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  • When to Shut Off Organ



    I'm playing an electronic organ on and off throughout the day, especially on weekends. Sometimes for a couple hours at a sitting, then away from the bench for 1-3 hr, then back again, etc. I was wondering if it is better to leave it ON rather than shutting it on and off 4-5 times in a day? I do have it attached to a UPS/surge protector.</p>

    Also, while on this topic, what is the recommendation for pipe organs in a similar situation?</p>

    Thanks.</p>

     John</p>

  • #2
    Re: When to Shut Off Organ



    John,</P>


    I've always been told, and have used the rule-of-thumb that if you're going to leave the organ for more than 15 minutes, it's more economical to turn it off and back on again. Less than 15 minutes, leave it on. I've been told that it takes less electricity to keep the organ going for 15 minutes than the power surge it requires to turn it on again.</P>


    So, during the sermon, I turn the organ off (but leave the fluorescent music desk light on). I'm sure the experts in the group can weigh in with more authority on the subject.</P>


    Michael</P>


    P.S. Not sure if this applies to the Atlantic City organ! [;)]</P>
    Way too many organs to list, but I do have 5 Allens:
    • MOS-2 Model 505-B / ADC-4300-DK / ADC-5400 / ADC-6000 (Symphony) / ADC-8000DKC
    • Lowrey Heritage (DSO-1)
    • 11 Pump Organs, 1 Pipe Organ & 7 Pianos

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: When to Shut Off Organ



      John,</P>


      My friend Michaeloffers good advice, and you won't go wrong to do as he does. Fifteen minutes is a good rule, though I believe there is another factor to consider, especially on larger instruments-- the stress of the power-up cycle.</P>


      I'd suspect there is enough stress imposed upon certain components by the startup process that one would be justified in leaving an organ on all day long, if coming and going to play it frequentlythroughout the day. Assuming, of course, that the organ is well ventilated and does not get overly hot anywhere when left on for hours at a time.</P>


      You would probably save some electricity to turn it off every timeyou get up, but in the long run you may spend more on service and repairs that may become necessary due to the stresses ofturn-on cycles occuring several times each day.</P>


      This is not a scientific statement, and based solely on my own opinion. The same issue is often raised about computers, whether or not to leave one on all the time. (I don't.)</P>


      On Sunday mornings I will generally be at the church for threeto four hours, since we have choir rehearsal, then Sunday School, then the worship service. I turn the organ on when I arrive and leave it on the whole time, even though it is not played for periods of 30 to 45 minutes during Sunday School and during the sermon.</P>


      Since it's a 20+ year oldRodgers organ with lighted drawknobs, the power supply is quite large and draws a lot of current. I believe the start-up cycle puts quite a bit of stress on the supply, so I prefer to minimize the number of start-ups it has to endure. (Because if something goes wrong, I'm the one who'll have to fix it!)</P>


      Your mileage may vary.</P>


      John</P>
      <P mce_keep="true"></P>
      John
      ----------
      *** Please post your questions about technical service or repair matters ON THE FORUM. Do not send your questions to me or another member by private message. Information shared is for the benefit of the entire organ community, but other folks will not be helped by information we exchange in private messages!

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      Comment


      • #4
        Re: When to Shut Off Organ

        [quote user="jbird604"] My friend Michaeloffers good advice, and you won't go wrong to do as he does. Fifteen minutes is a good rule, though I believe there is another factor to consider, especially on larger instruments-- the stress of the power-up cycle.[/quote]


        John, I'm flattered. BTW, do you ever get the feeling you're talking to yourself--writing to John, from John?[;)]</P>


        The larger instrument is what I had in mind when quoting the Atlantic City organ. A recording of its power-up cycle can be heard here: http://www.acchos.org/mp3/blowers.mp3 </P>


        It must take at least 15 minutes just to power the organ up!</P>


        [quote user="jbird604"] . . . so I prefer to minimize the number of start-ups it has to endure. (Because if something goes wrong, I'm the one who'll have to fix it!)[/quote]</P>


        Hmmm. I'd think since you do the repairs, you'd want to turn it on and off as many times as possible![:D] Unless, of course, it's free work.</P>


        Michael</P>
        Way too many organs to list, but I do have 5 Allens:
        • MOS-2 Model 505-B / ADC-4300-DK / ADC-5400 / ADC-6000 (Symphony) / ADC-8000DKC
        • Lowrey Heritage (DSO-1)
        • 11 Pump Organs, 1 Pipe Organ & 7 Pianos

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: When to Shut Off Organ



          I leave the organ on from 7:45 until 11:30 every Sunday morning.</P>


          If I were to turn it off for the sermonthe parisioners would be treated to a sequence ofvery long groaning &amp; creaking sounds, then THUMP!</P>


          Power on sounds more like: whir, whoosh, creak, rumble; unfortunatelythe rumble never goes away. [:@]My new reservoir needs a bit of troubleshooting, asthe new layouthas caused a prominentrumble. The best way to 'hide' it (for the time being) is just to keep the thing running so that people are used to hearing it. [:|]</P>

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: When to Shut Off Organ



            Depends on the make and type of the electronic organ. If you're leaving for hours between sessions, I'd turn it off to save electricty and be kinder to the environment. I used to leave my gear turned on all evening when I was playing as resident organist at a hotel, but I'd only have a couple of 1/2 hour breaks. If I was doing a lunchtime and evening session, it all got turned off at the end of each.</P>


            There are some organs that produce a loud 'whump' when you turn them on, and that could be alarming for those not expecting it, but I always made light of it if anyone glanced at the stage. "Don't worry, it's just the nuclear reactor starting up!" [6]</P>


            Andy</P>
            <P mce_keep="true"></P>
            It's not what you play. It's not how you play. It's the fact that you're playing that counts.

            New website now live - www.andrew-gilbert.com

            Current instruments: Roland Atelier AT900 Platinum Edition, Yamaha Genos, Yamaha PSR-S970, Kawai K1m
            Retired Organs: Lots! Kawai SR6 x 2, Hammond L122, T402, T500 x 2, X5. Conn Martinique and 652. Gulbransen 2102 Pacemaker. Kimball Temptation.
            Retired Leslies, 147, 145 x 2, 760 x 2, 710, 415 x 2.
            Retired synths: Korg 700, Roland SH1000, Jen Superstringer, Kawai S100F, Kawai S100P, Kawai K1

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: When to Shut Off Organ

              [quote user="soubasse32"]

              I leave the organ on from 7:45 until 11:30 every Sunday morning.</p>


              If I were to turn it off for the sermonthe parisioners would be treated to a sequence ofvery long groaning &amp; creaking sounds, then THUMP!</p>


              Power on sounds more like: whir, whoosh, creak, rumble; unfortunatelythe rumble never goes away. [:@]My new reservoir needs a bit of troubleshooting, asthe new layouthas caused a prominentrumble. The best way to 'hide' it (for the time being) is just to keep the thing running so that people are used to hearing it. [:|]</p>

              [/quote]</p>

              I hear you SB32......The big Skinner in my church is almost silent turning on but wait until everyone has departed from the building to turn it off. There are 4, count-'em 4 very, very loud gunshots...one behind the other in "even" cadence. We MUST have the loudest reservoirs in the United States.[:|] So our organ stays on from around 7:45am and we're done around 12:45pm.</p>

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: When to Shut Off Organ



                Don,</p>

                Gunshots? What causes this loud noise--the springs in the reservoirs, maybe, clamping shut? Perhaps you should close each service with the 1812 overture. </p>

                John </p>

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: When to Shut Off Organ

                  [quote user="BOZ"]

                  Don,</p>

                  Gunshots? What causes this loud noise--the springs in the reservoirs, maybe, clamping shut? Perhaps you should close each service with the 1812 overture. </p>

                  John </p>

                  [/quote]</p>

                  Ah, no springs here......weights!! When the air runs out it's "slamming shut" time.</p>

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: When to Shut Off Organ



                    Could there not have been some rubber bumpers (Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers[8-|]) provided to prevent that?</P>


                    David</P>

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: When to Shut Off Organ



                      Rubber? On a Skinner?Perish the thought. I can hear EMS rolling over in his grave right now.</P>


                      Felt or leather, or nothing at all. And it's probably already in there.</P>


                      Bob M.</P>

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: When to Shut Off Organ

                        <BLOCKQUOTE>


                        I leave my organ on in the evenings.... from 10:00P.M. to 4:30A.M......</P>


                        I get this cringing feeling sometimes when I look at the electrical flux occuring in the top of the main amp tube..... how many can it endure?... </P>


                        lol @ SB32..... when I saw that I immediately thought "SoundBlaster AWE 32".... the first consumer soundcard with a MIDI/Wavetable... lol</P></BLOCKQUOTE>

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: When to Shut Off Organ



                          [quote user="NoahBenzing"]lol @ SB32..... when I saw that I immediately thought "SoundBlaster AWE 32".... the first consumer soundcard with a MIDI/Wavetable... lol[/quote]</P>


                          Gee thanks...? [*-)]</P>


                          It is not very often that I get mistaken for a piece of computer hardware, but if you find it amusing that's well &amp; good.</P>

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: When to Shut Off Organ

                            <BLOCKQUOTE>


                            Awwww... :)))) It DID have an EMU8000 chip with 130,000 transistors and two 30-pin SIMM slots for extra memory!.. and.. and.... it came with the very first text-to-speech application as seen in the movie, "Brainscan".. :D</P>


                            And if that's not enough.. there are a few rare ones floating around out there with SCSI interfaces..... /action rubs his hands together...... </P></BLOCKQUOTE>

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: When to Shut Off Organ

                              [quote user="soubasse32"]

                              I leave the organ on from 7:45 until 11:30 every Sunday morning.</p>

                              [/quote]</p>

                              In the churches I sub for, it is usual policy that the organ stays on from prelude through postlude. The Anglicans and Lutherans generally let me practice Saturday evening, though I still get there very early on Sunday (sometimes around 7:00). I'll practice for an hour or so and turn the organ off and bury my head in a book until time for the prelude. (Discounting a choir rehearsal.) The CS churches expect me to practice only on Sunday morning (the service is much less demanding anyway), so I definitely arrive around 7:00. Again, the organ is shut off until the prelude starts.</p>

                              Bottom line, in most of these churches (even the ones with a "toaster") there is enough extraneous noise in turning on and off the organ that it's expected the instrument will remain on during the service. That's fair enough...</p>

                              </p>

                              Comment

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