[CAUT] Building humidity now, GREAT!

[Ed Sutton]

Could this be a research project for the CAUT Committee?

Situations like the one Gerald reports seem endemic.

A report on real conditions, detailing the HVAC systems and the engineering claims vs. real room humidity, and explaining the costs in maintenance, instrument deterioration and poor faculty/student performance might be of value to administrators and might help gain academic recognition for CAUT and PTG.

Ed Sutton


----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Gerald Groot 
  To: caut at ptg.org 
  Sent: Friday, January 07, 2011 9:46 AM
  Subject: Re: [CAUT] Building humidity now, GREAT!


  My college has 100 pianos that I tune frequently.  The majority are tuned 4 -6 times a year.  Of course, concert work is done a lot more frequently than that but, the concert instruments also have Dampp Chasers on them which helps tremendously.  The pitch and humidity swings are kept to a minimum.  Otherwise, with the rest of the building, humidity swings were horrible!!!  In August, it would be 65 %+ RH.  October 35 %, December 18-28 %.  January through March, 14 %-20 %.  Of course, tunings are all over the place.  

   

  These past 18 months, the CFAC (Covenant Fine Arts Center) was closed for remodeling.  They redid a complete renovation of the entire CFAC.  18 million bucks worth.  Part of the building opened up in October at which time the RH averaged 35 %.  Granted, it just opened so they were getting used to adjusing everything. We encountered the same problems Paul, one room was 80 the next was 65 degrees.  

   

  Supposedly, they spent quite a bundle on a new HVAC system.  This past Wednesday and Thursday of this week, it averaged 22 - 26 % RH.  One room was 19 %.  So much for a new HVAC.  I think they're either over rated or the people responsible for them do not understood how to operate them.    ?  J

   

   

   

  From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Paul T Williams
  Sent: Friday, January 07, 2011 9:06 AM
  To: caut at ptg.org
  Subject: Re: [CAUT] Building humidity now, GREAT!

   

  It's at 45% this morning and has stayed between 39 and 45 for a month now! I'm a happy guy! Super cold snap and snow in a couple days, so we'll see if it can handle it. 

  Paul 




        From: 
       Diane Hofstetter <dianepianotuner at msn.com> 
       
        To: 
       College and University Technicians <caut at ptg.org> 
       
        Date: 
       01/07/2011 01:26 AM 
       
        Subject: 
       Re: [CAUT] Building humidity now, GREAT!
       

   


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  Paul, Wondering how  your building humidity is holding up.  The engineers are coming Monday...



  Diane Hofstetter





  ----------------------------------------
  > To: caut at ptg.org
  > From: a440a at aol.com
  > Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2010 18:55:18 -0500
  > Subject: Re: [CAUT] Building humidity now, GREAT!
  >
  > Paul writes:
  > >>Don't know what happened, but facilitiesmanagement on UNL has
  > our building reallly nice. 40% humidity solid forthe past 3 weeks!! How
  > they did it is beyond me, but it's there and I'mliking it! I hope it
  > holds!
  >
  > Greetings,
  > Everything will be fine for a couple of weeks, then we have two
  > days of 78 degree rooms, followed by a day of 60 degrees, then back
  > hovering around 70. Every time the weather begins changing, the system
  > needs a couple of days to react. Knocks the hell out of practice
  > rooms. Stage pianos are tuned often enough, (several times a week)
  > that they ride through the changes with a few cents swing up and down.(
  > I do NOT change a concert piano's pitch 2 cents to match 440 if it is
  > intact where it is.) I am trying to get a semester's worth out of each
  > tuning in the teacher's studios, but that only happens when nothing
  > else goes wrong. Which is rarely.
  > In an ideal world, the budget would be as elastic as the
  > temperature, and I am just wondering what the real world does. What
  > have other CAUTs said to the administration inre costs of tuning going
  > up with HVAC problems.
  > Regards,
  > Ed
  >
  >                                                                                             
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