I'm Off!

[JimLucas]

In play, concertinas are the original 'air cooled machine', when not in play and if not looked after...................they can cook, twist, crash and burn!

Re cooking: Note that in much of America it occasionally exceeds !00° F (38° C) in the shade. Add to that streaming sunshine, and "air cooling" may be more like "air heating". Also, 140° F (60° C) or more on parts of the instrument in direct sun is not out of the question, while temperature differentials of tens of degrees can develop in minutes. I would not expose a good concertina to direct summer sunlight except for brief periods. (And if high humidity can also cause damage, you should note that Americans talk about "90-and-90" days: 90° F and 90% humidity, or more!)

[Boney]

Americans talk about "90-and-90" days:  90° F and 90% humidity, or more!

Funny, I just read something about this on the net...

 

http://ggweather.com/archive/weacorneraug14.htm

 

"90-90 conditions are a myth and do not occur naturally" ... "If it were possible to get to 90 degrees and 90 percent relative humidity, the heat index would be 122 degrees."

[JimLucas]

"90-90 conditions are a myth and do not occur naturally"

Having personally experienced 90-and-90 days, I have to say that the person quoted doesn't know what (s)he is talking about. And a friend of mine who did a merchant marine tour of the South Pacific told me of a 3-day stop in Taipei where the temperature was 120° F with 90% humidity for the first two days, while on the third day it dropped to 110° F... in the rain!

 

"If it were possible to get to 90 degrees and 90 percent relative humidity, the heat index would be 122 degrees."

Actual temperatures of 122° F (in the shade, and ignoring humidity), even in the US, may be rare, but are not impossible. The University of Utah Department of Meteorology reports high temperatures (admittedly long term records) of 122° F for both Phoenix and Yuma, Arizona, both populated areas. A quick internet browse shows that the highest recorded US temperature was 134° F in Death Valley, in both 1913 and 1995.

 

I remember one week in Pasadena, CA where the temperature only dropped to100° F at night. Humidity wasn't 90%, though. In fact, it was reported as less than 1%, because it went lower than conventional instruments could measure. (A teacup of water would evaporate in an hour or two.)

 

However, your same "informant" reports -- from personal observation, rather than just belief -- seeing a a thermometer's recorded temperature jump 23 degrees F -- from 80° to 103° -- in 5 minutes. So subjecting a wooden instrument to direct sunlight would seem a risky business.

[RustyBits]

When I first got my concertina my friend told me to treat it like you would a baby. . . not too hot, not too cold, never in the car alone. Sounds like good advice.

[Boney]

"90-90 conditions are a myth and do not occur naturally"

Having personally experienced 90-and-90 days, I have to say that the person quoted doesn't know what (s)he is talking about. And a friend of mine who did a merchant marine tour of the South Pacific told me of a 3-day stop in Taipei where the temperature was 120° F with 90% humidity for the first two days, while on the third day it dropped to 110° F... in the rain!

I think they meant it doesn't naturally occur in the U.S.A. I've heard that from some other sources too. Tropical parts of the world would be different of course.

Edited May 16, 2004 by Boney

[JimLucas]

Having personally experienced 90-and-90 days...

I think they meant it doesn't naturally occur in the U.S.A. I've heard that from some other sources too. Tropical parts of the world would be different of course.

Sorry for the misunderstanding, but the 90-and-90 I have experienced has been in the US, and not even on the south coast.

Those days may be rare, but they can happen.

 

Sometimes people say things that are wrong simply because they don't have all the data, but assume they do.

Certainly, not everything available from the internet (or from government agencies, for that matter) is true.

[Jane]

They can, they do, and they can do it for several days. Although it is usually more like 88 / 90 or 93/85. Central Illinois is just that way.

[Boney]

Certainly, not everything available from the internet (or from government agencies, for that matter) is true.

The devil you say!

 

Notice that I didn't report it as fact, just that I'd read it recently, and I've heard the same thing from another source. Either it's a common myth that the myth is a myth, or a myth that the myth is a myth is a myth, but I certainly don't know and I'm not about to dig into it. I don't see any reason 90-90 couldn't happen, even if it's unlikely.