<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2600.0" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY> <DIV><FONT color=#008000>Comments interspersed below:</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#008000></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#008000>Terry Farrell</FONT></DIV> <DIV> <SPAN id=__#Ath#SignaturePos__></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV>----- Original Message ----- <DIV>From: "D.L. Bullock" <<A href="mailto:dlbullock@att.net">dlbullock@att.net</A>></DIV> <DIV>To: <<A = href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A>></DIV> <DIV>Sent: Monday, July 29, 2002 11:35 AM</DIV> <DIV>Subject: RE: damp chaser</DIV></DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>> I seldom if ever suggest a damp chaser.  As you know I = restore older pianos.<BR>> When I get a piano that has a damp chaser = installed and it has been there<BR>> all the life of the piano, I also find many = problems directly caused by the<BR>> heat.  Though it was worse in Texas = where there was low humidity, I also<BR>> find it here in St. Louis as = well.  The damp chaser is for pianos that are<BR>> in damp basements and the = dehumidifier does not work well enough.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#008000>Yes, a proper installation should provide good benefit in such an environment, but they are also for any room = where the relative humidity level is not ideal. I have a system on my grand in = my living room and it performs very well indeed.</FONT><BR><BR>> = Granted, the ones I have removed from pianos being restored were the<BR>> = unswitched model,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#008000>End of story right there. This is like buying = a car, jamming the accelerator to the floor and complaining  that the car = is bad because every time you try and use a car all it ever does is go 120 mph = down the road and crash into a telephone pole. The secret (I never thought this = was a secret) is regulating the system. In a car we have an = accelerator that can be engaged or disengaged. The car also has a brake. The DC rod = should ALWAYS be installed with a humidistat. If you use a humidistat, you will = NOT have a damaged piano.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>> but I have found the following problems directly caused by<BR>> a damp chaser:<BR>> All action parts screws loose--flanges = shrank.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#008000>Did you measure the flanges? How do you know = they shrank? What was the original size? What was the shrunk size? I = have seen many new and old pianos with action parts screws loose - with no DC = installed. The first piano repair I ever did was to my own new 1098 - tightening = all the action screws because hammers were drifting out of alignment. Every = screw was loose - no DC.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><BR>> This caused hammers to hit the wrong strings and the = wippens to wear in<BR>> weird ways when they shifted.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#008000>OK.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><BR>> Many more cracks in the soundboard than expected.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#008000>How many cracks were expected?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><BR>> No crown left in the soundboard.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#008000>Well, that would certainly be a first. Has = anyone else ever seen this condition?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><BR>> All the timber's glue joints loose around the firewall of = the grand. (under<BR>> the dampers.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#008000>Hmmmmm.................piano?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><BR>> Wide cracks in the keybed which I had never seen.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#008000>Did you look?</FONT><BR><BR>> I have had = spinets with long time damp chasers that I suggested piano<BR>> replacement = because they were no longer usable pianos and they were not<BR>> worth the = money to restore.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#008000>And your point is? I have had spinets = without long time damp chasers that I suggested piano replacement because they were = no longer usable pianos and they were not worth the money to restore.<BR></FONT> <BR>> Perhaps you could find the same = problems in Arizona but they should not<BR>> arise in more humid climes.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#008000>????????????????????</FONT><BR>> <BR>> = D.L. Bullock<BR>> <A href="http://www.thepianoworld.com">www.thepianoworld.com</A><BR>> = St. Louis<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> </DIV></BODY></HTML>