valve oil

Dan Schultz · Post by **Dan Schultz** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 9:53 am

Valves oils, except for the synthetic ones, are not much more that highly refined kerosene. I don't think regular fuel type kerosene would be a good idea. Lamp oil is a good example of highly refined kerosene. I've never tried any of the scented oils but can't imagine that they would be any better than the cheap stuff. I do not use petroleum-based oils because they seem to evaporate too quickly.
On my personal horns, I use nothing but synthetic oils.... like those manufactured by Hetman's. I've never experienced any residues or stickyness.

Dan Schultz · Post by **Dan Schultz** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 6:09 pm

tubafreaks7 wrote:Can you give me a list of synthetic valve oils and possibly some online stores that sell it? Arround here I can only get Al Cass or Conn.

The first synthetic oils that come to mind are Alisyn and Hetman's. However... to more or less echo what Bloke said.... the valve oils and other lubricants that a person likes to use is often as personal a choice as 'which mouthpiece'. A lot depends on your style of playing, how much you play, how your valves are fit, the environment you play in, and what other chemicals are instroduced into the horn. Everyone is different. Just because I don't care for petroleum distilates doesn't mean they are bad. You need to do a little experimenting on your own to stumble on to the magic formula. Heck... I know a guy who swears by three-in-one oil and lighter fluid

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 6:48 pm

It's not a bad idea to get students into the routine of cleaning their valves regularly. Since many kids tend to eat or drink before or while playing sousaphone, I would think that the last thing in the world one would want to use is a synthetic valve oil that lasts weeks between applications.

Plain old ultrapure lamp oil with some key oil added (for viscosity) and frequent cleaning should do a student just fine.

Or so I opine.

bigboom · Post by **bigboom** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 6:53 pm

Another good synthetic would be viper oil, and I can say that it lasts a long time, the guy that used to sit in band next to me went for over 3 months without oiling his after using the viper and his valves were still as fast as mine and I oil mine everyday. I'm sure that the Alison and the Hetmans can produce similar results, I was just throwing another name out there.

Leland · Post by **Leland** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 9:32 am

One of the cooler technical articles I've seen (even though it was written by a valve oil manufacturer; it's fairly unbiased, though) --
http://musichem.com/articles/p_oil_e.htm

Monty · Post by **Monty** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 1:05 pm

nice article.

JayW · Post by **JayW** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 12:06 am

e-mail me at work if you need any help finding a good oil.

oldbandnerd · Post by **oldbandnerd** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 7:46 am

Here's my two cents ...for what it's worth . I have only tried two oils in my playing life time . 1) Al Cass Fast and 2) Blue Juice. I used the All Cass the whole time I was in high school and for about a year when I started playing again about 2 years ago . I have been using the Blue Juice for about 4 months now .

- I have given the bottle of Blue Juice away and have gone back to the Al Cass . I did this for one reason : The Blue Juice just did not last . If I did not play for more than 2 days my piston valves would be dry as a bone .
- I have a old cornet that I have had for 20 years . It rarley gets played . I can put Al Cass on it just a couple times a year and the valves never seized up or were even dry .
- As far as one being faster then the other I never noticed any difference .

MaryAnn · Post by **MaryAnn** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 3:45 pm

Same experience with Blue Juice. It smells like kerosene too...what I think, is that it is kerosene with blue dye in it.
I'm currently a Hetman fan.
MA

Leland · Post by **Leland** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 4:20 pm

I used Alisyn for a while when my tuba was brand-new. I liked it pretty good; it never seemed to dry out or lock up.

The problem is, without regular flushing of the piston & valve casing, metal bits (especially on a new horn) and other stuff start showing up. And, while the Alisyn moved smoothly, it wasn't blazingly fast.

When I took it to my repair guy for its first cleaning, he got rid of the Alisyn and put in Al Cass. I had to oil more often, sure, but the valves stayed cleaner, and they operated faster.

Just seems like there's always going to be a tradeoff somehow.

Ryan_Beucke · Post by **Ryan_Beucke** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 5:18 pm

Does anyone have a BAD experience with Hetman's, besides the new bottle design which isn't a big deal if you just put it in an old bottle of valve oil?

Yep, I use Hetman's

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