After the recent correspondence on  pedal electrics , now would seem a good
time to raise the following issue/question.

I have  an English Steck Duo Art which I rebuilt about 15 years ago. As a
Duo Art piano I think  it works very well--better than many ordinary Duo
Arts.

As a foot pumper it leaves a lot to be desired .  Firstly the response is
such that it is almost impossible to accent notes by  foot pumping. I
suspect that the reservoir size / spring  are matched to the electric pump
rather than the foot bellows.

The second problem is more complex . When the piano is set for foot pumping
the level one and/or level two accompaniment  accordians  collapse thus
setting the the minimum volume/vacuum  level on the piano.

For the accordian bellows to completely collapse  a fairly high vacuum is
needed  thus you have to pump fairly hard--much harder than on a
conventional foot pumper.  If  you stop pumping so hard as you might
naturally do  when you want soft playing then the accordians open and the
vacuum level  drops  to far below the minimum level needed . The soft
playing level is thus unstable.

The question to other pedal electric owners is simply this--has anyone seen
this problem  and if so do you just have to live with it or is there a
solution?

Phil Dayson