Kerosene for Sluggish Rotor?

[Teubonium]

The #3 rotor on my Mira186 is sluggish.

A fellow tubist in community band suggested a few drops of kerosene to clean it up.

Good idea or bad?

Chuck H

[WoodSheddin]

The #3 rotor on my Mira186 is sluggish.

A fellow tubist in community band suggested a few drops of kerosene to clean it up.

Good idea or bad?

Chuck H

i believe the same type of material is used to make valve oil

[Cesar V]

Thats why most Valve oils are Flamable. I know blue juice isnt but Yahmaha's is pretty Flamable, i used it once to soak charcole before a BBQ.

----Cesar

[DonShirer]

Earlier on the original BBS, someone suggested a 7:1 mix of pure lamp oil and 3in1 oil. I tried it and it worked as well on my valves as my previous brand, but didn't seem to provide any extra cleaning action. It might work for rotors as well, but you should be sure that you don't mix it with an incompatable brand. Many posts in the archives warn against combining petroleum based and synthetic products.

Don S.

[Dan Schultz]

Your horn probably needs to be cleaned. Normally, the rotors do not contact anywhere EXCEPT the small bearing areas on the ends of the rotor. A couple of drops of oil on the bearings and the linkage points is all that is required. If the rotors are making contact with anything, it is because of dirt, lubrication residues, or mineral deposits.

[smurphius]

the idea of using yamaha valve oil as a charcoal lighter fluid gives me really great mental images. haha.

[Dieseltuba]

The #3 rotor on my Mira186 is sluggish.

A fellow tubist in community band suggested a few drops of kerosene to clean it up.

Kerosene contains carcinogens (I don't know if that is the right spelling) that are know to cause canser. If it works good for cleaning I wouldn't use it much although I no people that have worked in and around kerosene for 20 years and don't have canser. My grandfather used to put it cuts to keept them from getting sore he said and I have tryed it and it works. He didn't die of canser either at 87. I don't know, do carcinogens really cause cancer?

[Cesar V]

the idea of using yamaha valve oil as a charcoal lighter fluid gives me really great mental images. haha.

Yea it was fun, especially sence my Band director is a Distributor of Yamaha products he gets cases of it!


---Cesar*not looking to burn his tuba while cooking* Vazquez

[Chuck(G)]

Kerosene contains carcinogens

So does bacon--and the gas you pump at the self-serve is far more potent than kerosene in tems of carcinogenic potential. As are the tires on your car and the vinyl on your dashboard. If you live in a moderately polluted urban environment, so is the air you breathe and the water you drink.

It's a complex situation--your genetic makeup, the type and frequency of exposure, your age and sex, and on and on. Smoking and drinking is supposed to kill you, but lots of smokers and drinkers have hit 100.

The best way to clean up a sluggish rotary valve is to disassemble it, clean the rotor and casing and reassemble. It's not difficult.

[manganaro]

ok, trust me on this DO NOT USE KEROSENE ON YOUR VALVES

...its really really stinky. Valve oil is just unsented kerosene essentially and teh stinky pure stuff is no better than a lil bit of alcass (or whatever or however its spelled)

[Lee Stofer]

Does kerosene work? Probably, for a little while, but your valves will be sluggish way before the odor subsides!
If you want your instrument to last and do its best, then have it disassembled and cleaned thoroughly, and reassembled with a good, high-quality musical instrument lubricant.
It is no secret to anyone who knows me or has seen my postings, that I prefer the Hetman lubricants. I use them on every brass instrument I own, and I use it in my repair shop every day. They are non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, have no offensive odor, are compatible with traditional oils, and are formulated to last longer than traditional lubricants.
When I was retiring from the US Army and preparing to go full-time in the repair business, I bought a gallon can of generic blue juice from one of the instrument repair suppliers, thinking that that would make for a good, economical source of valve oil for my repairs. I soon became enlightened about the Hetman, and the difference in how it made the piston valves feel and work on my repair jobs was so striking that I immediately quit using the gallon of valve oil. I did put it to good use, though. I now have a non-smelly kerosene to use in the buffing room on the rouge wheel!