immersing a tuba in soapy water

[bloke]

As a feshunul brass-fixer guy, I just have never seen any purpose for this.

- it removes zero lime deposits, which are the most important things to remove from the inside of an instrument.
- I suppose it could remove a little bit of sludge, but there’s no velocity and not much heat, whereas jetting hot water through a valve section actually will knock some of the gross sludge loose. I always remove the main tuning slide if doing this, and vigorously move the valves. I use this as a shortcut cleaning job on my own instruments, and - due to the fact that I keep a lot of (inexpensive) oil in my entire valve section - I never have to soak my instruments in acid to remove lime.
(I use a short rubber hose with a garden nozzle hooked up to straight hot water, such as is found on the hot side of a washing machine connection, or with a typical janitor faucet and sink that features hose threads.)
- If there is too much grease in slides, that can be removed with a clarinet swab or flute swab dipped in gasoline or some other petroleum based solvent. It’s handy to turn the instrument in such a direction that the solvent drains back out of the tubes, rather than down into the valve casings.
No one seems particularly interested in this tack, but my slides are all lined up nicely enough and fitting nicely enough to where it only requires valve oil to lubricate them, and this prevents grease and oil from mixing together in my instruments’ valve casings.

bloke “Everyone will certainly do as they will.”

[TubātōTubŏtō]

I actually had a question to ask about piston valve maintenance, since I have 4 of them on my EEfer. I’ve played rotors most of my entirely amateur career, because that’s what’s been available. Oil down the leadpipe, occasionally back through the MTS, and heavy oil on the moving parts. Simple. I saw at one point on the old forum, a mod you’d done on your own piston tuba involving ports in the valve caps. I’d love to see that again, because I’ve found lubrication to be an infuriating pain that makes me miss rotors. Also, were you to flush down the leadpipe with hot water, would your process be ANY different on a piston horn? It seems more straight forward in my head when I envision rotors.

[TubātōTubŏtō]

It’s also a relief to hear you say tuba baths are BS, because I never do it.

[bloke]

I jet hot water down the mouthpipes of both piston and rotary tubas that belong to me, but again, I remove their main tuning slides, because I don’t want to fill up the entire instrument with water (1 pound per pint) and have to pick it up with all that water in it and roll it around.

baths?
Quite a few nights, I go to bed exhausted and dirty. I try to wash off my upper front, because that’s the side that is against the filthy band instruments and the filthy buffing wheel.


It’s not B.O., but it’s solder acid, buffing compound, lacquer, brass tarnish, grease, oil, and whatever else is inside a band instrument.
Sometimes I will ask Mrs. bloke, “Do I stink beyond the smell of the shop?“ and she will say, no, it’s all right; come to bed; go to sleep.

bloke “You asked…sorta“

[tofu]

.

[bloke]

I suspect that water along neutralize a mild acid just fine. I don’t believe that super-diluted mild acids are much of a threat to brass.

I continue to encourage you guys to slice cheap oil throughout your the insides of your valve sections.

Again, I just asked and cleaned an instrument that I just bought for myself, but doubt that I will ever do that again, due to the oil strategy.

[Mary Ann]

So, about cleaning. If I do end up with an ancient 3-banger Eb, it is likely to have that "old tuba smell" that I have been unable to get out of a brass instrument in the past. (that instrument, a Sansone high F single horn, was ultrasound cleaned twice, chem-cleaned once, and some idiot even used pumice on it without telling me. So how can I get that smell out?

[Nworbekim]

my problem with pistons is that there MUST be a chemical in MY saliva that when mixed with valve oil, seemingly of ANY kind/brand that causes a milky like goop to form.. it resembles the looks of melted wax. when that stuff dries, it gums up everything. even the spit key holes!!!

i use the bath tub/dawn method plus i have flexible brushes that i pull thru. i usually take them in to the shop for a bath when i buy them, first thing, then try to remember to bath them every 90 days if i can remember to. my theory is to not let gunk build up.

i have had rotary horns but they've not been used as much as i have the 186... so far, i haven't used any kind of oil on it and don't plan to, internally...

[bloke]

I believe that you - in particular - are a person who would benefit from removing your main tuning slide and jetting 130° (typical water tank) hot water through your valve section fairly regularly with a rubber garden hose and a brass garden nozzle set on the most concentrated setting – and doing it while moving your valves.
If your washer and dryer are in the garage – rather than in the house - that would be a good thing, because you could purchase an all metal garden hose T (these cost more than the plastic ones), and T off of the hot side with a rubber (not vinyl) garden hose.

my problem with pistons is that there MUST be a chemical in MY saliva that when mixed with valve oil, seemingly of ANY kind/brand that causes a milky like goop to form.. it resembles the looks of melted wax. when that stuff dries, it gums up everything. even the spit key holes!!!

i use the bath tub/dawn method plus i have flexible brushes that i pull thru. i usually take them in to the shop for a bath when i buy them, first thing, then try to remember to bath them every 90 days if i can remember to. my theory is to not let gunk build up.

i have had rotary horns but they've not been used as much as i have the 186... so far, i haven't used any kind of oil on it and don't plan to, internally...

[bort2.0]

Finally got around to putting a bunch of lamp oil into my horns. The valves on the Martin Eb, in particular, feel GREAT. I just need to get new felts and springs to quiet down the valve action. Of all things, that's still just about the easiest "just go" tuba I've played.

I've poured some in the Rudy, but obviously, it's a bit cumbersome to recover the oil after it passes through. And since it's flammable and all that, I do need to be a little more careful.

Only time I remember the warm soapy water thing was when I first got my Miraphone 1291 and the valves were sticking. Bathtub, dawn, and a casing brush, and zero problems ever again. Cleaning tubas isn't much fun, but would be a lot easier with more space to do it