Re: [disklavier] Regulating House RH During Winter Months
2003-12-06 by Robert Welcyng
Here is something fairly simple that you can do to help humidify a grand piano in a dry environment. You may find its appearance unattractive; nor will it match the performance of a humidistat-controlled system such as the Dampp-Chaser. However, it should slow the drifting of the tuning and possibly even prevent the sound board from cracking. Sew a fabric or flannel-backed vinyl cover for the piano. The cover should extend to the floor so as to isolate the air beneath the instrument. Keep the piano lid closed and the fabric cover in place when the piano is not in use. Beneath the piano and enclosed by the fabric cover, place a wet bath towel so that it is supported and spread out to the air. A five-gallon pail works well for the support. Beneath the pail, place a plastic mat to catch drips and protect the floor. Once a day, re-wet the towel in a sink and return it to its place under the piano. (I happen to use this method to supplement my Dampp-Chaser humidifier. I noticed that with no cover over the piano, the humidifier is energized 100% of the time in the winter. In other words, the humidifier capacity is insufficient by itself for winter-dry conditions. With the full fabric cover in place, the humidifier operates less than 100% of the time, meaning that sufficient water is then being added to the air to average out to a 42% RH climate. When the outdoor temperature drops severely, and the indoor RH becomes very low, the humidifier and fabric cover once again cannot overcome the dryness. By supplementing the humidifier with the moist towel, 42% RH is maintained by the humidistat with less than a 100% duty cycle required of the Dampp-Chaser humidifier.) Jimmy wrote: > I will be brief, I have been living in Montreal with my disklavier for > many winter. This will be my fourth with my piano DGC1A and I also have > a similar heating system, I do not use a programmable thermostat, and > try to keep my temperature around 21, the realtive humidity will be > decreasing for the next few months as the temperature will reach minus > 30c. The humidity will go down as much as 30% which will be normal for > these conditions. > Unfortunately, the piano will shift at the same rate. I normally try to > getting tune in october, and sometime in may. I like to have it in tune > for Xmas but it will shift slightly with time. If your piano was built > for North America, i believe Yamaha use proper wood for our climate, > and it will last you for years to come. > > Enjoy the music,, and happy holidays. > > Jimmy > Montreal CAnada > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: rrl_edm <mailto:r_leblanc@...> > To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com <mailto:disklavier@yahoogroups.com> > Sent: Friday, December 05, 2003 5:23 PM > Subject: [disklavier] Regulating House Tem[erature During Winter Months > > > I have a question about regulating my house temperature during the > winter months and the potential effect this may have on my > Disklavier MX1Z upright piano. The piano is not located near any > heat sources, in direct sunlight, near an outer wall, etc., or > anything that would directly affect the piano in an adverse way. > > I live in the 'great white north'. Actually, I live in Edmonton, > Alberta (Canada). Hockey fans will know about Edmonton as Wayne > Gretzky played here during his climb to fame. > > Edmonton is geographically situated at: > Latitude: 53 degrees, 18 minutes north > Longitude: 113 degrees, 35 minutes west > > Here's our annual meteorological statistics (temperatures in > Fahrenheit): > > Average Average Warmest Coldest Average Average > Month: High: Low: Ever: Ever: Dew Point: > Precipitation: > > JAN. 19 2 46 -49 3 0.9 > FEB. 23 4 55 -40 6 0.6 > MARCH 34 16 63 -29 16 0.7 > APRIL 50 29 86 -18 26 0.8 > MAY 62 39 90 18 35 2.0 > JUNE 68 46 88 30 45 3.5 > JULY 71 50 90 36 51 3.4 > AUG. 69 47 91 25 49 3.6 > SEP. 61 39 93 16 40 1.9 > OCT. 51 29 83 -15 29 0.5 > NOV. 31 13 64 -29 15 0.6 > DEC. 21 3 48 -47 6 1.0 > > (http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/northame/canada/wedmonto.htm > ) > > My house has a forced-air furnace that burns natural gas. My annual > combined natural gas + electricity costs run about CDN$1500 > (depending on fluctuating prices and severity of annual weather). > > Like many who live in cold climates, I use a programmable furnace > thermostat to vary the temperature throughout the day. The program > is set to provide a 'comfortable temperature' based on whether > anyone is typically home at the time, for overnight sleeping, etc. > Programmable thermostats are quire common and are used to save $$'s > and equally to conserve energy (natural resources). > > To put this into context, here's my thermostat's winter heating > schedule: > > Day: Time: Temperature: > > Mon-Fri 7:00am - 8:45am 68.0F (20C) > 8:45am - 5:45pm 64.4F (18C) > 5:45pm - 10:45pm 68.0F (20C) > 10:45pm - 7:00am 54.4F (18F) > > Sat-Sun 8:45am - 11:45pm 68.0F (20C) > 11:45pm - 8:45am 64.4F (18F) > > > When someone's home the temp will often get bumped up to 69.8F (21C) > for comfort. Also, if we're traveling, we'll hold the temp at 18F > while we're away. The humidity in my house typically varies between > 35%-38% during the winter. Of course anything that creates humidity > (cloths dryer, etc.) will temporarily increase the relative humidity. > > Okay then. With all the foregoing information as background, and > with regard to my piano, should I reconsider using my programmable > thermostats and simply hold the temperature at 68F all winter? Then > again, maybe I should move to a warmer climate! > > > Robert > > > > To Post a message to the group, send it to: disklavier@... > > To Post a private message to Todd Muncy, the group's founder and > moderator, send it to: > disklavier-owner@... > > To reach our group's web site go to: > http://Yahoogroups.com/group/disklavier > > Todd's family web site was completely updated 01/15/03. It contains > some fun disklavier content and links to midi sites among many other > things, The url is: > http://MuncyFamily.com > > THINKING OF LEAVING THE GROUP? > If you are thinking of unsubcribing because you are getting too much > mail, go the the web site and change your email delivery option > instead. That will fix the problem, while maintaining your access > to the group. If you insist on leaving us completely send a blank > email to: > disklavier-unsubscribe@... > > Know someone who wants to join? Have them send a blank email to: > disklavier-subscribe@... or give them this link: > http://Yahoogroups.com/group/disklavier/join > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service > <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/>. > > > Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > ADVERTISEMENT > click here > <http://rd.yahoo.com/SIG=12crvfadb/M=267637.4116732.5333197.1261774/D=egroupweb/S=1705032012:HM/EXP=1070767218/A=1853619/R=0/*http://www.netflix.com/Default?mqso=60178356&partid=4116732> > > > To Post a message to the group, send it to: disklavier@... > > To Post a private message to Todd Muncy, the group's founder and > moderator, send it to: > disklavier-owner@... > > To reach our group's web site go to: > http://Yahoogroups.com/group/disklavier > > Todd's family web site was completely updated 01/15/03. It contains > some fun disklavier content and links to midi sites among many other > things, The url is: > http://MuncyFamily.com > > THINKING OF LEAVING THE GROUP? > If you are thinking of unsubcribing because you are getting too much > mail, go the the web site and change your email delivery option > instead. That will fix the problem, while maintaining your access to > the group. If you insist on leaving us completely send a blank email to: > disklavier-unsubscribe@... > > Know someone who wants to join? Have them send a blank email to: > disklavier-subscribe@... or give them this link: > http://Yahoogroups.com/group/disklavier/join > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service > <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/>. -- Robert Welcyng Anchorage, Alaska