Author Topic: Heating the home but not affecting musical instruments  (Read 154 times)

jazzyvee

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Heating the home but not affecting musical instruments
« on: June 05, 2025, 11:46:13 AM »
I'm having underfloor heating in my home soon which will include the space I practice in. I'm going to enjoy being in a room without cold spots however I am wondering what/if any are the dangers that poses to my instruments. At the moment I have a convection radiator in the room and it is kept at a temperature of between 18 & 10 degrees C. The instruments are always in cases, except a couple on the wall and some are in their cases within a cabinet or stood up against the wall in their flight or C&C cases.
I'm wondering if there is going to be an issue with the constant heat coming up from the floor creating a warm dry spot under the cases and the heat affecting them.am i worrying unnecessarily?
I know plants don't like being put on those kind of heated floors, but if the wood has forgotten it's a tree would it be OK  :o 8) ::) ?

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edwardofhuncote

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Re: Heating the home but not affecting musical instruments
« Reply #1 on: June 05, 2025, 01:38:30 PM »
Just monitor the relative humidity. The necks on a couple of my basses get a little twitchy if they get dry. During the cold winter season here, I keep little humidifying spongeboxes in the cases with each one.

hammer

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Re: Heating the home but not affecting musical instruments
« Reply #2 on: June 05, 2025, 06:34:02 PM »
This shouldn't present a problem as long as you don't have the floor heat cranked up.  We keep ours at 68 F/20 C and its never caused any problems.  With yours at 10-18 C the floor may not even feel warm to the touch...just not cold.

garyhead

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Re: Heating the home but not affecting musical instruments
« Reply #3 on: June 05, 2025, 08:36:52 PM »
Another example of how wonderful this place is.  No matter the question …… someone has the answer or experience to the situation.
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g-dude

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Re: Heating the home but not affecting musical instruments
« Reply #4 on: June 08, 2025, 05:20:50 PM »
Just monitor the relative humidity. The necks on a couple of my basses get a little twitchy if they get dry. During the cold winter season here, I keep little humidifying spongeboxes in the cases with each one.

100% this.

I ordered a double bass from Upton Bass right before the pandemic lockdown occurred, and when it was time for my bass to be shipped, shipping was so problematic and expensive that Gary Upton converted a Mercedes Sprinter into a camper and drove around the US delivering basses to people.

I received my bass in November and it was 20 degrees Fahrenheit (about -7 Centigrade) and my bass had been hauled in an unheated trailer along with the others.

While the absolute humidity was low, the relative humidity was just fine, and didn’t cause any issues with the basses being transported.

Only thing I had to watch out for is keeping it in the bag for a day so it could warm up. A very cold bass brought in to a house with decent humidity is going to get condensation which is really bad for uprights.

hdfixer

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Re: Heating the home but not affecting musical instruments
« Reply #5 on: June 08, 2025, 05:41:30 PM »
Hhhm, I have underfloor heating in my home (hydronics - circulated hot water from the boiler) and I never put instrument cases directly on it over concern for hotspots - the floor does get quite warm to heat the ambient air to the desired temperature.  Perhaps if you have an infrared laser thermometer you could check your floors temp? 

jazzyvee

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Re: Heating the home but not affecting musical instruments
« Reply #6 on: June 08, 2025, 11:19:35 PM »
I have decided not to go with under floor heating in that room and play safe with a wall convection radiator instead.
« Last Edit: June 09, 2025, 12:09:07 AM by jazzyvee »
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