Protecting our investment

[ivrier]

We put our heart and soul for an instrument that costs more than most cars. We also need to care for them if we want our children to inherit our heir loom.

We have all been advised not to expose our grand pianos to direct sunlight,  and not to place it over or under a vent. That's easy to do.  We were also told to keep the humidity level at an average of 42% and the room temperature at approximately 72 F. Varying temperatures tend to warp the intricate parts of the piano.

Is it worth investing in a system such as the link below, to control the humidity. Will a regular room humidifier help? MY hygrometer reads 31% where my piano sits and my piano has only aclimatized in my home for 3 weeks. I live in the Northwest.

Your opinions are greatly appreciated.

https://pianobid.com/humid.html

[kamike]

My understanding is that the variation in humidity is what matters.  Where in the northwest do you live?  Any idea of summer time humidity? Chances are the relative humidity does not get really high in the summer either (but certainly higher than 31%). 

I live in western Oregon and the indoor humidity this winter has hit the mid-30's a few times but generally is around 40 to 50%. 

Your options include controlling the humidity of all the air in your home (best if you have force-air heating) or a local device like the one you linked to.  Both work. 
I will probably invest in a humidifier for the house forced-air system.

BTW what piano did you buy?

[ivrier]

thanks for your response.

I live in Southeast WA in Kennewick. The problem of have having a forced air humdifier installed at my home is the location of my furnace. I have it in the attic. The temps can dip down to the single digits and may freeze the pipes. One HVAC tech told me that it was safe to have one installed and the other didn't. I have 16 foot ceilings and my vent is on the ceiling and the only way I know to keep the humidity above 40 % is to either have the damchaser installed or having one room humdifier running forever, which will increase me electric bills. I left the hygrometer in my bathroom while I took a shower and it read 40%. Does the humidity have to be that high?

I bought a 6'1 Gebr Perzina with a Detoa action. I enjoy the feel and the music it produces. It's a fraction of a cost from the Yamaha. Many of my friends have played on it and they are VERY impressed for an instument that cost me $13,500.

[gfiore]

 The best thing to do would be to install a Dampp-Chaser Piano Lifesaver System in the piano. Ask your tech or the dealer about this. It is less expensive in the long run than a furnace humidifier or room humidifier/de-humidifiers.
 Pianos benefit from stable humidity levels, and the DC system does it's job 24/7 and 365 days a year. Fluctuating temperatures will not warp any piano parts, but fluctuating levels of relative humidity can cause tuning instability, swollen bushings/ heavy action, compression ridges in the soundboard, etc.

[kamike]

For sure you would need some sort of humidity control there in eastern Washington - gets pretty darned cold at times, and the humidity levels do vary a lot, especially close to the rivers.  Here, in Eugene, the temperature varies less.

[alzado]

We have central forced air heating, and we have a dial-set humidity system attached to our furnace. 

I am sure you will take excellent care of your piano.  You just come across like someone who will do so.

Not sure if a piano is an investment or a consumable.  I understand they have a trouble-free life of about 25 years.  As they reach a half century, they begin to need expensive overhauls.  I only get this by reading this piano forum.  So one is wise to get the maximum enjoyment out of them day by day, and not be too preoccupied with their eventual destiny.

Alas, I suspect that when I die my piano will be sold -- probably for 20 percent of what it is really worth.  None of my children plays to any extent, and pianos are expensive to ship. 

We go to these estate sales and everything the elderly couple owns is just put up for sale.  It is sad, but it often happens.  I do think of such things since I am almost 65.

Your piano sounds very nice.  Good for you!

[cy_shuster]

A humidity control system not only keeps the piano more stable between tunings, preventing excessive wear on the tuning pins, but it really does extend the piano's life.  The tuning pins on a piano are not like a guitar, where gears hold the tension: they're like a violin, simply a friction fit!  There's a thick piece of butcherblock under the plate that the pins are driven into.  It's simply friction that holds the 150 pounds of tension per string.

If that butcherblock (called the "pinblock") delaminates or splits in such a way that the tuning pins can no longer hold the tension, the piano must be completely rebuilt, removing the strings and the plate to replace the pinblock.  (There are short-term fixes that can be applied first.)

So controlling humidity really does extend the life of a piano.  Most humidity systems attached to furnaces only add moisture when the furnace is running, so if the temperature is OK but the humidity is not, the furnace doesn't run, and the humidity drops.

The site you gave belongs to a technician that installs Piano Life Savers.  The company's site is here:
https://www.dampp-chaser.com

--Cy--

[lextune]

The best thing to do would be to install a Dampp-Chaser Piano Lifesaver System in the piano. Ask your tech or the dealer about this. It is less expensive in the long run than a furnace humidifier or room humidifier/de-humidifiers.
 Pianos benefit from stable humidity levels, and the DC system does it's job 24/7 and 365 days a year. Fluctuating temperatures will not warp any piano parts, but fluctuating levels of relative humidity can cause tuning instability, swollen bushings/ heavy action, compression ridges in the soundboard, etc.

Exactly correct.

Dampp-Chaser makes a fantastic product, I have installed many of them, and have one on my own piano as well.

[kamike]

Winter time changes in interior humidity during the cold months are largely the result of heating the air.  The  heated air carries less water vapor compared to the same volume of cold air, resulting in decrease in relative humidity.   If there wasn't any heating,  the changes in indoor relative humidity would not be as great. 

So it does make good sense and is a good alternative to install a humidifier system in the heating system for those who have a forced air heating system.  The damp chaser system or any other localized humidity control devices are fine too, but they also have limitations.  They are not necessarily better or the best all of the time.  As usual with anything in this world, there are always trade-offs.  There is no perfect system, unless you have your piano in a wine cellar, a huge basement (with no heating system), or some other extremely well controlled environment where humidity and temperature remain constant.

[cy_shuster]

Winter time changes in interior humidity during the cold months are largely the result of heating the air.  The  heated air carries less water vapor compared to the same volume of cold air, resulting in decrease in relative humidity.   If there wasn't any heating,  the changes in indoor relative humidity would not be as great. 

All correct, except that warm air can carry *more* moisture than cold air, which is why if you heat the air in a sealed room, the *relative* humidity will go down.

Dampp-Chasers have no moving parts, are completely silent, use very little electricity, and take very little maintenance.  Most room systems are the complete opposite on every point.

--Cy--