Dear Rebecca and Andrew:
Thank you for replying. When I say the weather is humid around Lake Champlain., I mean it stays around 60-80% most of the summer in addition to the hot weather according to my hydrometer. The pianos are kept in a room for the winter that averages around 50 degrees. Some techs on this sight say that the pianos need a year-round stable environment before you would even considera any Damp-Chaser system. I think the heating bar on their Steinway along with a hydrometer would work for the time being. What do you think?
Wayne Williams
----- Original Message -----
From: Andrew and Rebeca Anderson
To: Pianotech List
Sent: Tuesday, July 31, 2007 6:28 PM
Subject: Re: Coastal Dampp-chaser calibration
Wayne,
Do you have a hygrometer? Giving recommendations without measurements is like shooting in the dark. Rather ineffective except for certain movie stars...
It sounds like the best fit for your needs (provided humidity is that high consistently) would be DamppChaser's dehumidifier-only systems that contain heater bars and a hygrometer to control them. A heater bar without control is piano damage happening every long period you leave it plugged in. Undercovers and stringcovers would work together to further protect the piano and make the system more stabile.
A full system would require maintenance in the form of adding water and if the actual measured humidity is lower you may want to go that way. You would want to use a beeper system as no-one (not even residential customers) will bother to maintain water levels without aural stimulation. In an institutional setting that would require some education as some ignoramus take-charge-types will just unplug the system rather then deal with it.
Good Luck,
Andrew Anderson, Artisan Piano
At 09:46 PM 7/30/2007, you wrote:
Dear Paul,
The camp is only open two months of the year. The winters here are very long and rugged. All the pianos are stored in a seperate room where there is a minimal amount of climate comtrol.
Right now,the 1919 A Steinway is in an uninsulated auditorium for the summer. There is a Damp-Chaser heating bar inside. Is this sufficient for the summer. The camp also wants dampchasers in a few other uprights in the practice rooms in the back of the audtorium. I would say that the humidity near Lake Champlain is about 60-80% most of the summer.
All the pianos at the camp have been donated, and are old but good quality instruments for the most part. Right now they have a 1940's vintage Baldwin in great working order but very dirty, and it is being stored outside! I told the camp director to get the piano inside ASAP.
Look forward to your advice.
Wayne Williams
----- Original Message -----
From: PAULREVENKOJONES
To: Pianotech List
Sent: Friday, July 27, 2007 2:43 PM
Subject: Re: Coastal Dampp-chaser calibration
Wayne:
You might not have enough information. I certainly don't. What are the other seasonal conditions? What is the condition of the pianos as you find them from summer to summer? Is there any temperature and/or humidity control in the facility in which the pianos reside?
"If you want to know the truth, stop having opinions" (Chinese fortune cookie)
In a message dated 07/27/07 13:00:39 Central Daylight Time, wwilliams11 at nycap.rr.com writes:
Hello:
I mentioned this in another email in regard to the Damp-Chaser product. I
just tuning a Steinway grand and upright at a YMCA camp that operates only
two months a year, July and August. The camp is on Lake Champlain in New
York State, and the camp Director, a music teacher, says the summers are
very humid. Teh grand alreaddy has a "heating bar". Do the painos, given the
climate, warrent a complete Damp-Chaser system?
Wayne Williams
Schroon Lake, NY
----- Original Message -----
From: "R Barber" <bassooner42 at yahoo.com>
To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, July 16, 2007 2:36 PM
Subject: Coastal Dampp-chaser calibration
> The owner has double-paned windows, weather-stripped doors, drapes-
> generally equipped to protect his niche from the environment, but prefers
> open windows. There is no central humidity control. There is usually a
> 24-hour on-shore breeze, so the typical climate will be high RH, about 95%
> of the year. RH ranges between 55-100% daily, but occasionally there is a
> breeze from the off-shore direction when RH drops to 20% or below,
> sometimes for a few days at a time.
> I've heard two votes for the wet, and I'm tending in that direction.
> Thanks for you input!
> Richard Barber
>
>> My recommendation would be to know the typical range of relative humidity
>> (RH) the house (?) experiences. If the house is a old wood frame, windows
>> are often open, no central air or heat, then sure, pick the
>> "wet"-calibrated Dampp-Chaser humidistat to match the outdoor
>> environment. But many modern homes are well insulated from their outdoor
>> environment and RH ranges in them may have little to do with outdoor RH
>> ranges. Not only are modern homes well insulated from the outdoors (heat
>> AND humidity), but any home also has it's own humidity sources - cooking,
>> showers, etc.
>>
>> IMHO, if you are going to err at all, and being that you plan to install
>> a full system (are you sure its gets dry in the home?), I would go with
>> the "normal" humidistat. Another consideration might be if the instrument
>> is old with a sagging soundboard and less-than-tight tuning pins, you
>> might want the "wet"-calibrated Dampp-Chaser humidistat to help the piano
>> out a bit.
>>
>> Also, have you checked to see whether the home has a central humidity
>> control system?
>>
>> Many things to consider. At least the piano is getting a DC system -
>> always a good thing!
>>
>> Terry Farrell
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> Do you think a "wet"-calibrated Dampp-Chaser would be a wiser choice
>>> than the standard calibration for a client on a foggy coast?
>>> Installation to include string cover + undercover, complete Dampp-Chaser
>>> (not just rods), to cover off-shore dry spells.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Richard Barber
>>> Santa Clara Valley, CA
>>
>>
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