Valve Oil and Tuning Grease COMBINATIONS

[DonShirer]

I was another who eventually got tired of smelling the fumes from lamp oil so I switched to Yamaha both for oil and slide grease, hoping that products from the same source would be compatible.

And TubaShorty, I was once in your shoes. In my freshman college year they used a picture of a flute player a foot taller looming over me and my tuba for band publicity. I did eventually get a growth spurt, so maybe you will get one soon.

[doublebuzzing]

New lamp oil is odorless (virtually).

Old lamp oil gets "putrid" just like old gasoline and old most-anything.

In the past, I thought that lamp oil stunk...but I finally bought some from a supply place, instead of some that had been sitting on the bottom shelf at Walgreen's for three years.

Is the stuff available at Walmart that you linked a few weeks back the (virtually) odorless stuff?

[PMeuph]

I'm a cheapskate. (I understand music store need to make money and that percent-wise, lower cost products are always those with the highest markups) But I struggle to pay $10 for something that costs pennies. Even the no-name stuff (probably just lamp oil anyways) sells for about $3.00 an oz. (While an oz of lamp oil is $0.30 around here, or less than half of that in the US)

So for the past five years or so (since reading it here for the first time) I've used homemade "Schilke grease" (Lanolin and Petroleum jelly) on my slides and lamp oil on my pistons. My tuba gets a couple drops (per ounce) of 3-in-1 with the lamp oil; as the valves are old and slightly worn. The total cost was almost nothing and I have not had any problems with anything not working well together.

I really like the viscosity of the slides with that grease and the pistons are lightning fast(if I keep them clean).

More important than anything else, is to keep in mind that pistons will still function with water. Unfortunately, water will not protect the surfaces of the casings against wear and the buildup of lime and/or calcium. So, in the long run, I'd day it's way better to use cheap oil everyday and keep pistons clean then it is to find the perfect product(s), but use it sparingly.

I'm sure there are brands that don't work together and that there are slide grease that make there way down into the pistons. I'd say that if that happens, the solution is to clean your horn really well and start over. If my pistons don't function well, I assume its because they are dirty, not because they need a new "flavor of the month" lubricant.

ps. If lamp oil doesn't work out for you, buy a couple tiki torches, and enjoy the evening during the summer months outdoors.