Climate Protection
Save money, save your piano
The Piano Life Saver System is an internal humidity control system that is engineered to protect what is arguably the world’s most complex musical instrument: the piano. The Piano Life Saver System offers a reliable way to protect your piano against the many adverse effects of fluctuations in climate and humidity. Apart from the benefits relating to tonal and tuning stability, the Piano Life Saver reduces the medium and long term costs of maintenance, reliably paying for itself.
The Life Saver is attached to the beams under a grand piano or in the space under the keyboard on an upright. It creates a stable environment for the soundboard, humidifying and dehumidifying as required, regulated by a sensor at the soundboard surface.
Installed in pianos from small home uprights to Steinway Model D Concert Grands with excellent results.
Why does my piano need a Piano Life Save System?
Your piano was a large investment. As an integral part of a regular maintenance routine by your piano technician, the Piano Life Saver System will help you protect it and ensure many years of trouble free playing and beautiful music. The Piano Life Saver System is a highly engineered, very low maintenance, humidity control system that fits right into your piano. It is designed to stabilize the moisture content of the wood in your piano ensuring pitch stability and increased longevity.
Pianos are largely made up of wood, felt, and metal. Extreme levels of humidity, high or low, or a fluctuating humidity level, will have detrimental effects on all of these materials both in the short and long term. Have you ever noticed how the doors in your home stick during one time of year and during another the gaps between boards on your hardwood floors open up? Imagine this happening inside your piano. When your piano is repeatedly subjected to these cycles, the glue joints holding all of these pieces together can start to fail and major components like the soundboard can crack.
​
​The strings in your piano are made of steel, with the bass having a copper winding. If the humidity is too high, these will eventually rust, leading to expensive repairs.
​
The Piano Life Saver System is designed to protect your piano from these problems and is therefore an integral part of proper piano care and maintenance.
Customers include:
-
Cape Philharmonic Orchestra
-
The Linder Auditorium in Johannesburg
-
The Steinway agents, Pianoforte
-
Francios du Toit and Franklin Larey on their home Kawai grands
-
Numerous private owners
How does it work?
The Piano Life Saver System continuously monitors the humidity level of the air inside your piano using a sophisticated electronic Humidistat which is located very close to the soundboard. When the Humidistat senses that the humidity level is too low, it activates the Humidifier. When it senses that the level is too high, it activates the Dehumidifier. This shallow cycle continues day after day, year after year, protecting your piano from external conditions.
Please note that installation of the Piano Life Saver System is not intended to supplant regular tuning and maintenance by your piano technician. It is designed to increase the serviceable life of your instrument and keep it playing and sounding its best between regular service intervals.
​
Protect your investment by having the Piano Life Saver System installed inside your piano. Professional installation is required for warranty coverage. Ian Burgess- Simpson Pianos are authorised dealers for the Piano Life Saver System, as well as certified installers.
​
The Piano Life Saver comes with a five-year warranty, which includes replacement on defective Dampp-Chaser products although Humidifier Pads are not covered.
​
Visit the Piano Life Saver website to read more or click here to download the brochure.
Internal string covers:
On grand pianos the Piano Life Saver should ideally be used in conjunction with an internal string cover. This is cut to pattern from an acoustic felt, designed in the USA for this specific purpose. It protects the strings from corrosion and tarnishing, extending their life expectancy and assisting with tuning stability by insulating the upper surface of the soundboard.
Contact us for orders or enquiries on the Piano Life Saver System and/or internal string covers.
​