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2005 2:05 PM Subject: Re: [CAUT] Query about "Cold Storage" Jeff, Having lived in SD for 41 years and been a piano technician here for = 34 years I need to clarify a few things. We don't get sub zero temps = very often any more. The wind chill can get it down there, but the past = 10 years have been pretty mild. I really like a good blizzard because it = is a gift: absolutely helpless to do nothing but stay home or work in = the shop. It is a rather pressure releasing situation. People who try to = beat a storm are considered foolish. The winters have been almost too = mild because we need the moisture from the snow to help the agricultural = industry. Agriculture is still our number one industry. Credit cards and = health services are catching up, though. There is more humidity in cold air than if you take the same air and = heat it. Use a good humidity gauge and do a test to see the = differential. I don't recommend to customers to store a piano in an = unheated area for more than a year. The important aspect is not to warm = the piano too fast. Condensation will develop. My home piano spent 5 = years in an unheated garage before I did anything with it. It is solid = as a rock even though it isn't a top of the line constructed piano. I = know technicians around here who have refinished in their garages during = the winter, they just did the proper warming before and after spraying.=20 Hope this helps. Tim Coates University of South Dakota University of Sioux Falls On Sep 26, 2005, at 9:18 PM, Jeff Olson wrote: Many of you probably hail from "hardier" climates than I, and since = I'm about to move to a hardier (euphemism) climate -- South Dakota -- = I've been wondering about the effects of sub-zero temperatures on = pianos. Do any of you who reside in cold climes store your pianos in a = shop/garage over the winter. If so, any negative consequences? =20 I'm fairly sure that wood finishing would be out of the question = during those cold months without adequate heating.... =20 JeffO ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/caut.php/attachments/82/d5/29/78/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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