I'm interested in knowing how to determine the total
or minimum amount of heater bar watts are needed to
install on any given piano . First a little
background on why I'm asking . I started installing
the full systems when I lived in the Mid-west . Now
I'm in Hawaii . When I got here I noticed that most
if not all the pianos I worked on had 25 watt (or
lower) bars in them with no stats . The pianos were
in bad shape; rusted & broken strings, cracks,
hammer felts coming off, etc. . A lot of them were
less than 15 years old , and the ones that were
closer to 25 years old are now shot . In most cases
the cost of repairs is more than the value of the
piano . My thought was what a waste it was of the
instrument . And most of the customers didn't
understand why I felt humidity was the culprit when
the dealers & techs in the area had sold them a
dehumidity system that was going to protect their
pianos. I handled this as best possible for the
first 4 years I was out here, telling customers and
dealers as the issue came up . Most of the time it
fell on deaf ears, and always with the dealers . They
said, "this is the way we have done it for over 25
years". I can see that . So I let it go until a
new ( I won't say the model or name brand but lets
just say it was a 7' 6" grand ) got delivered to
Hana, one of the wettest and most humid areas on the
island . One thing I learned very quickly out here is
that some areas are like a desert climate and others
are like a rain forest - with everything else in
between. So when I first talked to the customer I
asked if he purchased a Dampp-Chaser system . More
likely I knew from past history with this dealer that
a single low watt heater bar under 25 watts had been
included and pitched as what the customer needed to
control humidity . "Yes", he said, "and they said
you would be installing it" . So you can see where
this is going . We now have a dealer & a technician
not on the same page, and looking very unprofessional
to the customer . So this all blew up on the dealer.
Not what I wanted to happen, but it's not like I
didn't try to prevent it .
I called Dampp-Chaser after a somewhat heated
discussion with the dealer, on his part telling me
that I had to restate what I had told the
customer, because on the DC web site for techs, it
states that it is okay to use a 25 watt (or less)
heater bar without a stat . I also talked with the
piano manufacturers' service manager, whose main
concern was for the customer. Mine too, as well as
for the piano! I guess he thought I should have
talked with the dealer first. I told him that I had,
with no change in how they sold or expected me to
install the system. He stated that they back the
systems as long as they were installed properly. And
then I asked, "so what is a proper installation in
your eyes? He said, "You need to talk to
Dampp-Chaser." They responded very quickly to an
email I sent them, and followed up with a phone call
about my problem. After talking with them, they
could not answer my question either. I got the old
adage, "the piano will tell you If the pitch is not
stable". I find it hard to believe that they don't
have some kind of an idea what minimum wattage would
be required to keep the soundboard at about 7% water
content, and the piano at about 42% RH, as I have
read in their technical information. It looks like
they have done their homework. No, I know they have.
But I find it odd they could not answer this
question. To me, adding a 25 watt (or less) heater
bar would be like installing an A/C system with a
given amount of cooling capacity(less than you would
need at peak demand), turned on high full time, and
then expecting it to keep the temperature the same as
the sun comes up, or clouds and storms move through.
The customer comes home and opens the house in the
evening to the nice trade wind ocean breezes, or
starts a fire in the wood burning stove. Yes, we do
have areas in the higher elevations up on the
volcanoes, where some of my customers have wood
burning stoves. Granted, the drying effect would not
be as great as in the mid-west, where they are run
for days at a time, but I would think that a DC stat
would turn off after a few hours if it was near that
stove. So, is this a guessing game based on pianos
we have serviced over the years? (25w, 35w, 50w, or
a total on longer grands, where I know they have
found that more than one heater bar is needed.) In
that case, it's always going to be over the 25 watt
level, which is why the dealer lost this round. But
what about the other pianos out there? I had let
this run in the back of my mind the past month or so,
until a Chickering Grand showed up at my shop
yesterday that had been re-strung and worked over in
the past. It had about 20 broken keys, brick hard
newer hammers, and rust on all of the strings . And
guess what I found under the soundboard? A 15 watt
heater bar with no stat!
I guess my real question is, why would anyone open
the door for people to be misguided by a statement on
that web site, misuse the product and, in my opinion,
cause confusion that could lead to damage of a
customer's piano? DC told me that for now it will
stay as stated. I asked them if they could add a
footnote that this will not get the job done in most
cases, however they would like to word it. I don't
think they have ever done so. The way they stated it
to me makes me think that there is more to this,
maybe some kind of a disagreement on this issue. We
all know how hard change is. Or maybe I'm wrong. If
so, please explain to me why. I'm not one to be told
something is right without also being shown the facts
to back it up. And the facts I have are that all of
these pianos I'm servicing over here are not
protected at 25 or less watts with no stat. Any
input on this situation would be greatly
appreciated.
Brett Glass
A Sharp PIano Service, Maui
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