[CAUT] Undercover - hooks and grommets

[Mark Cramer]

Okay Alan,

I'll bite, but if you're going to tell me it's your finger, then I'm going
to ask which of your arms is 5-foot long, with three elbows, for those not
so easy to reach tank locations!?

Now get back to work!  ;>)

best regards,
Mark C.

-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org]On Behalf Of
Alan McCoy
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2006 10:27 AM
To: College and University Technicians <caut at ptg.org>
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Undercover - hooks and grommets


Hey Fred and David,

This digital sensing device to prevent overfilling exists already. I've been
using one for years and it is foolproof, infinitely adjustable on-the-fly
and cheap. It's in everybody's tool kit.

Alan


> From: Fred Sturm <fssturm at unm.edu>
> Reply-To: "College and University Technicians <caut at ptg.org>"
<caut at ptg.org>
> Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2006 14:47:17 -0600
> To: "College and University Technicians <caut at ptg.org>" <caut at ptg.org>
> Subject: Re: [CAUT] Undercover - hooks and grommets
>
> Hi Mark,
> I can hear the end of the trickling sound okay, but I like to "push
> the envelope" and add another half a liter or so beyond, to take care
> of the last day of those two weeks between fillings during dry
> periods. Me, I have no help and have to fill the darned things
> myself. Once every two weeks I can handle.
> It's a matter of learning how much water to add beyond the point
> where the sound diminishes to nothing, and the precise timing of the
> end of the trickle noise. Of course, this depends on the end of the
> tube (its setting in relationship to the top/bottom of the tank)
> being consistent from piano to piano. I overfilled precisely two
> times (we have hard water, so it left plenty of evidence in the form
> of minerals). Fine enough for me, but if you are training student
> help, you'll want something more concrete.
> There are plenty of possibilities, including installing one of those
> beepers at just the right level (probes set at just below the target
> water level), with a switch in its cord. Turn the switch on so it is
> beeping when you start to fill, then stop adding water when it stops
> beeping. And remember to switch it off now, to avoid annoying the
> sensitive ears of the piano prof between services <G>.
> Regards,
> Fred Sturm
> University of New Mexico
> fssturm at unm.edu
>
>
>
> On Jun 6, 2006, at 1:20 PM, Mark Cramer wrote:
>
>> Question: Since you listen to the (faint) trickling sound when filling
>> tanks, how hard should it be to make the filling process "noisier"
>> i.e.: add
>> somthing that rattles around at the end of the tube... ?
>>
>> or for that matter, why not a simple float that rises with the
>> "tide" until
>> it blocks the end of the filler tube?
>>
>> We really should be able to solve this thing.
>>
>> best regards,
>> Mark Cramer,
>> Brandon University
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org]On Behalf Of
>> Fred Sturm
>> Sent: Tuesday, June 06, 2006 9:36 AM
>> To: College and University Technicians
>> Subject: [CAUT] Undercover - hooks and grommets
>>
>>
>> Hi all,
>> Here are some pictures, as promised earlier, of my method of
>> attaching an undercover, using hooks and grommets. It's the first
>> such installation I ever did, and is an "under the beams"
>> installation (before the new tanks which fit between beams), and with
>> 48" (50w) rod (extends beyond the fabric - a neater job can be had
>> with 38w, less wrinkling of fabric). Took me less than an hour to
>> install, and really doesn't look too bad. I am better at it now, and
>> can make a neater job of it for a fancy living room. This is in a
>> faculty studio, and not at all in view. I was experimenting, and the
>> grommets were added after a trial with tape, staples, and a hole. I
>> find now that, with grommet squeezing pliers, I can just use the
>> grommet to hold the fabric (create the "hem" and attach to the hook),
>> and don't need the reinforcement of tape. The grommets in the picture
>> were applied using a hammer, with punch and shaped anvil. The results
>> were not very consistent, and it was much more time-consuming than
>> pliers. $15 for the pliers was well worth the expense.
>> Besides ease of installation. what I like about this system is ease
>> of removal and replacement. Literally seconds to get it out of the
>> way to service the tank and pads, and seconds to replace it. The
>> observant among you might notice the tell-tale signs of over-filling
>> the tank. I listen to the fill noise more carefully now. I manage to
>> get two weeks between filling by maxing almost to the top of the tank.
>> If anyone has questions, I'll do my best to answer, or perhaps take
>> some different pictures. This was a hard set up for photography, as
>> it is rather cramped (two B's next to each other), but it's the only
>> undercover I have ready access to. The others I have installed are in
>> private clients' homes.
>> Regards,
>> Fred Sturm
>> University of New Mexico
>> fssturm at unm.edu
>>
>