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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Barbara!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>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).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>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!!!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>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! </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>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!!!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Stay warm-- but keep a BIG pan of water on the
stove<FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><STRONG>! Humidity is our
FRIEND--- now more than any winter in my 25 years tuning/rebuilding.
</STRONG>If any information becomes available, please email me at <A
href="mailto:falcone1132@tmlp.com">falcone1132@tmlp.com</A>. Thanks, and
have a wonderful day!</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sincerely,</DIV>
<DIV>Marshall Connolly, Jr.</DIV>
<DIV>Boston Chapter<STRONG>From:</STRONG> <A title=piano57@insightbb.com
href="mailto:piano57@insightbb.com">Barbara Richmond</A> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, February 16, 2007 10:47
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> extreme winter weather/DC
effectiveness</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Howdy,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>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.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>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? </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I thought about recommending that the church look
into a big April-Aire system. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Any suggestions are welcome.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thanks.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Barbara Richmond, RPT</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>near Peoria,
Illinois</FONT> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>