Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum heating rod in the Dampp Chaser

This is interesting
http://www.usairnet.com/weather/maps/current/california/relative-humidity/

It is not 100% humidity here now, no matter what that map says.

Give that man a ceegar.

If the map of RH is more than an hour old, it is not accurate.

For a given amount of moisture in a space, as the temperature rises, the Relative Humidity (RH) falls, and when the temperature falls, the RH rises. That means, when you get up in the morning, the outside RH is generally high, and, a few hours later, it is much lower. The same is true for your house, if you do not have a method of stabilising the RH as the temperature varies. Beware of inexpensive digital RH gauges. They may be relatively accurate, but they are very, very slow to respond to changes in RH. A cheap mechanical gauge has a much faster response.

Dear Group,

The dehumidifier was installed only three days ago. The owner, Barb, is concerned it is malfunctioning. She unplugged the unit, due to her concern, and will call the tech/installer.

I congratulate her for taking the proper action rather than trusting conflicting and confusing, to her, internet advice.

Just so people understand how quickly RH varies with temperature, here is an example. You get up in the morning - the temp is 60 F, and the RH is 100% and it is foggy. Two hours later it is 70F. The RH is now 55%. A few hours later the temp is 80 F. The RH is now 29%, assuming no change in the actual moisture content of the space (wet bulb reading).

Hopefully indoor temperature does not varies that much, and walls, furniture, floors, absorb and release moisture.

Yesterday it was raining hard and it was colder than usual
In the shop I could do what I want, with 43% measured and 24c

If you look at outside conditions you understand how difficult it is to make outdoor concerts

You are fortunate to have a well controlled environment in your shop.

I used to play trumpet in a marching band. Some days the temperature, in October, would be zero Celsius. Nobody was concerned with tuning!

Exactly right.

"The problem with information on the internet is, you can't be sure it's accurate." -Abraham Lincoln

Good advice, Marty. Too many unknowns. Among which are:

1. We still do not know exactly what the tech was trying to accomplish by installing it. Could be any number of reasons.

2. Humidistat can malfunction, but so can RH readout on a home thermostat. The latter needs to be checked out as well.

3. If the humidistat was installed properly it will read the RH primarily in the soundboard. If the board had taken on too much moisture this could account for the rod working overtime at the outset. "If, if, if..."

This is all best handled locally.

Sorry Loren,

That quote is from Pliny the Elder.

(but often misattributed)

Ah, ok. My bad. :p

No, I think you guys are thinking about what Abe said:

Well, that settles it then.

We can clearly see that it came from his mouth. Mary Todd loved her iMac and she chose the paint color for the room.

(So much for my Greek history lessons. I studied with Xenophanes but I guess he got it wrong.)

Obviously.

IF you tuned pianos for a living and were able to see how many people hastily unplug their systems out of panic and general lack of understanding, you might be singing a different tune. It's the technicians job to stabilize the piano, the client should trust their technician.

Jbyron,

This is true.

However, it is a very new installation. After only three days, it would have had no significant effect/damage to the piano, if, and only if, it is functioning properly. That is something we do not know. Neither did the owner.

It is perfectly normal for an owner to try to protect her investment and she is unfamiliar with the system. As Bob pointed out, we don't know the circumstances.

My not being a tuner is irrelevant. My understanding of how people respond has nothing to do with any particular product. Whether she unplugged the unit is also irrelevant. She did the proper thing by calling the installer. It is up to him/her to resolve the matter through any, and all, appropriate means.

Common sense prevailed.

I do trust my technician. Just an update here: I contacted him and he advised me to unplug the system until he can get here (next couple of days) to check it out. I'll let you know what happens. The heating rod appeared to be on 24/7 and was very hot. Question: how often do these Dampp Chaser systems go awry? Do you have problems with them after they are installed? thanks again.

Hi Barb,

Dampp Chaser systems rarely fail. Of course, with any manufactured products, there is always the possibility of a defective item. They are known to provide years of trouble free service.

All three of my pianos are equipped with the full systems (w/humidifier) and I have never had a problem. 24/7 for years.

I had a few humidistat remplaced. I finally relate that to the 60 hz power we use.

most works fine, and as I dont hear much complin from the other side of the pond, they seem to be Ok

if the rods are on all time , possibly the system is undersized, but, due to the abscense of plague where the system is off, there is no way to know.