Damp Chaser Question

[gordon stelter]

There are actualy mini-refrigeration units one can buy
to build their own cooler around. Checkout Real Goods
Co.,( probably realgoods.com ) purveyors of stuff for
"off-grid" living.  But that raises the question: How
importanmt is temperature control, as long as humidity
is kept constant? Thoughts?
--- Farrell <mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com> wrote:
> Hi Greg. No one seems to be biting on this one, so
> I'll tell you what I think I know. I have been
> extremely happy with the climate control I have in
> my shop. A Sears basement-type dehumidifier and an
> automatic air conditioner. RH stays right at 50%.
> However, I don't have the need for humidification -
> RH never gets below 35%.
> 
> My shop is a little bit bigger than your box (not a
> whole lot!). But you might want to consider
> partitioning off a small room for the piano rather
> than just a box. That way it could be serviced and
> tuned in its climate-controlled room. Small room
> humidifiers are also available - look on the web. I
> had my old dehumidifier plugged into my DC
> humidistat because the humidistat on the unit was
> junk. My new dehumidifier has a humidistat that
> works quite well. If you used an unregulated
> humidifier of less than 600W, you could use a DC
> humidistat to regulate its function.
> 
> You could do all this in the little box also - but
> if you wanted to regulate the temperature in the
> summer with an AC unit, I think it would be hard to
> find a small enough unit for the box. Electrical
> heater bars than run 24/7 do not sound like a hazard
> to me - IF they are regulated with a humidistat.
> Also, if they are running 24/7, you don't have
> enough wattage in there. If you make your little
> box, maybe a few heater bars and a very small room
> humidifier both plugged into a DC humidistat will do
> the trick for you.
> 
> I am planning on a similar climate controlled
> storage area for a theatre I service. It is a small
> room about 15' by 15'. Two grands are stored there.
> As I do not need to worry about low RH, I will
> simply be recommending a small AC unit for the
> window and a dehumidifier similar to the one in my
> shop. Or, if they have $$$ to spend, a fancy system
> designed and installed by folks that provide climate
> control for laboratories, etc.
> 
> As to the effects of pulling the piano out of this
> idyllic environment and onto the nasty stage with
> high/low RH and wild swings of temperature??? I
> think you just need to practice the line: "Hey, it
> sounded fine before we moved it out here!"
> 
> Recommend full climate control for the entire
> facility!!! Tell 'em it will save on painting costs!
> 
> Good luck.
> 
> Terry Farrell
>   
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Greg Newell" <gnewell@ameritech.net>
> To: <pianotech@ptg.org>; <MPT@philbondi.com>
> Sent: Thursday, August 15, 2002 9:06 PM
> Subject: Damp Chaser Question
> 
> 
> > Greetings listees,
> >          I have a customer who is going to build a
> piano closet off of 
> > their stage. I'd like to ask the opinion of the
> lists as to how to outfit a 
> > humidity control system in this closet. My thought
> was to daisy chain some 
> > systems together or perhaps two or more entire
> separate systems to keep the 
> > piano controlled ( I know, I know, control is an
> illusion) while it is in 
> > storage. Since this is a performance instrument I
> recommended controlling 
> > the box rather than the piano since some part of
> the Damp-Chaser system 
> > will inevitably be visible if mounted on the piano
> itself. My customer writes;
> > 
> > The Apartment Complex for our Asian Musical Tenant
> will be:
> > 4'-0'' High
> > 6'-0'' Wide
> > 11'-0'' Long which equals 264 Cubic Feet inside,
> > (less a little bit for corner tangent framing)
> > Hope this helps. It sounds like box, rather than
> piano mounting is
> > better.
> > The big question for me is ventilation. Electrical
> heater bars that run
> > 24/7 inside a wooden box sounds like a hazard
> waiting to occur.
> > 
> > Can someone more experienced than I (even Roger if
> you're reading these 
> > things) suggest a system of components that will
> adequately cover the need? 
> > The piano is in Northern Ohio and is normally
> subject to RH swings of 
> > roughly 15% to 85% or more.
> > 
> > I'd also like to ask those who have done this what
> one can expect when 
> > pulling the piano out of the closet for a
> performance. Does it goes 
> > unstable right away or what?
> > 
> > Thanks in advance for your input.
> > 
> > Greg Newell
> > mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net
> > 
> 


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