Humidity degree

[Nic]

Hi !

Winter is coming here in Québec in a clouple of weeks, as the central heating will begin his work of destruction of fragile and thin wooden/cane reeds. I never really being precocionous about this issue in the past, as all my bagpipes had plastic reeds, but now that I have uilleann pipes, I wonder, what do you think is the ideal humidity level in a room in which you keep (and play) your pipes?

And in a second time, what is the best type of humidifier in your opinion (my workshop is 10' X 15' approx) ?

Nicolas

[PJ]

Hi Nic,

Keep your pipes in the basement where the temperature and humidity are more stable.

I've been playing the same chanter reed for nearly 5 years. The reason the reed has survived the winters is that I rarely take my pipes out of the house and so the reeds are rarely exposed to changes in temperature and humidity.

No need to invest in a humidifier. If you think the air is too dry, just boil a kettle in the room. Another trick I've heard of is to play your pipes in the bathroom after someone has had a shower, but that could be a little drastic.

[An Draighean]

I have the same problem with air conditioning here in the summer. The humidity of Texas is actually fairly close to that of Ireland, but the air conditioner runs from April or May through Sept./Oct. and it dries the air out inside. I play outside on our covered porches whenever it rains or just has, and that helps.

[tommykleen]

Yes, it is that dreaded time alright.
I have been imploring my family to hold off on "throwing the switch" for as long as possible. I am trying to record some tracks and want my reed to stay in its current happy place. But there have been some grumblings. My advice to "put on more layers" has worked so far.

PJ's advice is sound and wise...but I feel I do not have that option, personally. My chanter reed ("Old Ironlips"...been going strong since its creation in 2004) has learned to live where it lives...which is about as tough a neighborhood as you can imagine. Against all caution and peril I take my pipes around all winter long. I guess not all winter: they stay home if it gets in the single digits ºF. If possible.

[Cathy Wilde]

I don't live in quite as demanding a climate as Mr. Kleen, but I do a fair amount of dragging the pipes around all year long. I have noticed over the last few years that my reed has seemed to adjust and isn't so homesick for Ireland anymore. It used to whinge at anything under 65% but now it seems to prefer humidity right around 50% -- and it's at its crankiest when the air gets warm and damp, like in a hot, crowded pub, because it's usually in a drier environment.

FWIW, it seems that playing a bit every day helps the reed adapt, too. But it's going to react to the environment where you're playing, so you can either control the environment by not going anywhere or deal with the consequences when you do.

Speaking of people who have to do the latter ... Mick O'Brien had great things to say about these:

http://www.planetwaves.com/pwProductDet ... =Humidipak

On his US visit this spring he'd just come from the desert to South Carolina and was pleased with how well his pipes handled the transition. These Humidipaks seem neat because they either add or remove humidity depending on the surrounding air. Interesting ... I see they aim for 45 - 50% humidity. Hmmm. Maybe I should think about one for the warmer weather!

[tommykleen]

So how would one deploy such a thing for pipes? It always struck me that "in-case" humidifiers keep your closed case humidified, but not necessarily your pipes. I'm not sure the humidity is getting into the system, i.e., the reeds.

A few times I have tried a dampit in my bellows...as well as in my bag. Not sure if it helps

tk

[an seanduine]

A few times I have tried a dampit in my bellows...as well as in my bag. Not sure if it helps

I was told a story by a piper who occasionally posts on this forum about playing at a 'Celtic' festival in Southern Cal when the Santa Ana's starting blowing and the humidity approached zero. As a desperation maneuver he was pouring shots of whiskey into his bellows to keep the reeds from closing down. I believe the reeds never survived the hangover

Bob

[uilleannfinlander]

P.Keenan had a small wet sponge hanging inside bellows .

[Elle]

Speaking of people who have to do the latter ... Mick O'Brien had great things to say about these:

http://www.planetwaves.com/pwProductDet ... =Humidipak

On his US visit this spring he'd just come from the desert to South Carolina and was pleased with how well his pipes handled the transition. These Humidipaks seem neat because they either add or remove humidity depending on the surrounding air. Interesting ... I see they aim for 45 - 50% humidity. Hmmm. Maybe I should think about one for the warmer weather!

Hmmmm.... sounds great, but got mixed reviews here: http://www.juststrings.com/pwv-pw-hpk-01.html

[Cathy Wilde]

Thanks for the link; I read the reviews. Interesting, and mildly depressing. Sounds like HP either have quality control issues or maybe the things only work in certain ranges. Anyway, I haven't done anything yet ... after a summer of drought and a week of downpour, I'm rediscovering the fact that a flooded cellar is a HIGHLY effective humdifier

Apologies if this is a huge hijack, but I'd like to spend a little time with the whole "what to do while you're playing" question. This is the one that bedevils me. Part of the reason I haven't done anything is because it doesn't seem to matter how I store my pipes if they're going to be subjected to something different once out of the house/case. So, I've been considering another idea, also from the ever-practical Mr. O'Brien ...

I really, really wish I'd gotten a picture of this, but ANOTHER thing he does is put a damp folded handkerchief over the bellows inlet. He's attached some nylon strips to the clapper and I *think* has a piece of thin black fabric that works like a little flap. From there he affixes the cloth under the straps/flap (there might be Velcro involved). So it's all quite stealthy and subtle. IIRC, he said his brother John devised the rig when he was over here playing for Riverdance, and when Mick filled in for him a couple of months, John advised him to do the same. Anyway, you can't really see it ... it's sort of hidden ... but seems to work well. Has anyone else gotten a closeup view of this "on-bellows humidification system" or something like it?

My bellows inlet is flat so I don't know if it would work or not, but I guess I could replace it with one of those cool shop-vac-"cage"-looking ones.

Last winter I tried a wee chunk of that grey adhesive-backed foam weatherstripping on the edge of the bellows inlet. A few drops of water on the foam and success -- but only for a little while. It dries out fairly quickly because it's small. It's also not a little ugly, and of course there's the whole "adhesive heresy" factor ... what's a not-so-handy piper to do?

[tommykleen]

I once owned a bellows that had those little holes drilled through the decorative intake ring. To this ring I affixed one of those little, plastic pizza-top confounders that looks like a Barbie-sized patio table. I bent the legs of this at 90º so that they fit into the inlet ring. To the bottom of this little table I affixed a sponge. Hard to say if it helped...just not enough moisture mass to really do the job probably.

[Ted]

A beginning piper here got a bag from L&M with a zipper. He inserted a natural sponge, about 8"x8"x10", into the bag after he had put about 1/4 cup of water into the sponge. He had inserted some vinyl hoses well into the sponge with one hose going well up the bag's neck with the other hose into the main-stock opening. Works for him. Sort of the reverse of a GHB dying system; more of a humidifying system. He removes the sponge and hoses when through playing and leaves the zipper open to dry the inside of the bag. He has checked the humidity at the chanter stock to be about 50% when the ambient humidity was around 30%.

[an seanduine]

I live in a fairly high humidity setting. It rarely falls below 55% Rh. I'm also helped by having several 'senior' reeds, one over twenty years old, and so fairly stable. However, I do have a humidity strategy for those occasions when the humidity does dip. I'm not sure if it will help other pipers. YMMV. I have a 'bass-awkward' bag. . .that is, it is smooth side out. I sewed it up about thirty years ago and have never had a any problems keeping it staunch by massaging beeswax and hand cream into it. This also renders the surface of leather with a good 'grip'.(I've never understood the speculation that smooth side out is somehow 'slippery'). When the humidity does dip, I simply massage some moisturizing hand cream into the bag and wait a moment or two until the bag surface is dry to the touch. I get more than enough moisture through the bag to keep the reeds happy. My guess is that by lightly spritzing the outside of a standard bag with water may achieve the same end.

Bob

[MichaelLoos]

those little, plastic pizza-top confounders that looks like a Barbie-sized patio table.

Please excuse my deficient knowledge of English language - but what ist that? Could someone maybe post a pic?

[dunnp]

https://www.google.co.uk/search?um=1&hl ... ixhUBLO_EM