Recipe for home made valve oil---

[Walter Webb]

I have seen various recipes over the years, posted for refined lamp oil or kerosene, with tiny drops of this or that heavier lubricant mixed in. Would you please post the recipe for your favorite home made piston valve oil? Thanks in advance.

[Michael Bush]

Since the crickets are chirping here, I'll kick in (despite lack of actual expertise) that I add about one part food grade mineral oil to five parts ultra-pure lamp oil. Newer valves would surely do with less mineral oil.

[Donn]

Motor oil works too, in place of mineral oil, and then you get all kinds of additives that, for example, help it keep doing its job if the tuba valves get real hot. In the interest of full disclosure, some experienced tuba whizzes (which I am not) believe (unlike me) that lamp oil may gunk your valves up. Just don't use vegetable oil.

[Rick Denney]

I've tried all the home-made versions, including ultra-pure lamp oil. None has worked as well for me as Hetmans commercial synthetic formulations.

Rick "for whom the gallon of lamp oil proved to be false economy" Denney

[Jay Bertolet]

I've tried all the home-made versions, including ultra-pure lamp oil. None has worked as well for me as Hetmans commercial synthetic formulations.

I recently had some work done on my main CC tuba (Thanks Chris Bluemel!!!) and one of the conversations I had with Chris was about valve oil. I'm always trying to work out some combination that will keep my valves clean, smooth, and fast. While I had heard of players that made concoctions involving lamp oil and other additives, one thing I hadn't considered was using this same concept with synthetic oils. Chris advised me about what kinds of things I should be looking for in a mixture and what kinds of products to look at.

I had tried Hetman products years ago and they seemed okay but I was having a buildup on my valves and in my valve tubing. I had recently experimented with some other products but they really weren't solving the problem. My conversations with Chris and my subsequent trials over the last 2 months have yielded 2 pieces of information that have helped a lot:

1) Oiling the valves every day completely eliminates the problem of buildup while using Hetman products. I changed my personal habits in this regard and the problem was solved. I'll now be moving back to Hetman products.

2) Identifying the correct viscosity you need for your horn is necessary if you want to have an oil that adequately keeps your valves working properly. I have a large 6/4 CC and, like many horns of this design, the leadpipe is very short and the first valve is exposed to lots of water during my playing sessions. As a result, I find that after an hour or so of constant hard playing, my first valve (and sometimes my second valve) might be starting to get sticky. Chris taught me that the primary reason for this is that the oils I've been using were not quite thick enough. Since I was using the thickest valve oil Hetman offers, I wasn't sure what to do next. Chris suggested adding some of the Hetman Light Bearing & Linkage Lubricant. This is a synthetic product that is compatible with the valve oil and my only job was to discover how many drops to add to a new bottle to get the valve oil thick enough. This ensures it doesn't wash away during the playing sessions but it also isn't too thick to slow valve performance.

I'm pretty close on the process of dialing my mixture in and I'm no longer having any of the sticking problems I was having and the valve action is just as smooth and quick as it ever has been. I would suggest anyone, whether you're using petroleum or synthetic based products, could combine appropriate products and get improved results as I have. Enjoy!

[DonShirer]

6 parts ultrapure (non scented) lamp oil to 1 part 3-in-1 oil has kept my tubas humming for 13 years, but I have friends using synthetics who are happy as well, so my advice is try 'em both and see for yourself.

[PaulMaybery]

For what it is worth I will chime in. I've tried many DYI combinations. On one old York, with extremely leaking valves, I used a combination of hydraulic fluid (brake or transmission fluid) along with the ultrapure lamp oil. It did seal the tolerance/gap albeit they were not as quick as I would prefer. It was also difficult to maintain the viscosity in long playing sessions. Then with personal prosperity came some nice new horns. At that time I decided to let the professionals/experts do the work. Afterall, why reinvent the wheel.

Dave Braun's TECH OIL,has solved my problems of sludge buildup, water washing out the oil, and extending the intervals between oilings.

Here's the link http://www.brauninnovations.com/lubrica ... ering-info" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

With shorter leadpipes on the American style piston valves, water does seem to have more contact with the 1st & 2nd valves. With regular market oils, petroleum and/or synthetic, if I did not oil when I was done playing for the day, the valves dried and calcified overnight. This was the case with all of my new horns with close tolerances, even the rotary bearings would dry out. An other issue with American style piston configuration is that water gets trapped in the lower member of the tuning slides. When the horn is then inverted to sit on the bell, this water migrates back through the valves yet again. While TECH OIL obviously does not cause water to run "uphill," it does offer protection from the effects of the water.

Being a bit random in my evening practice times, I am not always sure when I will blow at bit more, so bringing final closure to my day by ritualistically oiling the valves for one last time is simply not practical, especially with 4 or 5 horns.
I kept looking for a better way.

Dave explained to me that Tech Oil repels water. It even inhibits it from migrating down between the piston and the valve casing. The water simply follows its way through the valve block and out through the last piston. I know it is hard to believe. The clincher for me was noticing that there was next to no water in the bottom of the valve casings, where in the past there was a good little puddle waiting behind the bottom cap, ready to drip on my clothes.

While I thought it was "cool" to say I was inventing my own oil, in hindsight, for me I was not coming close to meeting my needs. But it took a considerable amount of personal research to find my solution. I am happy in that it really works on my horns and I have no reason now to ever use any other products.

Granted real old horns with leaky valves need something special and Tech Oil is NOT the answer in that case.

Paul (the oil evangelist who trusts 3M Chemists) Maybery

[Donn]

a combination of hydraulic fluid (brake or transmission fluid) along with the ultrapure lamp oil.

From what I read, there are mineral oil alternatives to the usual glycol-ether brake fluid. The usual stuff, though, seems like a potential unwholesome addition to a tuba valve oil. I don't really know anything about it, but it will damage paint for sure, and who knows what else. The ability to absorb water from the atmosphere is interesting but probably irrelevant. I've used some kind of transmission fluid as a lubricant additive, and I think all it did was smell bad. I read that back in the '60s transmission fluid might have contained whale oil, by the way.

Motor oil - 10W-30 or whatever - is almost odorless and far heavier than you ever need in a tuba valve, so for me it's the perfect thing to bring lamp oil up to the desired viscosity.

[bighonkintuba]

While I do appreciate (more than most) the homemade approach, I hope that you are reading the material safety data sheets re: exposure via inhalation/ingestion (and possibly dermal absorption) for the automotive and other products not intended specifically for use as musical instrument lubricants.

[Donn]

While I do appreciate (more than most) the homemade approach, I hope that you are reading the material safety data sheets re: exposure via inhalation/ingestion (and possibly dermal absorption) for the automotive and other products not intended specifically for use as musical instrument lubricants.

I'm not, if you're talking to me. I have motor oil around because: I have 3 motor vehicles and I change my own oil, so just the drips that don't come out of the bottle in time to make it into the car are more than enough to serve for tuba luber. The small amount that goes into my tuba is probably less than what I wash off my hands in a year. I don't recycle my tuba drainage for drinking water, so I reckon very little of that oil gets into me. I don't know, can you get MSDS for blue juice etc.? I have a hunch that home brew with lamp and motor oil might be health food compared to some of the synthetics - even with all the funky additives in motor oil, that's just a small percent of a small percent, since motor oil to lamp oil is probably less than 1:20.

I'm going out to buy some organically grown vegetables right now, by the way.

[bighonkintuba]

I'm not, if you're talking to me.

Nobody in particular, just putting it out there out of concern (I'm an environmental toxicologist). There should be MSDS for commercial valve oil formulations. I'll do some digging.

[tofu]

I'm not, if you're talking to me.

Nobody in particular, just putting it out there out of concern (I'm an environmental toxicologist). There should be MSDS for commercial valve oil formulations. I'll do some digging.

I understand/share your concerns but I'm not sure the guys who make valve oil do much research into this. I've looked at the labels and I see a general listing of petroleum distillates etc. I don't think there is much of a difference from the commercial products and what I use. Plus I don't breath air through the horn. It has always worked best for me to blow into the horn.

Personally I've used Alan Baer's recommendation he listed on here years ago of lamp oil and synthetic Mobil 1. I've got several horns from new to ancient and each one has it's own formulation developed through trial and error - (didn't require a whole lot of effort). This has resulted in never having any valve issues ever. I have tried to like Hetman's. Every time I've gotten a horn back from Lee Stofer - I've used Hetman's - because that's what he likes and every time the valves start to stick and get gummy. I'm sure personal chemistry has a lot to do with why this is an issue for some and not others. I've probably used most of the various synthetics and non synthetics out there with varying degrees of success. Al Cass was the best - but I don't think it is much more than lamp oil. Like Donn I've got several (12) cars and probably another dozen small engines like snowblower,lawnmower,leaf/tree limb shredder, powerwasher, blowers etc so I have a multitude of various engines oils to experiment with. And I always have a readily available source.
If it is good enough to be used in the NY Phil then I figure it is good enough for the not quite as stellar groups I play in.

[WC8KCY]

I'm not, if you're talking to me.

Nobody in particular, just putting it out there out of concern (I'm an environmental toxicologist). There should be MSDS for commercial valve oil formulations. I'll do some digging.

I've certainly wondered about the safety of using stinky ol' Holton valve oil.

Since about June, I've been using Remington RemOil (in the little 1-oz. bottle, not the spray can) on my tuba and sousaphone. I have been absolutely thrilled with the RemOil's performance--it is really resistant to displacement by moisture, and does help seal up worn pistons to some degree. It is also a surprisingly effective cleaner when applied to a piston prior to wiping it down.

Until the RemOil came along, I simply added Mineral Oil from the drugstore/chemist to Al Cass valve oil to boost viscosity as needed.