Slow 5th Rotor

[Eric B]

Yes. My tuba is 8 years old and all of my rotary valves were sluggish. You probably have a lot of lubricant build up. I wanted to save the time and money involved with a chemical flush, so I took Dr. Funderburk's advice from his tuba maintenance site. I was amazed how well this worked. I have a new horn again.

1. Get 1 cup of hot water from your tap. You want it to be uncomforable to the touch, but not enough to burn you.

2. Using your mouthpiece as a funnel, slowly pour all of the hot water into the receiver of your tuba.

3. Fan all of your valves as you gently rock the tuba on your lap.

4. Pull your main slide out and dump water into a bucket.

5. Oil valves.

This is a great link for "do it yourself" tuba maintenance. I'm going to make a seperate post so everybody can view it, but here it is for you.

http://www.uni.edu/drfun/repair_video/r ... index.html

[Eric B]

[Eric B]

Is there a temperature that would be hot enough to damage the lacquer on the leadpipe, as it heats up while you are slowly pouring the "very warm" water thru it? I assume this is why it "shouldn't be hot enough to burn you". I've always heard the standard "tuba bath" should be "warm" water -- not hot, to avoid any lacquer damage.

Should there be a more detailed disclaimer inserted in the directions? Is there any danger? If so -- how hot is "too hot"?

Point well taken. I have made an edit. Microwaving the water is not a good idea. Hot tap water should do the trick as long as your water heater is set excessively high.

[MartyNeilan]

If you are up to it, completely disassemble your rotor assembly. There are numerous online resources devoted to this. Be sure to use a wooden mallet and not a claw hammer to tap the rotor out, and make sure you have your hand or something else ready to catch the back bearing plate. Once removed, clean everything inside and out and thoroughly lubricate. You may be surprised at howw much gunk is in there. Oftentimes, there is no replacement for pulling the rotor. If you are at all squeamish about doing this on an $$,$$$ instrument, seek professional help.

[sven]

Add a few spoonfuls of vinegar to the warm water - kind of like your coffee machine. It will help break down a lot of the build up.

[MileMarkerZero]

As mentioned, disassemble the valve.

Take the back bearing plate and the valve and submerse them in white vinegar for 45 minutes. Scrub with a soft brush if necessary to remove any stubborn green gunk/goo. Rinse with tap water.

While the valve is soaking, put some vinegar in a spray bottle. Spray it into the casing. Let it sit there. Keep misting the inside of the casing for a good while to keep it moist. Scrub with a casing brush. Rinse.

Lightly oil and reassemble, paying attention to those pesky details like the alignment markings on the bearing plate.

While you are at it, you can take the rest of the valves and slides out and give the whole horn a bath just to keep any wayward crud from working its way back into the 5th valve prematurely...

[Eric B]

I ran some warm water through my horn today. A lot of green and blank gunk came out and the rotors are working better than ever!!!!

Thanks ALL!

I guess I need to mention that this is just a quick temporary fix. I'm glad that this has helped you. I too was amazed at the results of such a simple solution.

[MartyNeilan]

What would be a perminant fix?

If you are up to it, completely disassemble your rotor assembly. There are numerous online resources devoted to this. Be sure to use a wooden mallet and not a claw hammer to tap the rotor out, and make sure you have your hand or something else ready to catch the back bearing plate. Once removed, clean everything inside and out and thoroughly lubricate. You may be surprised at howw much gunk is in there. Oftentimes, there is no replacement for pulling the rotor. If you are at all squeamish about doing this on an $$,$$$ instrument, seek professional help.

As mentioned, disassemble the valve.
Take the back bearing plate and the valve and submerse them in white vinegar for 45 minutes. Scrub with a soft brush if necessary to remove any stubborn green gunk/goo. Rinse with tap water.
While the valve is soaking, put some vinegar in a spray bottle. Spray it into the casing. Let it sit there. Keep misting the inside of the casing for a good while to keep it moist. Scrub with a casing brush. Rinse.
Lightly oil and reassemble, paying attention to those pesky details like the alignment markings on the bearing plate.
While you are at it, you can take the rest of the valves and slides out and give the whole horn a bath just to keep any wayward crud from working its way back into the 5th valve prematurely...