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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! > Heated Harp Case?
Heated Harp Case?
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Harmonica Lewinskey
145 posts
Jun 12, 2016
1:16 PM
Ok so it is officially summertime here in Chicago, which means hot cars. I couldn't help but notice that my Harps play noticeably easier if they have been sitting in a hot car. Now I realize at a certain temperature this could probably damage the harp, or cause it to go out of tune. But it also got me thinking it would be kind of cool to have a gig case that was climate controlled! I know Seydel actually says in the instruction book that comes with their harps (yes I actually read that thing, lol) that you should hold your harp in your hand for 30 seconds or so to warm it up before playing so that it is easier on the reeds.. I was thinking you could even just put an input for a 9V power supply and plug it straight into your pedal chain!

Any thoughts? Has anyone had any experience with harps going out of tune due to excessive heat?
harmonicanick
2480 posts
Jun 12, 2016
3:02 PM
Hey Lewinskey,

Over heating harps is not common here in UK

However I do open my harp cases after gig to let the air flow

Harps going out of tune are usually due to too much breath

Everything needs warming up!

I just got a 30 minute gig.. No time to warm up!!
nacoran
9098 posts
Jun 12, 2016
4:13 PM
"He played like a hoary devil,
Like he owned the Delt,
He only ever slowed it down
When his reeds started to melt"...

I think most temperatures should be fine for harmonicas, although I suppose storing them really cold with moisture might cause problems if it froze inside! If you think about how much surface space there is in a harp and the fact that you are blowing warm air into it it should warm up pretty quick just blowing lightly...

Of course, I wouldn't pop a harmonica that had been sitting on the dash in the hot sun straight into my mouth, or one that my lips might freeze to. :)

Letting them dry out is good too. We are less vulnerable to it than some of the guys with big horns, but there are some molds and mildews that can build up in brass instruments.



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Nate
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First Post- May 8, 2009
Crawforde
121 posts
Jun 12, 2016
4:40 PM
Lots of chromatic players use handwarmers or heating pads in their cases to preheat the harps and keep the valves from sticking.
rogonzab
960 posts
Jun 12, 2016
4:42 PM
Chromatic players use that also because condensation get cought on the valves and they "ring" and if you have a ringing valve, that is, it is going to be the only thing that you hear that entire night!

To the OP: practice also make harps sounds good. Try some scales before playing, like a warm up exercise for you rather that for the harps
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Sorry for any misspell, english is not my first language.

Last Edited by rogonzab on Jun 12, 2016 4:44 PM
Killa_Hertz
1573 posts
Jun 12, 2016
6:36 PM
My Manjis ,that are usually a little stiff at times, play awesome after sitting in the hot car all day.

I think a heated case could be a great idea. And while your at it you might want to think about moisture control. Perhaps a dehumidifier so its dry heat. But not too dry you dont want the wood cracking up.
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Gnarly
1839 posts
Jun 12, 2016
7:19 PM
The thing about heating a harmonica is that it starts to cool down as soon as you start to play.
So for chrom, any real solution will have to include keeping it warm while you play.
No, I don't have a solution--sorry.
STME58
1736 posts
Jun 12, 2016
8:08 PM
I have spec'ed silicon rubber heaters before, and they are available in low voltage models that could heat a case from battery power. It has been so long I forgot the supplier names. It would not be too hard to add a temp sensor and a control system to keep the case at 37 deg C. A small fan and a desiccant might also be good features to add. You could power it with a laptop battery. My son just got some cases for his bassoon and sax reeds that have humidity control to keep the inside of the case at 78% humidity. The packets are kind of like a desiccant but they release moisture if it gets too dry. I don't know if there is such a thing as too dry for a harp.

As to the concern Gnarly brought up, a solid metal comb, with its large thermal mass, might help.
didjcripey
1046 posts
Jun 12, 2016
11:04 PM
Just speculating here, but I reckon more practice would improve ones playing more than having heated harp cases.
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Lucky Lester
Harmonica Lewinskey
146 posts
Jun 13, 2016
7:46 AM
Yes Lucky Lester, thank you for that reminder.. However I never said it would improve your playing, I said that it makes the Harps more responsive. If your playing sucks it does not matter how responsive your harps are.. Thank you for your concern though..
Harmonica Lewinskey
147 posts
Jun 13, 2016
7:50 AM
As far as moisture control I guess those Silica Gel packets would be good to keep in Harp cases in general.. A small fan could be nice also like STME58 said.. If I get ambitious enough maybe i'll make one, or if anyone else does be sure to post what you find!!
isaacullah
3209 posts
Jun 13, 2016
8:19 AM
Forget heating pads or fans or anything like thst. Just keep a single ounce of uranium at the bottom of your case. Your harps will stay warm and toasty forever!

But seriously, the only thing I'd worry about with a heated case is it turning into an incubation chamber for all kinds of nasty bacteria in my harps. I always let my harps dry out after playing, but you never know...
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Last Edited by isaacullah on Jun 13, 2016 8:20 AM
MindTheGap
1682 posts
Jun 13, 2016
8:26 AM
In that case you want it to get really hot, then it can be a portable autoclave. Simple. Only thing is it might break down the Teflon combs and release toxic gas.
Harmonica Lewinskey
148 posts
Jun 13, 2016
8:36 AM
Yeah I thought about the whole "heating up hot enough to kill off bacteria" thing but thats when I was still worried about the heat de-tuning or damaging the harps, but that doesn't seem to be as much of an issue as I previously thought.. You bring up a good point about the combs though.. Perhaps something like this would only work if you got all metal combs like STME58 said..

Last Edited by Harmonica Lewinskey on Jun 13, 2016 8:37 AM
Killa_Hertz
1576 posts
Jun 13, 2016
9:58 AM
To me this is not very practical, but something fun to talk about.

In industrial applications when you have a pipe that simply can't freeze or things will go bad real fast, you run heattrace on it. Heattrace is a 2 conductor cable wuth a semi conductor material in between. So it heats up.

Then you could run a thermocouple (a wire with two different metals that react differently to heat. Temperature is measured by change in resistance.) connected to a T-Stat to control the temp.

The humidity is another thing entirely, but it wouldn't be hard.

Making it 9, 18, or 24v so that it can run off of a DC Brick is a great idea.

Maybe just a simple pouch to hold one chrom with low heat.
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nacoran
9101 posts
Jun 13, 2016
1:51 PM
You just need to invent a tube to suck the air coming off your laptop computer into your harmonica case!

Are you sure it's just not the acoustics of your car? I know if I lived in Chicago I would only ever play in my car in the warmer months, which might mean I might think it was the warmth, not the car. :)

Or, it might be the effect on your lungs, now that I think about it. I know cold air is one of my worst asthma triggers. I could see playing through really cold harps (or in really cold places, in general) causing some problems. There is something about the deep breathing you do to keep yourself cool in the summer that is nicely compatible with playing harp.

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First Post- May 8, 2009
Barley Nectar
1228 posts
Jun 13, 2016
4:09 PM
I keep two harps under my arms to preheat. I can preheat a third butt people look at me like I'm nuts! Change them according to the set list. Makes them taste funny but that's ok, they are LO's...(:>)
Harmonica Lewinskey
149 posts
Jun 13, 2016
8:34 PM
Nacoran, I don't think it is just the acoustics of the car since I play in the car all months and it gets darn cold out here. Based off of my minimal knowledge of science it makes sense to me that warmer metals would bend easier but I might be crazy..

Barley Nectar, i'm not sure if the extra "t" in "but" was intentional but it really made me concerned with how you keep that third harp warm ;)
STME58
1738 posts
Jun 13, 2016
11:32 PM
Barley_Nectar, If you can play any of those harps without removing them from their warming spots, I don't want to know about it! :-)

All kidding aside, I always have a few harps in my pocket. I don't always put all the harps back in the case when I am at a jam or gig and I have noticed a difference in pulling a warm harp out of my pocket vs. a cold one out of the case. I also learned the hard way not to leave my case open in direct sunlight at an outdoor gig.
Philosofy
755 posts
Jun 14, 2016
6:20 AM
What about those chemical hand warmers for skiers and hunters?
gmacleod15
276 posts
Jun 15, 2016
4:22 AM
I like to warm my aluminum comb harps before playing. Keeps the condensation down and they seem to play more in tune. Usually a minute or so of playing does the trick. My chrom gets heated by sitting on my tube amp.


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jbone
2187 posts
Jun 16, 2016
4:24 AM
I fooled with this idea some years ago, but here's what I arrived at: 1- Get to the gig early and open your case. 2- Warm in hands. 3- My idea was to take a standard heating pad and mount it in a brief case. It just proved to be overkill for me.
If it's that cold where we're going to play my partner is not going to freeze her fingers anyway. We choose with care.

I've only had 40+ years fooling with these things so my opinion may not count so much. I have learned over the years to suit my own self and respect that others have different needs/wants/ideas.
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Gnarly
1842 posts
Jun 16, 2016
7:02 AM
I claimed that I didn't have a real solution but I lied.

I will occasionally use one of those hand warmer devices. The ones I have settled on are reusable--they are called Hotsnapz and release heat when a metal disc is snapped inside a gel bag filled with Sodium Acetate. You recharge them by boiling them, and the acetate goes back into solution.
http://hotsnapz.com/
The green ones last longer but the red ones don't look as weird if you hold them onto the harp while you are playing--and if you do, the harp stays warm while you are playing. This is crucial if you are playing chromatic in the cold.


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