<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" = http-equiv=Content-Type> <META content="MSHTML 5.00.2919.6307" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV>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"? 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!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Terry Farrell<BR>Piano Tuning & = Service<BR>Tampa, Florida<BR><A href="mailto:mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com">mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com</A></FO= NT></DIV> <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> <DIV><BR></DIV>  <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. </P></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>