How hot are the pianos getting? Have you measured the temperature of the pianos near the floor and compared that to the adjacent air temperature to establish a differential? Will -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Dean May Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 9:41 AM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] Protection from underfloor heating Radiant heat works not by warming the air, though there is some of that, but by radiating the heat, duh. ;-) Objects with mass in view of the radiant heat source absorb the heat and began to warm in temperature. The closer the object to the source, the more heat is absorbed. A piano with lots of mass sitting very close to the source will absorb lots of heat. While air, with negligible mass, will not absorb much heat. So measuring the air's temperature will not be any kind of indicator as to how much heat the piano is getting. Dean Dean W May (812) 235-5272 voice and text PianoRebuilders.com (888) DEAN-MAY Terre Haute IN 47802 -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Encore Pianos Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 8:18 AM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] Protection from underfloor heating Has anyone here ever measured the ambient air temperature directly above a radiant floor? (say 2 inches as a starting point) I am very curious as to what that temperature would measure there, and at intervals above that (say every foot or so). Will Truitt -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Ron Nossaman Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 7:34 AM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] Protection from underfloor heating On 12/11/2012 2:50 AM, David Boyce wrote: > > I was pondering the nature of the problem. Why is it bad to have heat > at the bottom of the piano? Given that the underfloor heating won't > be heating the room itself any hotter than any other heating system, > and given that the floor does not get scalding hot, and given that > wood is not a good conductor of heat, is it really so bad to have a > warm-ish floor? What does it do to the piano? It's like a whole house Dampp-Chaser without the humidification. Or like radiators, with the piano directly above them. Convection keeps the piano immersed in warm air not only all the time the heat is on, but until the thermal mass of the floor cools, which will be in the spring when the heat is turned off. Forced air heat leaves the floor and the first foot of air above it cold, so you're not heating the piano as much or as constantly and cooking the moisture out of it. So the overall temperature isn't directly the problem, I think, it's the resulting MC of the wood in the piano. Ron N ----- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.2221 / Virus Database: 2634/5450 - Release Date: 12/10/12
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