Hi James:
I think I can approach this with a bit more familiarity than most. I googled Pawleys Island. You sure live in a beautiful little town. I am amazed that a coastal Atlantic town in 2022 could have survived in its present condition without the developers and real estate barons coming in and destroying it with condominiums and runaway greed. Lucky you.
Anyway, I looked at lots of pictures and I pretty much see bodies of water everywhere. You live on a narrow barrier island with the Atlantic Ocean in front, and a body of water (river?) on the back side. So did I, in Ocean City, Maryland, a 10 mile long narrow barrier island, with the ocean in the front and a long 1/2 mile wide bay in the back. Back in the late 50's and early 60's It looked like Pawley's Island does now, and seeing your pictures tugged at my heart. Now it is Mondo Condo, forever spoiled, with a half million people there on a summer weekend.
I worked my way through college waiting on tables in OC, and also lived there for several years. The marshes with lots of mosquitos were all but at my back door.
I think that the climate between OC and Pawleys would be very similar, and that is one of intense, constant humidity year round. Really hard on buildings and cars at that time - it seemed like you were always painting your house because it just would not last long before peeling, and everyone's car would hastily begin to turn into a rust bucket. Doors and drawers would stick - I remember one super rainy summer that my standing joke became, "It was so rainy that I wanted to kill myself, but I couldn't get the knife drawer open."
Suffice it to say that the humidity and the salt in the air are really hard on pianos. Your experience with the church piano is par for the course.
I would call Dampp Chaser and share the particulars of your intense environment, and ask them what they would recommend as an effective strategy for the piano. Ask that they respond to you via email with their recommendations. Then share that email with the church.
It was not a small thing for a piano dealer to take back the first piano. He loses more money than you might think in this situation. He acted in good faith towards the customer, but he should not do this a second time. Then they will ask for a third piano, or a refund. Then the hit to the dealer becomes huge. The problem is not the piano, it is an impossible environment.
Perhaps his good faith effort would be to split the cost of the recommended dampp chaser system with the customer. If they are unwilling to be reasonable when they are being treated so well, then it is time for the dealer to say no.
Potentially, you can be a facilitator towards the best interests of the church and the dealer here. That can leave you in good stead with both parties, should it work out.
------------------------------
Will Truitt
Bristol NH
1-603-934-4882
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 09-24-2022 17:19
From: James Kelly
Subject: Yamaha P22 issues
Both of you are probably right . I am not sure what the conversations going back and forth but in my experience many of the problems in church pianos here can be due to the poor environment the pianos are subjected to. To save money on the electric bills many deep cycle the ac shutting it down after the last service on a Sunday. Around about Friday they fire the system up on overdrive so things are good by Sunday morning. There are also other scenarios where they turn it on and off the same day; the hvac is totally useless in some cases, pianos are located near vents etc. This same church had a grand piano in the main sanctuary yet the hammer pinning was all over the place . It had a dampp chaser installed under it but not properly located. In another church someone had placed the dehumidifier road ACROSS the strings. I wrote all of my findings and recommendation up but never got responses.
It will be interesting to see if piano #3 is problem free .... I give the booklet that Dampp Chaser publishes that show how humidity affects pianos to customers so that they are aware of options. However I often have to give information on room de-humidification and keeping the thermostat at a reasonable setting avoiding frequent re-sets
------------------------------
James Kelly
Owner- Fur Elise Piano Service
Pawleys Island SC
(843) 325-4357
Original Message:
Sent: 09-24-2022 13:41
From: Wim Blees
Subject: Yamaha P22 issues
When she says she's trying to resolve the problem with the dealer, she's basically saying she doesn't think you have the skills to solve the problems. She's hoping the dealer will send someone else out to "fix" the piano. Maybe she'll have you back when the other tuner can't fix the problem, either. In the mean time, just lay low and don't worry about it.
Wim
Sent from my iPhone
Original Message:
Sent: 9/24/2022 11:05:00 AM
From: James Kelly
Subject: Yamaha P22 issues
Back in May I posted about problems with a new Yamaha P22 that had a number of issues with keys sticking, notes going into checks. Although I did many things like easing the keys, adjustments to capstans etc the problems returned. The dealer exchanged the piano for another P22. I randomly sent an email to the music director in the church that bought the piano and she stated they are still having problems with the 2nd piano. I still think there could be environmental problems and even offered to put a data logger in the piano for 2 weeks to try for a better diagnosis. However the music director declined the offer and said they are working with the dealer to solve the issues- she did not specify what that meant.
Perhaps the piano should have several dehumidifier rods in it - one inside and another under the keybed. At this point I am wondering if this is the norm with new P22's. Could it be the materials being used for the keybeds ? I have seen something like MDF being used in some Yamahas . I know when I put together a workbench and used the thick pressed board shelf it warped like crazy and turned green from sucking up humidity in my garage.
------------------------------
James Kelly
Owner- Fur Elise Piano Service
Pawleys Island SC
(843) 325-4357
------------------------------