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Thanks SeilerFan!
The consumer report's testing provided some interesting findings.
Too bad a good number of the posted comments that followed the report disagree with the consumer report findings! Go ahead and read the bulk of comments that were posted by first hand users that followed the report. There were some who did have negative experiences but also many who don't want to live without it.

No problem, to each his own. Sorry to rock the boat.

You didn't really rock the boat. And, yes, since I dug up that article I also read the comments at the bottom. I wanted to buy the Venta at some point and was actually looking for positive comments, desperately so. However, most of the positive comments only say that the owners are happy with the humidification ability of the Venta. And that can also be provided by any evaporative wick device. I don't see any Venta specific positive comments. And, to boot, the Venta does not even have a humidistat because the maker claims that there is a magical level of saturation that the Venta will reach. Honestly, as I am anal about humidification control - call me a control freak - I need that humidistat.

I am not saying the Venta is bad. However, it is a big plastic box just like many other humidifiers. And as such it is completely overpriced. But that's just my view. I am German myself, and I usually love German-made things, and I am willing to shell out money for good stuff. I just didn't think that the Venta justifies the asking price.

Last but not least, can't really argue with those lab results from consumerreport that show that the Venta does not clean the air by any demanding standards, can you?

But then, people often want to feel good about the things that they purchased, especially if they were expensive. So, we construct our own little narrative. I am no exception to that.

SeilerFan, I'd like to respect your last reply, but you are suggesting that the benefits I have EXPERIENCED with my Venta are an apparent myth I have constructed. (My children breathing/sleeping better throughout the winter months, nose bleeds due to dryness ceasing and the humidity level throughout my home achieving a desireable level throughout the winter).

I completely relate that you would prefer the unit to have a built in humidistat but this is where you need to better understand how the Venta works. Those running the Consumer Report (CR) need to as well! As mentioned in one of the comments of the consumer report YOU provided:

[ Posted by: chilli from downunder | Dec 5, 2009 4:25:03 AM

The CR claim that it might put too much moisture in the air is silly. Perhaps they should be sent back to 10th grade physics. Evaporation becomes less effective the closer the air is to saturated. As somebody else posted, this unit is not likely to get the relative humidity much over 50%.]

Because this is not a warm mist, 'element heated' unit (neither cool mist for that matter), moist air is not being forced out of the unit. Air is drawn into the unit, absorbs whatever moisture through basic unassisted evaporation and is blown via a fan back out into the room. The simplicity is remarkable, effectiveness as well. The risk of 'over humidifying' doesn't exist.

I hope anyone out there doesn't judge on what SeilerFan has contributed to this because those comments simply are unfounded. Follow the link he provided for the consumer report and read the comments that follow, each himself. You will see that a good number of people appreciate their venta.

I don't doubt that. My humidifier which is not a Venta provides the same benefits: no nosebleeds, no dry skin. I still don't see what the Venta is doing that other devices won't do.



Well, relative humidity is very complicated and I am not a physicist. However, I have a basic and clear enough understanding. The level of "saturation" is not what you think is about 50%, but 100%. It is easy for my house humidifier to bring up the humidity to 70-80% plus if I ran it full blast. The Venta might be limited due to its small size. However, there is no "natural" saturation other than 100%.

With respect to Consumerreport, I am sure they appreciate your educating tips and they would benefit from your "expertise." Nonetheless, the Venta doesn't provide much airwashing capability as the lab results show. You seem to draw your knowledge from the advertisement leaflet that Venta provides. Venta is especially fuzzy about said capability and doesn't advertise it with specific specs.

All we're suggesting is that you can do better with other equipment.

Well, lets just agree to disagree.

Happy Easter.
Christ is Risen!

After leaving the DC in place at the inside bottom of piano for three days I see that it still reads 21%, the same as at the top and the same as in the room.

Strange as the DC cover is moist. What can go wrong with a DC?

Does the sensor activate a heater when the humidity drops?

So it could only be the sensor or the heater, no?

Any suggestions Steve?

Until the experts come back to comment.....I would guess part of the answer is that many people feel the only thing that matters is the soundboard. I can't see that. (I also think we don't know enough about how uniformly the soundboard is humidified, at least in a grand, but that's more complicated......)

The humidifier pads drape over an 8-watt heater bar. This is activated when the humidistat calls for moisture. The humidistat should hang from the longer dehumidifier bar, which is usually either 25-watts, or 50-watts. When the dehumidifier bar is "on", the bar on the water tank is "off".

First, make sure the system is plugged in...sounds silly, but it's not uncommon for that to be the problem.

Remove the bottom panel and feel each bar, making sure at least one is "on". The plugs for each bar plug into the humidistat, and are color coded. Make sure the colors match. One is white, the other is black. If neither bar feels warm, there is either a problem with one of the bars, or the humidistat.

Check the condition of the humidifier pads. If your water is loaded with minerals, the pads may not be wicking moisture properly to add enough moisture to the piano.

On a proper initial installation, the bottom right corner of the humidistat should be located approximately 2 inches above and 2 inches to the left of the water tank.

I have had to replace a couple faulty humidistats in the past couple of years. These were still under warranty. If it comes to that, Dampp-Chaser is very good with warranty concerns...but that has to be taken care of via your technician.

Thanks Eric.

How warm does the humidifier bar get when it's on? It felt close to ambient when I touched it last time.

I will check it again.

I've suspected the humidistat.

It's only 8-watts, so it doesn't feel hot at all...but you should be able to tell if it's warm to the touch.

If you feel no heat from either bar, my guess is it's the humidistat.

You could also try another test. Unplug the humidifier bar from the humidistat. Then, plug the humidifier bar onto an extension cord, then directly into the wall outlet. Wait a couple minutes, then feel the bar to see if it's warm. If not, then the humidifier bar is faulty.

The humidifier bar is warm and my humidity sensor works. It seems that not enough water is being evaporated to make a difference. The room humidity is 20% (inside the piano it reaches 22%).

Are the humidifier pads dry where they drape over the top of the humidifier bar?

The top seems to be dry, but the sides are wet.

Gabe, the distributor around our region for DampChaser is located in Richmond Hill - not far from Toronto at all. Call him up:

http://www.pattersonandco.com/

Thanks, but I'm sure my tech and the place where I bought the piano with the DC six months ago will take care of it.

Don't bet on that Gabe. Who installed it to begin with and does the tech work for the dealer? I say this because I've seen far to many Chaser installations from dealerships done poorly and/or improperly which could be a part of your problem.

The odd thing is that it worked fine for some time.

I wonder... If the tuning is staying put fairly well, it is probably doing its job.

I might add that a Chaser is not a cure all for keeping a piano in perfect tune and pitch all year long. It still should be tuned every six months regardless and the pads should be changed as well.

Quoting Seilerfan:

""If you really love your piano, I'd look into treating the whole room which is a much better choice than the DC in my opinion. DC are mere make-shift solutions. They do not have the same capability of proper whole-room treatment. Also, your body will enjoy the benefits of room treatment too! And, it is not that expensive either. ""

I totally agree with this. I have been very happy with a portable room humidifier. I do have the heating rod portion of the DC system installed on my piano, because I didn't think adding humidity would be a problem. As it turns out, the rods can only mitigate the humidity by about 6%. When our humidity started getting really high a couple of summers ago I added a portable dehumidifier. It works like a champ. I now have no problem maintaining my room right at 42% all the time and it is a very open room. I even recycle the water in the summer from the dehumidifier into my flowers and tomatoes. I could completely unhook my DC and the machines would do a fine job of maintaining the humidity. Also, I would be very worried if my room was 20%!