Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum Importing vintage piano from Europe (and climatizing it)

Hello everybody,
As some of you may already know -- those of you who already have been kind enough to answer the several questions I've posted in the last month or so -- I'm considering importing a vintage piano (Bechstein, either late 19th or early 20th century) from either the UK or France.
Here's my question: is there a process of acclimating the instrument to the US that I must undertake to make certain the instrument doesn't fall apart? I already labor to maintain a constant humidication level in my living room, but despite my efforts the humidity sometimes falls to 20% during the depths of Chicago's winters.
Is it suicidal (for the instrument, that is), stupid, foolheardy, etc. to consider bringing an antique piano that has lived a century or more in Europe to the US?
Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thank you,
Mark

Out of the language barrier, I see no problem for the instrument - may be the travel if it is not well packed (I have seen that shock witnesses are available for fragile products)

A complete DC with undercover would take care of the low moisture.

indeed 20% is really low, a roomm humidifier may be added probably - warm moisture preferably, to avoid calcium deposits on the furniture, that happens with high frequency humidifiers.

My tech tells me that for my late 19th century instrument (a Bluthner) the humidity should be maintained in the region 50% to 65%, because in those days wood was not dried so much, as there was no central heating to cope with. So you absolutely have to do something!

Kamin is offering good advice. But you say that you have already made efforts to maintain humidity, and yet in winter it is still as low as 20%? Can you tell us what you have tried - and also, what sort of heating system you have? In particular, is it forced air?

David G,
It's not forced air, but radiators. When the temperature drops below zero farenheit (not too many days each year, but it happens probably for a total of about 1-2 weeks each winter) it is very difficult to keep the RH high. Other times I generally can deep humidity levels in the mid 30s.
I currently have a damp chaser on my piano, and I also use an external room humidifier. I suppose I could add a second, though there is always the WAF (wife acceptance factor) that has to be taken into account! -- Mark

Is the piano equiped with an undercover as well ?

You have to be cautious about the readings with hygrometers, particularely digital ones seem to provide drier readings than real, particularely when the values are low.

Don't know if is it due to the cell, but the accuracy seem to be more in the medium ranges.

20 % HR is bad for the breathing and should be noticed, I don't really trust that it can be so low, unless you warm the house a lot, the walls are thin, there are no plants inside.

May be you may check your hygrometer readings at low levels, or build a psychrometer, which is a precise tool.

adding too much moisture may also give problems with the walls, because of condensation.
The local weather stations data are generally available on the web, there you can see what is the general tendency for each season, and all along the year. I cant say of course but if you are on the dry side all year long going low in the winter is less bad.

I'm embarrassed to say that I am not even aware of what an undercover is! Are they widely available?