Guitars and Central Heating
Been meaning to post this thread for a while. Have central heating in flat, but am scared to use it in case it does nasty things to my guitars. I have asked for advice localy but got very conflicting answers, ranging from it wont do damage to someone who'se acoustic neck warped'
I know that there are humidifiers on the market; general room ones, guitar case models, soundhole speciality ones etc. Anyone have any experience of problems or lack of, general advice, options etc. I've seen quite a few guitar pics with radiators in background, so I,m guessing most people have them.
Last edited by danomess; 24th August 2012 at 02:31 PM. Reason: added detail
assuming you're talking in general, and not about placing them on or near a radiator
it affects acoustics more than electrics, and bodies more than necks - if the neck warped thats more likely damp, or propped up against a rad............and in the UK, you're highly unlikely to suffer from air thats dry enough to cause problems, probably the opposite TBH -
What is the place like in general ? if you get any kind of condensation on windows etc, you wont have a problem.
......"Bertie is pretty much a zen master..................."
Dont get condensation, but have had dampness problems in past. Stay in Scotland where it just seems to rain most of the time! I was only intending to use the heating in living room, where I keep a steel strung and spanish guitar, also a uke. i keep electrics in studio cupboard, only get pulled out when needed. Part of me thinks I'm being overtly paranoid, the other half thinks better safe than sorry. as I say it's hard to get a general consensus on it.Originally Posted by bertie
The only problem I've ever had with a guitar was when my heating broke in the middle of a bad winter and the landlord took over a week fixing it. My guitar neck warped in the cold and cost around £100 to get it back to normal. So since then I've been much more scared of the cold than the warm!
So long as they aren't being subjected to huge temperature and moisture variances, they should be fine.
If you are really worried, keep them in gig bags which will give them a reasonably stable environment .
I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!!!
This. Keeping a guitar in a gig bag (or a case) lessens the impact of any changes in humidity or temperature since it helps prevent sudden changes to the air around the instrument.
Do zen blues fans try to imagine the sound of one hand Clapton?
its all about consistency and avoiding extremes.
as long as you don't have guitars kept regularly within a meter of a radiator, and definitely never directly above, it should be absolutely fine
Ideally you should try to avoid storing them near external walls, radiators or in direct sunlight . In my house that's 3 of the 4 walls in most rooms - the other one usually has a chimney breast and they are notorious for damp . so now just keep them stacked right in the middle of the room under a blanket, but i am worrying the blanket is making them too warm
I think that could be more to do with warming up too quickly, or damp air from no heating, Ive left acoustics in back of my car, in winter, for days and days with no damage whatsoever
......"Bertie is pretty much a zen master..................."
If it's not one extreme to the other I wouldn't worry. my wife has the damn heating up about 1000'c which I hate then I just switch it off
never had any issues really, except that one time I was really drunk and left my telecaster in the garden.
but for central heating if you dont leave the guitars on the radiator or in direct hot heat - don't sweat it.
My ex-Wife used to like the house so warm that one winter the frets were sticking out of the side of my Martin D28's fretboard and the top had a concave bow. The guitar had become seriously dry... Taylor's web site has excellent info on managing humidity. (Apart from getting divorced, I also invested in a digital hygrometer and a sound hole humidifier).
Solids are less susceptable. I had a Suhr which needed regular truss rod adjustments to cope with changing humidity levels, but most of my electrics haven't needed attention for years. As long as you take obvious precautions (like not storing guitars near radiators; even in their cases) and you don't like sub-tropical temperatures, I don't think you will have any problems.
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