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Alot of schools only use sousaphones for the marching season and once that's done, the sousas are then kept in storage until the next season, which can be like....8 months which can seize the pistons. Is there any additive or oil that is viscous enough to keep the pistons from drying up and seizing during the off season?

Fish oil. It's one of the two major components of WD-40 (the other one is highly toxic, so you probably won't want to use it!)

I've heard many times here of people using a mixture of motor oil and lamp oil (much more of the lamp) for their valves, so I would guess that you could could a higher ratio of motor oil on them so that it'll stay longer. But let someone confirm that this won't screw the horns up before you try it.

Pack 'em in cosmoline!



Seriously, plain old 10 weight motor oil should do fine for storage. It'll rinse out with mineral spirits or lamp oil.

My school has about 26 old Kings and Yamahas, with 20 newer Yamaha 20K's. We oil em tops three times a year, and they're usually good to go after we back em up in the 18 wheel trailer we keep em in and get em out in August...

I think sousaphone valves are just made out of some sort of special magic metal, because the manufacturers know that the kids who play them aren't going to oil them...

If you coat the inside of the valves with Killian's Irish Red, they'll stay well preserved until next season .... wait, is that the reason UCF keeps having to buy new sousaphones? lol.

seriously though, I've heard that motor oil works well in keeping them well preserved until next season. I've personally given all the sousaphones I've played a bath pre and post-season and just keeping them clean seems to help alot. just make sure to get the whole section to do it

I would hate to play a tuba that had been preserved with motor oil. Oogie!

I used to use Alisyn valve oil and that stuff is a bit thicker than the rest. It's synthetic and it lasts a real long time, but it ain't too fast. Look for something thick!

Matt Walters once told me to just use some rotor oil on the valves and keep the valve caps loose to prevent them locking up during long term storage.

-Christian Carichner

You can always remove the pistons during storage. Keep them in plastic bags in the case.

wd

I presume that synthetic won't evaporate.

$.02

Will wrote:You can always remove the pistons during storage. Keep them in plastic bags in the case.

wd

That thar is your best advice. If I'm going to store an instrument long term, I take out all the slides and all the valves. However, plastic outgassing will cause brass to tarnish, so you might want to keep them in a cloth bag. And tie it to the instrument!!

MA

MaryAnn wrote:That thar is your best advice. If I'm going to store an instrument long term, I take out all the slides and all the valves. However, plastic outgassing will cause brass to tarnish, so you might want to keep them in a cloth bag. And tie it to the instrument!!

Betcha some get lost anyway! I just don't have a lot of confidence in the ability of any school environment to keep things organized...

Chuck(G) wrote: Betcha some get lost anyway! I just don't have a lot of confidence in the ability of any school environment to keep things organized...

You, sir, are correct!

OK, folks,
Instead of trying to put something on the problem, I'd highly suggest that you get to the heart of the matter - dirty valves. I have two methods to suggest that will keep the valves in ready-to-go condition, without gumming-up the instrument with heavy oil, etc.

Thoroughly wash the instrument, paying particular attention to the inner- and outer slide tubes, and the valves and valve casings. It is alright if the slides and valve casings remain brown in color, as long as any lime- or calcium deposits are gone. Then, take cheesecloth (available at Wal-Mart in the auto detailing section) and a cleaning rod, and thoroughly dry all the parts, inside and outside. when I have the luxury of being able to do so, I'll leave the clean instrument apart overnight so as to have the instrument completely dry inside and out. Then, grease the slides and insert them, working them back-and-forth 8-12 times so as to make sure all surfaces are completely coated with grease.

1) If the valves are actually clean, and then assembled dry, they will stay that way in storage indefinitely, only needing regular oiling to be returned to service. For storage of trombones, I clean the hand slide and leave it clean and dry, too.
2) I have found that valves will also stay ready-to-go if oiled with one of the Hetman piston oils after cleaning. There is absolutely no substitute for cleaning, if you get my drift.

That said, if one has their instrument thoroughly, professionally cleaned by a shop that uses a standard de-limer/de-scaler and then has it bright-dipped, the instrument will last longer with fewer cleanings, and if that is done in conjunction with using the Hetman synthetic lubricants, my experience is that wear and corrosion will be drastically reduced.

Lee Stofer wrote:That said, if one has their instrument thoroughly, professionally cleaned by a shop that uses a standard de-limer/de-scaler and then has it bright-dipped, the instrument will last longer with fewer cleanings.

Lee, this is confusing. I can go along with the de-liming, but what does bright-dipping have to do with making an instrument last longer? The only thing that bright-dipping would seem to do is to remove the layer of oxides that forms on brass--which is really protection for the bare metal--and will re-form anyway, taking more metal to do it.

A better solution might be using a good industrial detergent solution after de-liming to remove any dirt and old oil, slide grease, etc. and leave the old oxide in place.

Or am I missing something?

HETMAN


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