The Piano life saver system by Dampp-Chaser
About the Piano Life Saver
Why Do I Need a Piano Life Saver?
How it Works
Benefits of Consistent Humidity
Power Consumption
Piano Life Saver vs. Other Products
System Components
Save $$ with the Piano Life Saver
Installation
Installation
Supplies
Care & Maintenance
Installation
Care & Maintenance
Care & Maintenance
Care & Maintenance
About the Piano Life Saver
The Piano Life Saver System is an internal humidity control system that is engineered to protect what is arguably the world’s most complex musical instrument: the piano. It is widely held that a grand piano has more individual parts than a car. The vast majority of those parts are made of wood. It’s a remarkable piece of engineering and a wonder of construction. Many of the world’s most respected piano makers build their instruments today in almost exactly the same manner as they did over 100 years ago. They go to great lengths to assure that the many species of wood used in the construction of their instruments are carefully chosen and dried to the proper moisture content. It is extremely important that this moisture content is maintained throughout the life of the piano. Piano makers deem this so important that they include a clause in their warranties that excludes coverage to instruments that have been subjected to extremes in temperature and humidity.
The most critical step in piano care and maintenance is keeping it in an environment where the relative humidity (RH) and temperature are stable at approximately 45% and 70 F respectively. Ambient humidity levels determine the moisture content of the wooden parts in your piano, and the moisture content determines the dimension and integrity of the wood.
Unfortunately, creating and maintaining that environment is difficult, even impossible in some areas. The world is a very diverse place climatically. In the driest areas, like the southwestern US, getting the humidity level up to 45% is difficult, while in regions of higher humidity like the Gulf Coast, getting it down to that level is nearly impossible. Many areas even have both of these problems, depending on which season it is! Consider the sultry summer days and the frigid winter nights experienced by the midwestern states and provinces. Humidity levels are all over the chart!
Attempting to keep the humidity in your entire home at a constant 45% is extremely challenging and may not even be desirable. Every time you walk out the door, the humidity level you worked so hard to achieve goes right out with you. The same thing happens when you come in from outside. You bring the uncontrolled outdoors in with you. If you do manage to bring the RH up to 45% on a frosty winter day, every window in the house will have condensation or ice buildup on it. In relatively little time, you will be dealing with mold and mildew problems. During the hot humid time of year, your air conditioner, while it is running, will lower the humidity somewhat. The second it stops, the humidity starts to climb again until the air conditioner comes back on. Since it is designed to regulate temperature, not humidity, it turns off once the set temperature is reached, with no regard for the humidity level.
The Piano Life Saver System is an affordable, easy to maintain, solution to the problems listed above. Maintaining it is so simple that many users have their children do it!
No other system can achieve the results of the Piano Life Saver System for a comparable cost or expenditure of effort.
Why do i need a piano life saver
Your piano was a large investment. As an integral part of a regular maintenance routine by your piano technician, the Piano Life Saver System will help you protect it and ensure many years of trouble free playing and beautiful music. The Piano Life Saver System is a highly engineered, very low maintenance, humidity control system that fits right into your piano. It is designed to stabilize the moisture content of the wood in your piano ensuring pitch stability and increased longevity.
Pianos are largely made up of wood, felt, and metal. Extreme levels of humidity, high or low, or a fluctuating humidity level, will have detrimental effects on all of these materials both in the short and long term. Many manufacturers describe this as "abusive" in the wording of their warranties.
When humidity levels rise, wooden components absorb moisture from the air and will actually swell to the point that they are measurably larger. Of course, when the humidity level decreases, they will shrink. Have you ever noticed how the doors in your home stick during one time of year and during another the gaps between boards on your hardwood floors open up? Imagine this happening inside your piano. When your piano is repeatedly subjected to these cycles, the glue joints holding all of these pieces together can start to fail and major components like the soundboard can crack.
The piano will also be unstable in pitch. All pianos go out of tune and need to be tuned regularly. However, it is not possible to put a "fine tuning" on a piano that has strayed far from pitch. If the pitch varies and the technician needs to make a significant adjustment to it, several things will happen. First, and most instantly noticeable, will be an additional charge by your technician. Because he/she must do more work, they will have to charge you more. Secondly, the piano will incur more wear and tear and stress the farther it is from pitch every time it is tuned. And finally, the stability of the tuning will be reduced.
The hammers which strike the strings, initiating the sound, are made of felt. Felt is compressed wool fibers. We've all heard people complain how they're "having a bad hair day" due to high or low humidity. The wool fibers are no different. They will swell and shrink too. This can result in a lack of consistency in the tone of your piano.
The strings in your piano are made of steel, with the bass having a copper winding. If the humidity is too high, these will eventually rust, leading to expensive repairs. Compare the two pictures at the top of this section.
HOW IT WORKS
The Piano Life Saver System continuously monitors the humidity level of the air inside your piano using a sophisticated electronic humidistat which is located very close to the soundboard.
When the humidistat senses that the humidity level is too low, it activates the humidifier. When it senses that the level is too high, it activates the dehumidifier. This shallow cycle continues day after day, year after year, protecting your piano from external conditions.
Please note that installation of the Piano Life Saver System is not intended to supplant regular tuning and maintenance. It is designed to increase the serviceable life of your instrument and keep it playing and sounding its best between regular service intervals. Think of it like you would brushing your teeth daily. You still need to see the dentist on a regular basis.
Protect your investment by having the Piano Life Saver System installed inside your piano.
power consumption
SYSTEM COMPONENTS
The Piano Life Saver System is silent, and is installed, out-of-sight, inside a vertical piano and underneath a grand piano.
DEHUMIDIFIER
When the Humidistat senses the humidity level is too high, the Dehumidifier carries away moisture on warm air currents until the Humidistat senses that the humidity level is within range.
HUMIDIFIER
When the ambient humidity is too low, the Humidifier adds moi
WATERING TUBE
When the yellow light blinks, the water tube permits you to easily add water to the System.
HUMIDISTAT
This is the brain of the System. It senses whether the micro-climate within your piano is optimal and automatically switches the System to function as a Dehumidifier or Humidifier to protect your piano from damage caused by changes in humidity.
3-LIGHT LED PANEL
The panel fe
INSTALLATION
The Piano Life Saver System is sold only as an installed system. As an experienced installer, we can provide expert installation either in our shop or conveniently in your home.
If you are interested in scheduling installation or for more information, please call us at 508-246-3705 or click our service request form below.
SUPPLIES
Humidifier Pads
Humidifier pads should be changed twice per year.
We always carry these in-stock and bring them to each tuning.
We can also mail pads to you if it's between service appointments.
Pad Treatment
Pad/Humidifier treatment is specifically formulated to be safe for use in the Piano Life Saver System. It inhibits the growth of algea and other biologicals in the tank and keeps the watering tube clean and clear.
One bottle usually lasts about one year.
We always carry these in-stock and bring them to each tuning.
We can also mail pads to you if it's between service appointments.