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Hi, I've been putting my tuba and valve oil, stand, stand light, etc. in my car the night before a rehearsal. The winters in Maine are cold and it gets well below 32F/0C overnight. I don't know the freezing point of valve oil, but I am wondering if the cold changes the characteristics of my Hetman lubricant 2 valve oil.

Coincidentally, my second valve is a bit sluggish - are they related? Thanks for your help...

Im no Sheldon Cooper, But Ive left instruments and accessories in the car overnight in a variety of temps with no long term detrimental effects..

JJ

I’ve worked in the oil business my entire career (39 years), mostly developing lubricants. Oil doesn’t have a freeze point, as it is made up of a range of hydrocarbons of various carbon chain lengths. However, they do have pour points. As they get colder, they get thicker. When they warm back up, they thin back out - no long-term effect due to the cold. So, yes, the cold does change the characteristics of your valve oil, but it returns to its thinner state when it warms back up. It shouldn’t cause a sluggish valve on I it warms back up. Probably a lot more than you wanted to know!