Cold and dry

[Dean May]

Well, my experience is totally the opposite. Old country churches, set back
thermostats or not, tend to have the wildest pitch swings. And complete
DampChaser systems with covers evens them out, set backs or not. 

Speaking of churches with set backs, always remember to tell them to bring
the church up to the temperature (heat up, or a/c on, depending on the
season) it will be at during service several hours before you arrive to
tune. This will make you more comfortable (most important!) and will put the
piano at its operating conditions, if you will, which will hopefully help
ensure that the pitch you set it at will be the same pitch it is played at
in the service. 

As to the original question, I don't think over dryness will be an issue in
an unheated house. Remember it is relative humidity that is the issue.
Relative humidity can still get pretty high in the winter, else it would
never snow or sleet. It's when we add the heat to maintain a 60 degree
temperature differential with the ambient that we drive the relative
humidity levels extremely low. 

If the house is in an area with a lot of winter precipitation consider
installing a 50 watt bar with dry humidistat to take care of any periods of
high relative humidity. Otherwise, I would not worry about it being over
dry. There will be no heat on to over dry the air.

Dean

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Don
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2006 9:10 AM
To: Pianotech List
Subject: RE: Cold and dry

Hi David,

My experience in small country Churches parallel's that of John Ross. The
pianos don't seem to mind the low humidity--it is just the "change" of
humidity that needs to be controlled. As temperature drops RH rises. It is
not uncommon for -30 C to exhibit 80 to 90% R.H. The killer is when that
"outside" air is warmed up to +20 C (68 F for you metrically challenged
folks).

In Churches where DC systems are installed and a "set back" thermostat is
used the results are very poor as far as pitch stability is concerned.

My experiences in the far north where humidity is ultra low suggest that
low humidity 24/7 is better for an instrument than the rise and fall of
humidity levels.

At about 2 liters per week an awfully large reservoir would be required.

At 06:34 AM 10/13/2006 -0700, you wrote:
>         The problem won’  During the winter where it’    
>I’      David Love
> davidlovepianos at comcast.net
> www.davidlovepianos.com     -----Original Message-----
> From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On
>Behalf Of John Ross
> Sent: Friday, October 13, 2006 6:09 AM
> To: Pianotech List
> Subject: Re: Cold and dry       I run across old pianos, in unheated
>country churches, they seem to hold their tune reasonably well.      They
>do have the rust problem though, but who knows how long ago it happened.   
>  I think a heater bar, just to keep the moisture down would be adequate,
>if the rust problem isn't there yet. If it is already rusty, I wouldn't
>bother, with anything.      That is, if it is just a mediocre piano anyway.
>     I would watch which mothballs, I used, as it seems to me the fumes of
>some are corrosive.      John M. Ross
> Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada
> jrpiano at win.eastlink.ca             
>       No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free
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>10/12/2006 

Regards,
Don Rose, B.Mus., A.M.U.S., A.MUS., R.P.T.
Non calor sed umor est qui nobis incommodat

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