Nice explanation, Sarah, but I think a dehumidifier dripping to the outside in a sealed box is the best way to go. Speaking of which: how do Dampp Chaser bars dry out piano parts, as increased heat in a closed box such as piano case only allows more moisture to reside in the air? Thump G --- Sarah Fox <sarah@graphic-fusion.com> wrote: > Hi Bob, > > Dehumidifier bars *alone* won't do it, as the RH > will rise in the booth as > moisture comes out of the wood. There has to be > some way of transferring > the moisture from the inside to the outside. This > can be achieved with some > degree of ventillation in combination with the > dehumidifier rods. (In other > words, don't have the chamber too air tight.) > Fresh, cool air will enter > the chamber at some higher RH, and then it will be > heated, driving down the > RH. The air will then absorb moisture, and the RH > will rise. But > eventually, the warmer, moist air is vented to the > outside (the way the > moisture is transferred), and it is replaced by > cooler moist air, which can > be heated to lower the RH. Put another way, cool > air of a given RH has less > total moisture than warm air of the same RH. Makes > sense??? If you use the > heat approach, you'll find some very cheap and > effective ceramic heaters at > the hardware store (perhaps $15 for 1000W of heat). > There's no need to blow > lots of money on dehumidifier rods, and the > efficiency is exactly the same. > > A noisier but more effective way to dehumidify is > with a running > compressor-type dehumidifier, which will condense > the moisture out of the > air and drain it to the outside. I think you can > get one of these things > for around $150. I don't know which of these two > methods would be more > energy efficient. > > A third way to dehumidify would be with a dessicant > in an *air-tight* > chamber. (This might be useful for pinblock > material, but it gets somewhat > impractical on a large scale.) There's a > product/company called Drierite, > out of Xenia, OH. You can find it on the web. You > can buy the stuff fairly > economically in 50 lb bags. Drierite draws moisture > out of the air and > incorporates it into its crystal composition. > Depending on the variety you > buy, the stuff can have an indicator that changes > color when it has soaked > up as much moisture as it is able. It looks a bit > like blue kitty litter > and turns pink with moisture absorption. If I > remember correctly, it can > absorb about 5 or 10% of its weight in water. When > the stuff is > "exhausted," you can heat it in an oven to drive off > the water, so that you > can re-use it. > > Peace, > Sarah > > _______________________________________________ > pianotech list info: > https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com
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