Disklavier

Hi All,

I've looked through the archives and have read some of the
discussions, but most humidity-related articles were about forced-air
heating systems.  So here's my story:

I bought a DC3A back in January.  I did a little reading and had a
whole-house humidifier installed in my forced-air heating system. 
During the winter, I had no problem keeping the relative humidity
between 35% and 45%.

During the summer, the air conditioner kept the house at a healthy
humidity level (40% to 50%.)

Now since Autumn is arriving, I'm at a dilemma.  The outside
temperature has been as low at 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit and it's
still pretty humid (the last couple of days the humidity has been
hovering around 80%-90%).

If I wanted to have the air conditioner help keep the humidity down,
I'd have to set the thermostat between 65 and 70 degrees otherwise the
air conditioner wouldn't cycle on at all.  I tried this briefly and
the house gets kind of stuffy pretty quickly because the air
conditioner comes on so infrequently.

I've read about humidity control systems for the piano, but I'm not
real thrilled about having to deal with some kind of cover for my
piano.  I play it 2-3 times a day and having to fool with a cover
would be a PITA.  This is not even considering the aesthetics of
covering the piano.

I grew up in a house with no air conditioning (so we were totally at
the whim of Mother Nature regarding humidity) and a console piano.  We
had the piano tuned twice a year and I don't remember any significant
problems other than things I could attribute to normal wear and tear.

I don't mind having my piano tuned more frequently (heck I would have
it tuned every month if I thought I could stop worrying about the
humidity all the time.)

Am I really damaging my piano by exposing it to this kind of humidity?
 How quickly would things go down hill?  We had the piano I played
when I was growing up for 12 years and other that having it tuned and
replacing the felts after about 10 years the humidity didn't seem to
bother it all that much.

Thanks,
Bob

In my opinion, you are not damaging your piano.  What is risky, is the 
possibility of a sound board shrinking and cracking from long exposure 
to hot desert-dry air.  Because it takes time for the wood to absorb or 
release moisture, exposure to high humidity for a month between seasons 
should not greatly affect the piano's internal moisture content. With an 
increase in humidity for very long, you could notice a few keys becoming 
sticky and slight drifting of the tuning. If you're still concerned 
about the short term higher humidity, you could reduce it by placing a 
25-watt lamp or a heating pad close to the floor beneath the piano so 
that drier air would convect there.

rwberry99 wrote:

>Hi All,
>
>I've looked through the archives and have read some of the
>discussions, but most humidity-related articles were about forced-air
>heating systems.  So here's my story:
>
>I bought a DC3A back in January.  I did a little reading and had a
>whole-house humidifier installed in my forced-air heating system. 
>During the winter, I had no problem keeping the relative humidity
>between 35% and 45%.
>
>During the summer, the air conditioner kept the house at a healthy
>humidity level (40% to 50%.)
>
>Now since Autumn is arriving, I'm at a dilemma.  The outside
>temperature has been as low at 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit and it's
>still pretty humid (the last couple of days the humidity has been
>hovering around 80%-90%).
>
>If I wanted to have the air conditioner help keep the humidity down,
>I'd have to set the thermostat between 65 and 70 degrees otherwise the
>air conditioner wouldn't cycle on at all.  I tried this briefly and
>the house gets kind of stuffy pretty quickly because the air
>conditioner comes on so infrequently.
>
>I've read about humidity control systems for the piano, but I'm not
>real thrilled about having to deal with some kind of cover for my
>piano.  I play it 2-3 times a day and having to fool with a cover
>would be a PITA.  This is not even considering the aesthetics of
>covering the piano.
>
>I grew up in a house with no air conditioning (so we were totally at
>the whim of Mother Nature regarding humidity) and a console piano.  We
>had the piano tuned twice a year and I don't remember any significant
>problems other than things I could attribute to normal wear and tear.
>
>I don't mind having my piano tuned more frequently (heck I would have
>it tuned every month if I thought I could stop worrying about the
>humidity all the time.)
>
>Am I really damaging my piano by exposing it to this kind of humidity?
> How quickly would things go down hill?  We had the piano I played
>when I was growing up for 12 years and other that having it tuned and
>replacing the felts after about 10 years the humidity didn't seem to
>bother it all that much.
>
>Thanks,
>Bob
>
>
>
>
>
>
>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 012/22/03.  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 
> 
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
> 
>
>
>
>  
>

-- 
Robert Welcyng
Anchorage, Alaska

You probably do not need to worry.  The idea of
humidity control really means controlling the amount of
moisture that gets absorbed by the wood in your piano.
You really know if too much moisture is getting to the
soundboard because you would see pressure ridges under
the strings.

When I install climate control systems on grand pianos,
I only use the Dampp Chaser dehumidifier rods and a
humidistat.  No tank of water and no cover.  Definitely
see about doing this and you won't need to worry about
moisture in your piano no matter what the temperature.

Carol Beigel

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "rwberry99" <rwberry@...>
To: <disklavier@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 04, 2005 2:16 PM
Subject: [disklavier] Am I killing my piano?


> Hi All,
>
> I've looked through the archives and have read some
of the
> discussions, but most humidity-related articles were
about forced-air
> heating systems.  So here's my story:
>
> I bought a DC3A back in January.  I did a little
reading and had a
> whole-house humidifier installed in my forced-air
heating system.
> During the winter, I had no problem keeping the
relative humidity
> between 35% and 45%.
>
> During the summer, the air conditioner kept the house
at a healthy
> humidity level (40% to 50%.)
>
> Now since Autumn is arriving, I'm at a dilemma.  The
outside
> temperature has been as low at 55 to 60 degrees
Fahrenheit and it's
> still pretty humid (the last couple of days the
humidity has been
> hovering around 80%-90%).
>
> If I wanted to have the air conditioner help keep the
humidity down,
> I'd have to set the thermostat between 65 and 70
degrees otherwise the
> air conditioner wouldn't cycle on at all.  I tried
this briefly and
> the house gets kind of stuffy pretty quickly because
the air
> conditioner comes on so infrequently.
>
> I've read about humidity control systems for the
piano, but I'm not
> real thrilled about having to deal with some kind of
cover for my
> piano.  I play it 2-3 times a day and having to fool
with a cover
> would be a PITA.  This is not even considering the
aesthetics of
> covering the piano.
>
> I grew up in a house with no air conditioning (so we
were totally at
> the whim of Mother Nature regarding humidity) and a
console piano.  We
> had the piano tuned twice a year and I don't remember
any significant
> problems other than things I could attribute to
normal wear and tear.
>
> I don't mind having my piano tuned more frequently
(heck I would have
> it tuned every month if I thought I could stop
worrying about the
> humidity all the time.)
>
> Am I really damaging my piano by exposing it to this
kind of humidity?
>  How quickly would things go down hill?  We had the
piano I played
> when I was growing up for 12 years and other that
having it tuned and
> replacing the felts after about 10 years the humidity
didn't seem to
> bother it all that much.
>
> Thanks,
> Bob
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups
>
> 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
012/22/03.  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
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>

I live and work in a coastal area where humidity rarely goes below 40%, even with the occasional need for a little heat at night.  We typically install only the dampp chaser heater bars and a humidistat.  

As to the cover question, Edwards' String covers cover the strings, and are battened so that the piano can be played with the cover on.  Never need to remove it.  The covers help maintain the correct humitidy not only for the soundboard, but for the strings.  In our area, where salt air will quickly rust strings, these covers are very useful for someone who will occasionally have their windows open.  Your local piano technician can order these covers for you.

Dave Smith
SW FL



 --- On Tue 10/04, rwberry99 < rwberry@... > wrote:

From: rwberry99 [mailto: rwberry@...]
To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tue, 04 Oct 2005 18:16:09 -0000
Subject: [disklavier] Am I killing my piano?

<html><body>


<tt>
Hi All,<BR>
<BR>
I've looked through the archives and have read some of the<BR>
discussions, but most humidity-related articles were about forced-air<BR>
heating systems.\ufffd So here's my story:<BR>
<BR>
I bought a DC3A back in January.\ufffd I did a little reading and had a<BR>
whole-house humidifier installed in my forced-air heating system. <BR>
During the winter, I had no problem keeping the relative humidity<BR>
between 35% and 45%.<BR>
<BR>
During the summer, the air conditioner kept the house at a healthy<BR>
humidity level (40% to 50%.)<BR>
<BR>
Now since Autumn is arriving, I'm at a dilemma.\ufffd The outside<BR>
temperature has been as low at 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit and it's<BR>
still pretty humid (the last couple of days the humidity has been<BR>
hovering around 80%-90%).<BR>
<BR>
If I wanted to have the air conditioner help keep the humidity down,<BR>
I'd have to set the thermostat between 65 and 70 degrees otherwise the<BR>
air conditioner wouldn't cycle on at all.\ufffd I tried this briefly and<BR>
the house gets kind of stuffy pretty quickly because the air<BR>
conditioner comes on so infrequently.<BR>
<BR>
I've read about humidity control systems for the piano, but I'm not<BR>
real thrilled about having to deal with some kind of cover for my<BR>
piano.\ufffd I play it 2-3 times a day and having to fool with a cover<BR>
would be a PITA.\ufffd This is not even considering the aesthetics of<BR>
covering the piano.<BR>
<BR>
I grew up in a house with no air conditioning (so we were totally at<BR>
the whim of Mother Nature regarding humidity) and a console piano.\ufffd We<BR>
had the piano tuned twice a year and I don't remember any significant<BR>
problems other than things I could attribute to normal wear and tear.<BR>
<BR>
I don't mind having my piano tuned more frequently (heck I would have<BR>
it tuned every month if I thought I could stop worrying about the<BR>
humidity all the time.)<BR>
<BR>
Am I really damaging my piano by exposing it to this kind of humidity?<BR>
 How quickly would things go down hill?\ufffd We had the piano I played<BR>
when I was growing up for 12 years and other that having it tuned and<BR>
replacing the felts after about 10 years the humidity didn't seem to<BR>
bother it all that much.<BR>
<BR>
Thanks,<BR>
Bob<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
</tt>


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<BR>
To reach our group's web site go to:<BR>
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<BR>
Todd's family web site was completely updated 012/22/03.\ufffd It contains some fun disklavier content and links to midi sites among many other things, The url is:<BR>
<a href="http://MuncyFamily.com">http://MuncyFamily.com</a> <BR>
<BR>
THINKING OF LEAVING THE GROUP?<BR>
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.\ufffd That will fix the problem, while maintaining your access to the group.\ufffd If you insist on leaving us completely send a blank email to:<BR>
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