<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> Grin... Really Terry I think we are both very much on the same track... I am a bit argumentative by nature.. and get easily hung up on words and ways of describeing things. Im sure that if you and I sat down over a bottle of Glenmorange and hashed out just what we mean and mean to know about this that we'd end up looking at each other with that particular whishky induced grin and say something to the effect of.. "Thats what I have been saying all along". <p>Farrell wrote: <blockquote TYPE=CITE> Genius or not, Forestologist or not, trustworthy or not, right or wrong, maybe we should just ask ......did someone ask a question about "drawing  moisture" from a soundboard"? <p>Didnt read that question exactly like that you see... put it in the whole sentence perspective it came out to  me more like... "Does Damp Chaser work by drawing moisture out of the soundboard"... Immediately my little finger goes up and says.... yes.... but its not that simple... you'll learn to ignore this kinda thing in me after a while.. grin. <p>Should we just wait and see if there is a need for any more enlightening discussion? Where are you on this? I have a sneaky suspicion what the results of a vote would suggest! Maybe a truce until we hear from Ruth Phillips? It sounded like she had something concrete on her mind. Later! <font size=-1>Terry Farrell</font> <br><font size=-1>Piano Tuning & Service</font> <br><font size=-1>Tampa, Florida</font> <br><font size=-1><a href="mailto:mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com">mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com</a></font> <blockquote style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px"> <div style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----</div> <div style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><b>From:</b> <a href="mailto:Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no" title="Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no">Richard Brekne</a></div> <div style="FONT: 10pt arial"><b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org" title="pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</a></div> <div style="FONT: 10pt arial"><b>Sent:</b> Thursday, October 19, 2000 6:18 AM</div> <div style="FONT: 10pt arial"><b>Subject:</b> Re: Different question about heater bars</div>   <p><br>Farrell wrote: <blockquote TYPE="CITE"><style></style> "This humidity thing is always fun... and dont worry... even if I am blowing air out of my better end,,, I still enjoy the conversation.. grin." <p>Me also!........But. Look at Dampp-Chaser marketing propaganda. All their graphs about soundboards. Now I don't really think that they truely represent the results of any particular experiment, but rather trends they are trying to exemplify (although I do believe they should state that some of the data in their brochure might be a bit idealized). Anyhow, as the RH decreases in air in a piano, the soundboard Moisture Content also declines. Moisture content is water in wood. Lower moisture content means less water in wood. That means the water left the wood. It is no longer there. It does not have anything to do with the amount of water the wood may be able to hold (like RH). This is a central issue in wood technology - manipulating the moisture content of wood. <p>It really, really is true. You can trust me! I is edgeekated. I got me a deegree in Forestry (two lives ago)! So there! Top that!   ;-) <blockquote TYPE="CITE">Terry Farrell <br>Piano Tuning & Service</blockquote> </blockquote> <p><br>Terry... its not that I am saying that you are wrong in what you state... its just an incomplete description. The question was something to the affect of "does Dampchase work by drawing water out of the wood". My answer was simply "not exactly". And that stands. The  picture is more complex really, and to my mind of thinking a better description of what DampChaser does..is the following. It attempts to set up and maintain a mini climate in which the soundboard and the interior of the piano is included. This climate is held at a RH of around 42 percent as best as the system is able to achieve. How it does this is indeed a bit more complicated then saying simply that it "draws moisture out of the panel". <p>DC, will draw moisture out of the wood, will heat the wood, and will lower the RH in the wood. These three things interelate, until some kind of a equillibrium in RH is achieved. <p>Look at it this way Terry,,  You heat the air in the piano, RH drops and non-equillibrium is created and wood starts to respond by seeping out some of its moisture... but then you have also heated up the wood, and its RH drops also increasing its capacity to hold moisture. Its not going to want to let go of so much of that moisture anymore... and if the woods capacity to hold moisture exceeds that of the surrounding outside air it will want some of that moisture... course it will also act as a heat radiator to some degree which sets up the same kinda thing going on the back side, albiet to a lesser degree.  Same happens with the air inside with relation to the air outside. Actually, Damp Chaser will try and get this whole mini climate to respond to the outside climate as one unit. Breathing in and out moisture and heat as neccessary to maintain an RH in an average of 42 % which dictates a wood moisture content that is conducive to pianos enjoying their lives. <p>So... I say again... to say that Damp Chaser works by "drawing out moisture from the soundboard" is not exactly right... <p>Trust me on this... I was born a genuis... Grin.. <p>Great fun Terry.</blockquote> </blockquote> <p>-- <br>Richard Brekne <br>RPT, N.P.T.F. <br>Bergen, Norway <br>  </body> </html>