Effect of AC to noon day in Arizona mando?

[Boomslang]

Looking for (subjective) opinion, and/or experiences...Here in the Sonoran, where the temps go to 112+, and the humidity kicks-up to 5 or 7%, I keep my mando about 20 hours of the day in a hardshell with 2 oasis humifiers resulting in about 50% moisture level.
Increasingly, I'm out playing at different jams at the 90/95 degree range Up furtherr north), in the shade. Thereof, going from controlled (house/case environment) to inordinal changes in temp and humidity.
What do you share?...Already had one minor separation near the tailpiece on the last one.
Boomslang-

[Mark Robertson-Tessi]

Not much you can do about it when you want to play it out. I was in Tucson for a long time, luckily never had a problem, but definitely kept it in the case with humidifers as much as possible, even when taking a short break from playing. If it's getting up close to 100+, I'd probably not pull it out. Then again, I probably would have no interest in playing in those temps anyway.

Cheers
MRT

[allenhopkins]

This is a very difficult problem. Exposing a good instrument to extreme variations in temperature and humidity, which is what'll happen when you pull it out of its controlled environment, can result in near-immediate effects.

You might consider getting a carbon-fiber mandolin, which is an expensive solution, but can give you a degree of invulnerability to environmental variations. The opposite solution is to get a thickly-finished, laminated-wood "beater," which won't sound as good or play as nicely, but has the dual advantages (?) of being less susceptible to temperature-humidity change, and less expensive if it does sustain damage.

Sounds like you're doing the best you can, but there's really no complete protection from high heat, extreme dryness, and the inevitable effects of changing from A/C to desert temperatures. Good luck.

[Grommet]

In my experience, a hardshell will do a good job of protecting your instrument indoors. In Phoenix summertime temps, regular a/c has not been a problem for my guitars or mandolin in cases. In spring however, we run an evaporative cooler until late june/early july. The evaporative cooler will increase the humidity in the house enough to require tuning down carved-topped instruments a little each day until the instrument stabilizes (5-6 days) When we turn on the real A/C in late june/early july, the mandolin needs to be tuned back up a little each day for the same 5-6 days till stable, then no further issues. Travel in summer is the the riskiest proposition. Hot car temps will surely soften-up hide glue or Titebond pretty quick. I try not to travel far with pets, instruments or kids in summer weather.

Scott

[moxie]

I've been in Tucson for 10 years now with no cracks in my wooden instruments, old or new. Humidification has to be your new religion. I did have the binding separate on a Martin guitar, something I had never heard of, but I don't know if the dry air did it.Moxiemcc

[Mandobart]

Whatever the humidity is outside, if you're using AC without a humidifier, the air will be even drier indoors (cooling the air removes even more moisture; ever see the condensation on your cooling coil?) I grew up in northern NM where it isn't quite as hot but is just as dry. Never had a problem with my fiddles or guitars cracking or separating, and I didn't discover the dampit until I'd been playing quite a while. I now live and play, indoors and out, on the steppes of eastern Washington, where temperatures are often triple digits in the summer and -20 F in the winter. The problem isn't the absolute temperature or humidity, but that rapid change in either or both that will do the damage. I always allow an adjustment time (around 30 minutes, maybe more if the difference is extreme) in the case when taking an instrument from one environment to another. It may be worse to over-humidify in the case and then whip it out in 100 F+ and near 0% relative humidity then to let it gradually acclimate from a dry but cooler vehicle to the ambient outdoor conditions.

[Texas]

My first post here and this thread caught my eye because I am a woodworker—not an instrument builder—and have had much experience with this subject.

You will find much difference of opinion among woodworkers regarding this subject. Some, will tell you to take any and all precautions when working with joints that include a cross-grain binding such as glueing. Others will tell you that in today's highly climitized (sp?) homes that it is not as important as it was in days gone by. I fall into the latter group.

Problems with splitting and checking wood happens when you have prolonged exposure to large changes in temperature and humidity such as we experience in Summer and then Winter. In the old days before our modern HVAC systems buildings and homes went through vast changes during the seasons, but in modern times rarely do our homes vary more than a few degrees with seasonal changes. Humidity, though, still varies more than temperature, but in my opinion even those variations are not enough to create problems with cross-grain joints.

So, if you keep your Mandolin in a case and in a temperature controlled building then you should be ok, but if for example you keep it in storage where changes occur then you are more likely to encounter problems after a couple years.

One quick and dirty solution is to go to your local cigar store and buy a few moisture packs. The packs release a very small amount of dampness that keeps cigars in a humidor (much smaller than a instrument case) at about 70% humidity. I suspect in a instrument case the moisture level would probably be closer to 50% which would be ideal. Along with the moisture packs go to Radio Shack and buy a very cheap hydrometer and keep an eye on the humidity level. If you do this then your Mandolin should last, without splits and checks, for many lifetimes.

I hopes this helps someone in the future.

[Mandobart]

That's hygrometer to measure relative humidity. Hydrometer measures specific gravity, which is handy for testing battery electrolyte, antifreeze and % alcohol in beer and wine.

[Texas]

Thank you for the correction. Hydrometer = Hygrometer