Humidity regulation in upright piano?

[daxliniere]

Hello everyone, this is my first post here in the forum.
I recently acquired a Finnish-made Fazer upright piano from 1985. (The low-end on this thing is GORGEOUS!) Though I'm an engineer and record producer, this is my first accoustic piano.

As an an avid maker (woodwork, metal fabrication & machining, etc), I'm taking on the task of getting this piano into tip-top shape on my own. To this end, I'm likely to have a couple questions along the way, though I have already fixed sticking keys, new celeste felt, a jack not firing, various 'clacks' due to damaged felts and a pitch raise.

Though this is not an historic piano worth tens of thousands of Pounds, I'd still like to do my best to keep it in good condition as long as possible. I was wondering if there is much point in installing a hygrometer and some kind of humidity-regulating device.

Would love the thoughts of a few piano professionals on this.

Thank you in advance,
Dax.

[Barrie Heaton]

Before you go down the expense of humidity control systems, I will check the room's humidity first.

The sticky notes you had may have come from its previous environment.

You said you had someone clicking sounds from wearing of the felt from the pitch move is this felt behind the jacks if so, that's the first indication of months


Barrie

[daxliniere]

Hello Barrie,
Thank you so much for your reply. I'm not sure why, but I never received an email notification for this. Sorry to leave you hanging! I'll check my forum settings now.

There was, indeed, evidence of former moth habitation (hey, it's 40 years old, no surprise), but I have since stripped the entire piano and replaced all felts. (video coming soon when I get the chance to edit it!)

I'll build a wireless hygrometer module this week and start logging humidity and temperature inside the piano.
Can you advise on the ideal humidity range?

Thank you and all the best,
Dax.

[Barrie Heaton]

Most manufacturers recommend between 40 and 65, but good luck achieving that in the UK. Most homes in the north of England tend to be 55 to 80

The more consistent the room humidity is, the longer the piano will stay in tune

Barrie

[daxliniere]

Thanks Barrie. This piano is in my studios, so much more chance to control things, I'd guess.
I'll know more once I start getting environmental logs. My main concern at the time of posting was to avoid too little humidity causing the soundboard to crack.

Will post with an update once I've started!


All the best,
Dax.

[daxliniere]

Okay! I've made the environmental sensor and have started tracking hum. & temp.
Seems a little low so perhaps a source of moisture inside the cabinet would be a good idea?

Environmental sensor sends data to a server for logging.

Placement inside the piano.

Readings

[Barrie Heaton]

You could go the old-school route, with a bucket of water inside a container, at least a litre.

Or fit a lifesaver. You said the piano is in the studio is that a studio full of electronics if so then dryness will be your problem.

Barrie

[chrisw]

Room temperature seems a little high.Perhaps it was a very warm day or is it due to studio equipment. Lowering the temperature to 20degC, if possible, would increase humidity.

[daxliniere]

Hey Barrie and Chris,

The piano is currently in its own room (Live Room B at Puzzle Factory, London). There's not much I can do about the temperature, the fact that it's completely stable day and night is a good thing, though. It seems to have settled at about 23*C which I'd say is normal, but then again, I'm originally from Australia.
Humidity seems to be hovering around 40% +/-1%

I just used the temp/humidity sensor I had on-hand, but I have ordered some with higher precision and will replace and continue the testing. I think you are right about adding an open container of water. I'll have a think about the best way to do that to minimise risks.

Thanks again, gentlemen!

[daxliniere]

By the way, the cost of a Piano Lifesaver is more than I paid for this piano (though certainly a small part of what it is worth).

Hmm, you know, I could actually make a system where the water container is automatically opened/closed with a servo motor when the humidity reaches certain levels. Hmm...

[Barrie Heaton]

It sounds an interesting project. The Lifesavers work on two heaters principal big heater to dry out and a little heater with cloths over it to draw the moisture A control unit you slide along the big heater to state what you want, more moisture or less

Barrie