In response to John Tuttle's idea of an electric blanket to keep a
piano warm and cozy in an unheated home during the winter months.  It
is my feeling that not only the piano would be kept warm and cozy, but
the entire house might be burned to the ground!

Electric blankets have been notorious for starting fires, and the idea
of leaving one unattended is not using common sense.  Rodents also
might enjoy the warmth and decide to do set up housekeeping and do bit
of chewing.  Soon the blanket would be reduced to shreds and bare
wires.

Pianos in seasonal unheated homes do not suffer as much as a piano kept
in a pleasantly heated house, since any moisture in the unheated home
is frozen at 32 degrees F. and does not bother the piano.

Heat units for pianos in an unheated houses are not good either,
because of the stress of heat on one side of wood while freezing cold
on the other side.  It is too much of a contrast.

I know of one piano that was damaged beyond repair because someone
had the bright idea of leaving a 100 watt bulb going inside the piano
during the winter months.  Fortunately there was not a fire, however,
I found a large charred area where the bulb had touched the side of the
piano after someone had moved it.

In the spring, when the piano was checked, I found that the cast iron
plate had cracked during the winter.  We never were quite sure if the
unequal heating was responsible.  The piano had been stored for years
without heat in winter, and was fine until the heat was added one
winter.

The piano that I now own was kept in an unheated cottage for over
40 years, enduring sub zero temperatures with no source of warmth or
electrical devices within.  I found it to be in better condition than
most pianos that are kept in a heated home during the winter months.

In my experience using piano heat rods, many people cannot comprehend
these units even with explicit instructions!  Many that I have installed,
I find turned on in winter and disconnected during the damp summer when
they are needed the most.

Bruce Clark