Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum Replace my wire inventory?

After a call for some broken treble strings on a grand, I started thinking about my wire inventory. Some guages that I have must be 10 or more years old and I started wondering if I should replace it. I have no idea which sizes are the oldest.

The wire has been in my car all this time, so it has lived in a humid environment. It looks OK , no visible rust, but I'm not sure that tells the whole story.

If I buy new wire, I'll put a date on the canister so I'll know the age from now on.

Should I replace my wire?

When in doubt and you can afford it.... Replace. No point in keeping stock of unknown integrity. Good idea on the date thing... I'll use that idea too...if that's ok?

If the stored wire is not rusted, it will not deteriorate simply because of age. It would actually stabilize some of the stresses in it over time. I use some 20 year old Rosleu Blue that I prefer over anything else I have. I think they made a change in the wire somewhere in the 90's, and not for the better in my opinion. I keep my wire now in a large airtight Pelican case with dessicant in it since my basement can get a little humid at times. Carry smaller amounts in a tool box (also with dessicant in it) everywhere I go.

I wonder if the old air in my tires will cause a problem. I better change it. (No offense meant, just having a little fun. )

Wonder if a tire will go flat over time without refilling it...! ( no offense meant, having a little fun too! )

Greetings,
If the wire is not rusty, it is as good as the day it was made. Carbon steel, if not stressed past its elastic limit, has an unlimited life span,(unlike aluminum, which fatigues in relation to number of stress cycles). I have many pianos in my customer base with 80 year old wire in them that sound cleaner than brand new pianos of the same brand.
Wire, unrusted and unused, doesn't age.
Regards,
Ed Foote RPT

Good to know that Ed. I've got some wire from the Fifties, english steel I guess... Almost galvanised. Rolls and Rolls of the stuff. Doesn't look all that good though. Would that also be ok?

I have 20 + year old wire. It works just as good as the new stuff.