<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <html><head><style type="text/css"></style><title>Re: [CAUT] Organs and RH</title></head><body> <div>Hi Jim,</div> <div><br></div> <div>We have a similar situation at the Sydney Conservatorium - organ and harpsichord in the same room. It is on the north side of the building and sun streams through the windows especially in summer ( southern hemisphere, for those to whom this sounds wrong!), and plays havoc with the RH and temperature. There is AC but no humidity control for the room.</div> <div><br></div> <div>We have as much if not more trouble with the organ tuning, due to the RH and temp changes, than with the harpsichord. Organ tuning is much less frequent and more expensive, so the organ is in poor shape a lot of the time. As you may know, when RH and temp change, the pitch of metal pipes and wooden pipes move in opposite directions  - **%$@!</div> <div><br></div> <div>Regarding airflow through the organ, I don't know how it affects the overall room condition but I have been told by an organ builder that the forced flow of low RH air through an organ will lead to rapid damage to wooden pipes.</div> <div><br></div> <div>Our fix is to lock the AC control at 21 degrees and put tinting film on the windows.</div> <div><br></div> <div>I too have my doubts as to the effectiveness of a DC system under the harpsichord. As cost is the issue, even a smaller, therefore cheaper, room unit will minimise the swings. Not perfect, but perhaps no longer damaging to timber and somewhat more stable tuning.</div> <div><br></div> <div>The college may not believe that one harpsichord warrants a room unit, so base your argument on potential damage to the $360,000 organ and you might get your two birds!</div> <div><br></div> <div>Good luck,</div> <div>Geoff Pollard</div> <div>Piano Technician</div> <div>Sydney Conservatorium of Music</div> <div><br></div> <div> </div> <div><br></div> <div><br></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1">List,</font></blockquote> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1"> </font></blockquote> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1">Does having a large pipe organ in the room affect the RH? By that I mean, does all the air passing through an organ's pipes dry out the air and/or does the pump/bellows compress air and make more/less moisture?</font></blockquote> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1"> </font></blockquote> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1">Thanks,</font></blockquote> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1">Jim Busby BYU</font></blockquote> <blockquote type="cite" cite></blockquote> <div><br></div> </body> </html>