Under floor Heating

[uatru]

I have always been careful about exposing guitars to heat - whether from a radiator or elsewhere. I’ve just moved to a house with underfloor heating downstairs. Does anyone have any experience of this with guitars? Should I keep them upstairs? Or is it ok if they are on stands (which they will be). Or should I just not worry?
Andrew.

[Michael Messer]

Hi Andrew,

I have no experience with underfloor heating, but I would be careful about exposing your guitars to a constant up-flow of warm air.

Perhaps put them on stands on a rug which has some kind of insulation material under it to stop the heat rising. Or, keep them upstairs.

I keep my guitars on the wall in a room that is heated by a log burner. It gets pretty hot and the guitars get warm, but it is not a constant heat source like a radiator or sun on the boot of a car.

Shine On
Michael

[uatru]

Thanks Michael - guitar room upstairs then, I think.
Best wishes
Andrew

[Stevie]

Direct rising heat is not good but stability from swings in temperature is more important for wooden things. Control of humidity level is in my view even more important although perhaps not such a potential problem here in the UK as it is elsewhere, especially America. When I did my HND in Environmental Engineering Design, we were taught that many folks don't take very well to the underfoot sensation of underfloor heating. I think this has given me a prejudice against it but for whatever reason I wouldn't willingly have it anywhere in my house. I know efficient insulation is used but that cannot stop heat loss totally, only reducing heat transfer and I don't reckon on paying to heat up the ground at all. At the end of the day, without some way of hydrating the atmosphere (with its attendant risks) any form of heating dries out the air in a space. I think MM makes a good case for ameliorating or perhaps even avoiding the rising heat altogether. All mine are upstairs and I keep the room a little cooler than the rest of the house where it's easier just to give in to SWMBO!

e&oe...

[Michael Messer]

All that Stevie says is correct, there is no question of that. However, I have had guitars around me for all of my life and while I do avoid heat sources like radiators, hot stage lights and sun on the boot of the car, I actually never worry about humidity or temperature change. Sometimes they creak and the strings make pinging noises when the log burner is going, but they all seem okay and I have kept them like that for 40 years, so I will continue.

Sometimes when travelling with guitars they go through all kinds of extreme temperate and humidity changes. If I was travelling with something like a Kostal fragile acoustic guitar I might treat the whole thing differently, but my Fine Resophonics and old Nationals and Dobros are pretty durable things.

Shine On
Michael.

[Pickers Ditch]

I'm fortunate to have a "guitar room" upstairs - SWMBO kindly donated a spare bedroom after the last of our chickadees eventually left home.

I tend to keep the curtains half closed in this north facing room too, as one resonator seriously suffered short term from overheating due to me stupidly leaving it in direct sunlight.

See: michaelmesser.proboards.com/thread/9671/daft-word-warning

Radiator thermostat set to 20deg.C in the colder months.

Living close to the east coast, I'm more concerned with humidity variation but I haven't suffered any problems so far, touch wood. (ouch!)

[Stevie]

I left a Romanian Hora 'zouk on an armchair this week and of course the sun marched across the south facing bay window. I think I caught it quickly enough but it was fairly hot to the touch on the sound board and it is very lightly built from all solid maple timber.

e&oe...