TromboneChat

Hello,

I have a greenhoe that I bought used from before schilke bought greenhoe. It's a great horn, but I'm wondering if I'm oiling the valves too much. I find myself oiling them every day, sometimes twice a day. I store my instrument in a locker that can be cold but I'm not completely sure that would make much of a difference if I'm playing it most of the day. I have been using the ultra-pure light rotor oil. I do play my horn a lot every day, probably 5+ hours.

When you say you oil the valves too much,d o you find yourself doing it even though the action is still good or is the action not so good and therefore you use oil on it? If it's the latter, definitely take it to a tech; that's too much to need even with the amount of playing you do every day. If you just find yourself doing it, yeah that's way excessive. You can easily get away with once a day, usually much longer.

The action gets sluggish.

If you are using a tuning slide grease that doesn't do well with ultra pure, that can cause sluggish action. The valve oil should not dissolve the TS grease- if it does, it creates a sort of slush that will slow down the valve.

Do you know of lanolin having problems with ultra-pure? Lanolin is what I use for my tuning slides.

I don't think they work well together. Have you taken the valves out and cleaned then?

No not yet. I was thinking about taking it to a tech simply because I don't have a rubber or felt hammer. What tuning slide grease might get along with ultra-pure better?

Not necessarily the tuning slide grease itself, but maybe the application process?
IF possible, I only dump oil into the slide receiver avoiding the chance of picking up grease when oiling through the tuning slides.

I'd stick with industry specific lubes, such as Hetmans, the Bach red crap, and I think Ultra Pure makes a grease.
The old school stuff like Vaseline, and pure Lanolin aren't necessarily that good for our horns anymore...IMHO

Eric

Lanolin is pretty bad for this purpose... it thins in oil enough to crud up your valves, but not enough for more oil to clean the valves. Get some of the ultra pure TS grease (also sold by Schilke). It is almost as sticky as lanolin, long-lasting, and it won't clog up your valves.

In the meantime, if you don't want to get your horn chem cleaned, dump oil into the valve and work it around. This will loosen the gunk and the excess oil will wick it away. Push your tuning slides all the way in while you do this to avoid getting more grease into the valves.

The Greenhoe valves are especially sensitive to anything other than the thinnest valve oils because of the close tolerances. They can also become sluggish if the bearing plates are not installed firmly. This is something that a GREAT tech should be trusted with- not someone who puts nail polish on dents for the local school marching band.

paulyg wrote: ↑Sat Sep 07, 2019 9:51 pm The Greenhoe valves are especially sensitive to anything other than the thinnest valve oils because of the close tolerances. They can also become sluggish if the bearing plates are not installed firmly. This is something that a GREAT tech should be trusted with- not someone who puts nail polish on dents for the local school marching band.

I've got a good tech pretty close to me that could do the work on my horn. In the meantime I'll buy some ultra-pure tuning slide stuff. Thanks for all the input!

How long have you gone without having the valves cleaned? You cannot properly clean the valves without taking them apart. "Flushing" valves without disassembling them is not sufficient.

brassmedic wrote: ↑Sun Sep 08, 2019 2:42 pm How long have you gone without having the valves cleaned? You cannot properly clean the valves without taking them apart. "Flushing" valves without disassembling them is not sufficient.

They were cleaned right before I bought the horn. So 2 weeks ago.

Bonearzt wrote: ↑Sat Sep 07, 2019 8:33 pmI'd stick with industry specific lubes, such as Hetmans, the Bach red crap, and I think Ultra Pure makes a grease.
The old school stuff like Vaseline, and pure Lanolin aren't necessarily that good for our horns anymore...IMHO

What's bad about lanolin?

I have some of the Hetman Slide lubricants. I'm pretty sure the Slide Grease 8 is Lanolin based. It looks (and smells) like lanolin.

I also have some of the ULTRA slide grease 9, which is a white sticky mess. It says it "resists breakdown" but I only use Hetman oils on my Bass (where I use it) and it breaks down usually after a few weeks.

I will have to get a set of the Ultra-Pure tuning slide greases to add to the collection.

I'm speaking of pure, unforicated lanolin. Hard as a rock when cold, but runny when warm.

Yes, some, greases ARE lanolin based, but the other stuff mixed in makes it usable and stable.

Eric

AH! Now I understand. Yeah, pure lanolin is just the pits. The Hetman #9 slide goo is still just a mess, but i guess if you had a really loose slide it would work. I need to go down to Dillon music this weekend to pick up a Euphonium stand, so I'll probably pick up some of the greases.

A side benefit of a reverse tuning slide; the goop is on the outside of the tube.