underfloor heating

[johnT]

Can underfloor heating adversely affect a piano and, if so, what would be the best solution.

[abc1337]

I have just installed electric underfloor heating in my new kitchen/dining area - but had factored in where my upright was to go - so didn't put any underfloor heating under there anyway.

I guess its down to how hot the underfloor is going to get. electric stuff does get luke warm, but not as hot as the stuff that uses water.

[mdw]

I have seen 2 fully rebuilt older grands destroyed by UFCH in modern churchs. However I installed a NuHeat water UFCH in my home about 4 years ago and have had no probs at all with a modern Kemble upright. My advice would be avoid older pianos with UFCH even if they have had full rebuilds.
If you forget about the pianos its a fantastic way of heating a house and if you use the right boiler and heat storage cylinder will save you a fortune in bills. Go for tiled floors or wood floors not carpet.

[Barrie Heaton]

Can underfloor heating adversely affect a piano and, if so, what would be the best solution.

Tin foil on the bottom of the piano helps on uprights plus a piano life saver on Grand you need a life saver with cover

The problem with UFH there is no escape for the heat moden piano do suffer I have a school what moved into a new building with UFH and in 18 months they have ruined 2 pianos they are now having piano life savers for the new pianos.

Barrie,

[PianoGuy]

Even a "Piano Life Saver" can have difficulty with UFCH at times.

Don't do it. If you do do it, then FFS don't buy an old piano, buy a new one.

[mdw]

The big problem with UFCH where the pipes are burried in a concrete slab is the heat up time. It can take a day to heat the slab from cold to correct temp, however the heat in the slab will hold for another day so you run the heating 24/7 and allow each room thermostat to kick in once a day or so. I guess the churchs run cool during the week and massive heat ( probably too much too long) on the weekend.

[Antz]

I thought the point of underfloor heating was that one turned it on as the weather began to get colder, it sat on a steady temperature all through winter, and then one turned it off as spring brought warmer temperatures. Wouldn't consistency of temperature across a whole room (which the floor-up nature of underfloor hearing should supply) be better than fluctuating temperatures from a switched on - swtiched off point source of heating?

Wont it be the varying of temperatures and/or humidity that causes problems for pianos, not heating that happens to come from the floor per se?

[genaa]

the problem is that you have a constant source of heat coming from directly under the piano, rather than say from a radiant heat source elsewhere in the room.

That direct heating to the underside of the piano can lead to warping and such like I imagine.

The advantages for humans of underfloor heating - i,e, heat is below waist level where we feel cold first, clearer air around head level etc, all spell bad news if you happen to be a large collection of extremely heat and humidity sensitive wood, felt and leather, sat directly on the source of that heat.

[abc1337]

plan where the piano is going, then don't put underfloor heating there (if you have that option - thats what i have done.)

[Bill Kibby]

I did years of intensive, original research on this subject, and the key to the problem of dry heat damage is to get your piano out of direct sunlight, and at least five feet away from the heat source. Now, you may have spotted a slight problem here, since the heat is in the floor. Give up on the heat, or give up on the piano.

[Gill the Piano]

Ooo, don't I wish they would give up on the UFCH. Unfortunately people would rather wreck their piano than go and put on a jumper...

[David B]

Ooo, don't I wish they would give up on the UFCH. Unfortunately people would rather wreck their piano than go and put on a jumper...

With energy porices the way they are, I should think a good many people will be giving up on any sort of heating.....

......I's stocking up on the woolies...

[Gill the Piano]

I's stocking up on whisky...

[Barrie Heaton]

With energy porices the way they are, I should think a good many people will be giving up on any sort of heating.....

......I's stocking up on the woolies...

Or use the piano as fire wood

Barrie,

[abc1337]

Depends for me on:

how high the floor temp goes (mine doesn't - it just makes the tiles less cold)
the humidity of the room
what temp the room is at normally when the heating is on?

[Bill Kibby]

Humidity and room temperature are blind alleys when it comes to Dry Heat Damage, the only consistent thng my thousands of measurements ever found was the distance, and the direct sun.

[sweepyblue]

Do gas fires and radiators damage upright pianos? I hav a Lipp with original casing. It is in a room with no heating at the moment. My daughter wants to put it in a modern house with gas fire next to it and 2 radiators in the room. Advice would be much appreciated.

[Barrie Heaton]

Do gas fires and radiators damage upright pianos? I hav a Lipp with original casing. It is in a room with no heating at the moment. My daughter wants to put it in a modern house with gas fire next to it and 2 radiators in the room. Advice would be much appreciated.

Old pianos don't do well in dry environments as you find in modern house. Gas fires do give off a lot of moisture radiator pans are quite effective. Taking a pianos from a relative humid room to a dry one is asking for trouble

Your Tuner is the best person to talk to he/she knows the piano you should take some reading from the room to see how dry it gets

To give you an idea. I inspected a 3 year old YUS3 that had been cooked on gas mark 6 it was back to back to a new U3 and the U3 knocked spots off off theYUS3 and that should not be the case. They had dried the soundboard and hammers felts out there was no power or depth in tone.



Barrie