 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: kdk
Date: 2012-02-17 00:41
I've become aware this winter of just how dry my home is (I recently bought a hygrometer) - the highest I can manage to push the humidity in the room where I practice and store my clarinets is around 41% - most of the time it's closer to 30%. So I've started trying more conscientiously to humidify the instruments in their cases. When I can, I use the old standby of orange peels placed around the instrument, but when I don't have them available I've gone back to using Dampits in the cases (I hadn't been for several years).
When I went online today to buy a couple of new ones, I read on the vendor's website that they should be put into the bore of each section (and of course they are made in specific sizes for specific sections). I'd always in the past used cello-size Dampits and placed them between the instrument sections on the flat parts of the case interior, which is how it was done by any of my teachers who used them.
I know string players put them inside the instruments through one of the F-holes. Is putting them through the bore the way any of you use them with your clarinets, or is this just a way way to sell twice as many Dampits? Has anyone had a bad experience with damage to pads or anything else by putting them inside the bores?
Karl
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2012-02-17 01:53
I wouldn't put the dampit insde the bore of your horns. Other then that they work well. It doesn't take much dampit water to change the tapered bores. Went them ever few days or less. Even everyday would be fine, just leave them outside of the horns and avoid dripping.
These also come in several sizes, so don't get the double bass size!
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Author: kdk
Date: 2012-02-17 02:05
Well, that's the way I've always used them in the past. I was jut surprised to see on the Weiner website that they seemed to be meant for use *inside* each section. I wring them out in a towel, so they're only damp when I put them in the case, never dripping, but I had visions of condensate pooling on the bottom of the bore or on the pads, and it didn't seem like a good idea.
Karl
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2012-02-17 02:16
Looks like there may be more then one answer here! I've never had a horn crack, but that may be due to quality wood. Looks like everyone will be right on this question! 3 winters were at Interlochen Michigan. The other year was in New York. That city took a beating. Snows one day then rains another day.
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Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2012-02-17 04:26
Personally I find that running a room humidifier is a lot easier than constantly messing with dampits. I keep all of my instruments in one room and keep the door closed. The humidifier keeps the room at a pretty consistent 65F and 50%RH and I only need to refill the water tanks about once per week.
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Author: DougR
Date: 2012-02-17 04:40
About a year ago (? longer?) there was a huge long thread on dampits vs. other means of humidifying cases that treated the subject pretty exhaustively.
Treating a wood instrument to sudden changes in ambient humidity or temperature is asking for it. The problem with Dampits, imo, is that when they dry out and get refilled & replaced in the case, they introduce such extremes into the instrument's environment. (I learned this from a luthier at my local upscale guitar shop, who said it'd be better to let my classical guitar sit out in the typical northeastern winter heating in my apartment, rather than use Dampits and keep the guitar in the case, since, he claimed, the introduction of extreme moisture into a dry case could make the instrument crack.)
Of course you'd humidify a clarinet case not only to keep it from cracking (you HOPE!), but also to keep the rings and posts fitting correctly. I keep my horns in the case with a couple of those water capsule hydrator things, the name of which escape me at the moment (paging Dr. Alzheimer!).
Many people use Dampits, though, and swear by them, so YMMV.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2012-02-17 10:38
I'm still a believer in the "if it's gonna crack it's gonna crack" adage. And Doug's comment about sudden changes. The idea of putting a damp thing inside the bore and then later taking the horn out into the relatively dry room just doesn't make sense to me. The fact that some horns can tolerate such conditions just adds to my basic belief above.
Bob Draznik
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Author: kdk
Date: 2012-02-17 15:05
To clarify, I'm not concerned especially about cracking. With one exception, all the instruments involved are from the 1980s or earlier and I suspect that if they were going to crack they would have done it long ago. The initial impetus for my current campaign against dry instruments came from a couple of loose rings I discovered a few weeks ago.
I'm getting from this discussion that the consensus is against putting the Dampits inside the instrument sections, which was my initial reaction. Thanks for the input. I don't know if the recommendation (or more the description) on the website is marketing from the manufacturers or just someone's questionable idea, but I will ignore it and continue to lay the things alongside and not inside the instrument parts.
Thanks, all.
Karl
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Author: kimber
Date: 2012-02-17 15:37
I threw away my Dampit years ago and switched to Humistats. I have one in each instrument case and because the water is visible, I can easily tell when to refill it. This winter I am experimenting with a small tube filled with humidifying gel (used in cigar humidors) which seems to keep the case humidity higher than a humistat alone.
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Author: William
Date: 2012-02-17 16:02
I go for the 'naturalists' approach--never used a dampit nor have I oiled the bores of any of my pro level Buffet, Leblanc and Yamaha clarinets during the past 50 yrs I've been playing. No cracks or tuning issues--all of my instruments remain in stable playing condition with just normal household humidity control via Aprilair. I think that putting humid objects in your case will only encourage mold and mildew and have little effect on your clarinet wood.
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2012-02-17 20:10
I've found that Dampits --even two in a single case don't raise the humidity inside much at all.
Humistat's, even two in a single case don't either.
I use a couple of 1x2 inch rectangles of dish washing sponge stuck abrasive side down into small, cut-down plastic bags. Those raise the humidity in my double case about 10% over that of my house.
My crack repairer recommends storing the clarinet at 60% (! not a typo) relative humidity. I can't get anywhere close to that unless I spritz the lining of the case with water. (Done once to test.)
Note that the wood's moisture content has about the same effect on static stress as a temperature difference. Drying one side or the other compared to the other side, alone can stress the wood enough to crack it.
Oh, and in 2003, I had a 1961 Buffet develop its first crack; so I am not convinced that old, but uncracked instruments have developed "an immunity."
Bob Phillips
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Author: BobD
Date: 2012-02-17 21:12
"and I suspect that if they were going to crack they would have done it long ago. "
Don't believe it.........
Bob Draznik
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Author: Campana
Date: 2012-02-17 23:06
It's the air that has humidity or relative humidity. The wood has moisture content, usually between 5%-10%. The ideal way to keep the wood's moisture content stable is to put it in a sealed plastic bag. The air conditions can do what they want then, the wood is untouchable.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2012-02-18 14:48
The bottom line is that it's good to keep some humidity in the case when the air is day. We used to use orange peels but they actually dried out very quickly so didn't provide much humidity. I used to use a sponge in a small plastic case with holes in it for the moisture to escape. The dampit does that very well. I never put it in the bore and none of my violin friends place them inside their instruments either. They do what I do, place them in the case after getting the drips out. I use the large one in my bass clarinet case and the medium one in my double clarinet case. Works great, never had a crack, ever. ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: LJBraaten
Date: 2012-02-18 20:12
I tried putting orange peels in zip lock bags with my new reeds (which are stored in the open), and despite carefully watching them, mold grew. I would think orange peel would have to be changed daily in a dark clarinet case (at least in my house). BTW: Currently my house is 55-60 % relative humidity.
FWIW: The wood clarinet I have owned for around 50 years (probably dating to the mid 1950s), has been exposed to extreme weather conditions: the dry summer 95 - 110 deg heat of Northern California, including outside playing (10 years), the dry and cold winter conditions of Boston (30 years) including several years where the only heat was from a wood stove), and the similar winter conditions of Chicagoland (10 years). During some of those times the clarinet was stored in sections of the house that were considerably colder than the rest during the winter. The only measure I ever took was during the first 10 years (when I actually played it) was to oil the bore periodically (with LeBlanc Synthetic bore oil, which is all I knew at the time). No cracks, not problems. Needless to say, I am now a little more careful about exposing my newer instrument to sudden temperature changes, and I use almond oil for the bore and outside. But I couldn't bring myself to introduce moisture directly into the case. The most I do is to keep my reeds in use in two zip lock baggies in the case, each containing a small piece of moist sponge.
Laurie
Laurie (he/him)
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