Testing a modern Aeolian player piano

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Testing a modern Aeolian player piano

1. Cover the trackerbar with a piece of tape.
2. Disconnect and plug the medium size hoses that go to the Bass and Treble Soft Pedal Pneumatics. (See pages 5 and 6 of the service manual.)
3. Remove the large hose that goes from the Cut-Out valve to the stack. (It should be flexible enough that you can remove it without first unscrewing the cut-out valve from the side of the piano.)
4. Connect a length of 1-1/8" ID hose directly to the stack. (If the hose you just removed is flexible, you can use it for this test.)
5. TEST: Suck 'in' on that hose as hard and fast as you can.

If the valves in the stack are in relatively good shape, you should feel resistance as you try to suck the air out of the stack. If you feel a lot of resistance, the valves are in good shape. The less resistance you feel, the more the valves are leaking. If you only have a few problem valves, you should be able to hear them 'hissing' as you suck on the hose. In the Aeolian system, it only takes 3-5 leaking valves to drag performance down 25%-40%. Leaking valves should be replaced.

Assuming that the valves are in relatively good shape, the next thing to check is the operation of the Cut-Out valve. Leave everything set up as it is currently, but turn the Tempo down to minimum.

1. Put the Play/Reroll lever in the 'Play' position.
2. Turn 'On' the electric vacuum pump. (If the pump will not stay 'On', you need to put a roll in the spoolbox and wind a few layers of the paper onto the take-up spool, and then turn the pump back 'On'.)
3. Once the pump is running, note the position of the reservoir bellow. It should be at least half open or more.
4. Cover the fitting on top of the Cut-Out valve with your hand. Note the position of the reservoir bellow. It should be fully collapsed.
5. Remove your hand and listen carefully to the air flow through the Cut-Out valve.
6. Pinch the small hose that's connected to the Cut-Out valve so that it is completely closed. With that hose completely closed, the sound of the air flowing through the Cut-Out valve should be exactly the same as it is without pinching the hose. If there's any difference in the sound, that means there's problem with the pallet valve. See pages 25-27 of the manual. If there's no difference, the pallet valve and Cut-Out valve are in good shape.
7. Reconnect all of the hoses.

If the system has passed the above tests and the piano action and stack have been regulated (to remove lost motion), the only thing left is the note bellows. Considering their age, I would not be at all surprised to find that they are leaking a fair amount. Unfortunately, there isn't any sort of a comprehensive test you can run to determine how badly the bellows are leaking. Generally speaking, the notes that get used the most (over the years of service) will be the ones that leak the most. So, you would think that they are the ones most likely to be a problem. However, as a general rule, it's bellows that 'are not' used that are more of a problem. That's because the cloth gets stiff from non-use. In both cases, the result is notes the play weakly or not at all. Running a test roll is the best way to determine which bellows and/or valves are the biggest offenders.

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This page was last revised November 21,2022 by John A. Tuttle, who Assumes No Liability
For The Accuracy or Validity of the Statements and/or Opinions
Expressed within the Pages of the Player-Care Domain.
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