extreme winter weather/DC effectiveness

[John Formsma]

Do they keep the lid closed except during worship times? That makes a big
difference.

How far is the humidistat from the tank? Should be 12" or so.

I'm finding a lot of pianos with loose tuning pins, but none with the DC
systems. Loose pins are normal with a really dry winter. And my hygrometer
stops registering below 24%. It's happened several times already this year.

If the lid is closed and the stat is in the right place, it might be so dry
the system can't keep up. I do have a system with an undercover in a Yamaha
C3. It has similar problems even with the DC system. But 14 cents seems a
bit much of a drop from Christmas. This piano had an older system before,
and it dropped that much with it. It seems to be better with a newer system,
although it hasn't been on long enough to tell for sure.

JF





On 2/16/07, Barbara Richmond <piano57 at insightbb.com> wrote:
>
>  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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