extreme winter weather/DC effectiveness

[Marshall Connolly]

Hi Barbara!

I have installed more D.C. systems than my back would care to remember.  I too, have been experiencing such drops in pitch in pianos WITH the system, whose owners are quite attentive to the needs of the piano.  In Massachusetts (near the Cape) I've been running around checking pads, humidistats (on the older systems) etc., trying to trouble-shoot the cause of this phenomenon.  My customers keep the pianos completely closed (grands) when not in use, and still, I get calls to "check" the tunings I did in September-December.  It's tough to charge them, even for a service call when I can't pin-point the exact nature of the situation.

My only thought is that this winter has become (at least here) so cold, and de-void of humidity, snow, rain, or something "wet" in the air, that the systems are doing their best to compensate, but inadequate under such extreme circumstances.  I have a room humidifier in the showroom (appx. 20'x25') and go through five gallons of h20 daily to keep the humidity level at 40%.  I still can't achieve 42%, no matter how hard I try.  I have pianos in the showroom with D.C. systems, and YET I still fill them weekly-- amid a 'somewhat' ambient climate (temp NEVER exceeds 67 degrees).

I have a large customer base (including universities, the local performing arts center, and several school systems) and I have never seen a winter that has been so rough on instruments.  Unless the pads haven't been changed and the old ones are really crusty (hence, ineffective), it's probably climate- not the system.  I can't speak to the issue of the under-covers- I've never installed one.   Hmmmm, time to chat with Wally & Vivian Brooks to see if they can get those!!!

This winter has become especially harsh on pianos--- and people.  I walk for an hour each day.  I made the mistake of doing that when it was 12 degrees in New Bedford, and ended up in the hospital with extreme bronchitis, and dual ear infections!  
Maybe the folks at D.C. can give better recommendations, as for me, I'm just sharing some equal confusion about this situation, and hoping that someone will find a solution before I go broke trying to address it!!!

Stay warm-- but keep a BIG pan of water on the stove!  Humidity is our FRIEND--- now more than any winter in my 25 years tuning/rebuilding.  If any information becomes available, please email me at falcone1132 at tmlp.com.  Thanks, and have a wonderful day!

Sincerely,
Marshall Connolly, Jr.
Boston ChapterFrom: Barbara Richmond 
  To: Pianotech 
  Sent: Friday, February 16, 2007 10:47 PM
  Subject: extreme winter weather/DC effectiveness


  Howdy,

  Hope you're all nice and cozy, it's been dang cold here.  I've got a question for you DC experts, I would have called DC themselves, but I didn't get home in time this afternoon.  

  Early this past fall I regulated a 1920s S&S A and installed a full DC system--but no undercover.  The piano is kept closed and covered when not in use.  The church has AC, though to me it felt humid  (for some reason I didn't have my hygrometer with me).   Anyway, before Christmas I tuned the piano again and it was 17 cents low.   Today I tuned it again and it was 14 cents low. Yikes.  The weather here lately has been extremely cold (OK, you nanooks of the north can laugh) and the church was incredibly dry--it didn't register on my not very good hygrometer.  A couple weeks ago, the music director called to tell me that tuning pins were slipping like crazy on the harpsichord I worked on last December.  I thought today that the tuning pins on the piano felt looser than in the past (or was it my imagination?).  AND I noticed that the regulation was off, too.  Geeze.  Apparently the heat is always on in the church--not one of those where it gets turned off and on, and it has felt warm to me the times I've been in there.

  So...you get the picture that the place is dry.  Here is the question--how good a job should the DC system be doing in these circumstances?  Is anybody else experiencing this?  The music director said he is filling the DC tank at least once a week.  I even took a look to see if I had plugged things in the wrong place.  Is there anything else I can do, besides put an undercover on?  Can undercovers make a huge difference in a situation where there isn't significant air movement, etc? 

  I thought about recommending that the church look into a big April-Aire system. 

  Any suggestions are welcome.

  Thanks.

  Barbara Richmond, RPT
  near Peoria, Illinois 
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