<HTML>In a message dated 1/25/0= 1 8:30:50 AM Central Standard Time, : RustRazor@AOL.COM writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-= LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">That's right - the heater b= ars were plugged into "HUMIDIFIER" and the tank was in "DEHUMIDIFIER" and those heater bars were humming.  </BLOCKQ= UOTE> This can and does happen, as "Murphy's Law" says, if it can happen it wi= ll.   I heard about such an instance just last week and in December, I was cal= led to tune a very sick Baldwin Hamilton which had only the dehumidifier plu= gged into the humidifier outlet of the humidistat.  The pitch was very l= ow and all of the flanges were rattling.  The temperature outside was below ze= ro, the house had no humidifier so indoor relative Humidity was in the 15-20% ra= nge and this piano's *dehumidifier* was blazing away! The customer said she thought that you were supposed to change the plug = from one outlet to the other each season.  She didn't quite understand h= ow the heater rod became a "humidifier" but she had been told by a neighbor tha= t you were supposed to do this. Yesterday, my first call of the day was to a Betsy Ross spinet.  It= had only the dehumidifier which was plugged in, uncontrolled.  The piano was= very out of tune, with rattling flanges and the elbows were crumbling like pieces= of hard candy. Now, the part about making money is true.  I got good money for tig= htening flanges and regulation on both pianos, and real good money for replacing= elbows.  Neither customer got the piano tuned, however because asid= e from my not recommending it at that time, until the piano recovers from the extr= eme dryness, neither one could now afford to have the piano tuned anyway aft= er having paid so much for the repairs! This does seem to fuel the position that one local dealer here has had f= or some 20 years.  They always disrecommend Dampp-Chaser products, say= ing that they "will void the warranty", don't work in a controlled enough manner,= at best, create a constant battle between humidification and dehumidificati= on and are promoted by tuners just as a way to make extra money". While these kind of statements have been a thorn in my side all of this = time, I can see their point.  I have heard of other such instances from t= ime to time over the years.  Nearly every installation I have made in a pu= blic place has been neglected or somehow tampered with after the novelty wore off. =  Many residential customers abandon the use of the systemm after a few years saying, "I get *tired* of having to water the thing all the time!" These products have, however improved over time.  Matt's suggestion= is an excellent one.  Make the plugs fit only into the proper outlet some= how.  I also suggest providing alternative power cords for public places.  = Expecting a 10 foot lamp quality cord to hold up to decades of use in a public pla= ce is to *guarantee* that the system will not function as intended. Bill Bremmer RPT Madison, Wisconsin</HTML>