TubaForum.net

Rotaries are godly and a lot of fun to play when they are tight, quiet and fast. My 497 is an amazing ride when it’s in shape and ready to go. You only have to lubricate them about once a week so that's a major plus. But if for example the bearing plate is not just on right the valve can eventually start seizing up.
If I’m lucky I might get the beast up and running with a proper tick or two. If I’m unlucky I have to pull the valve and put the whole thing back together. Sometimes I don’t get the valve the way I want it in one go, so out comes the valve again, then back in, etc. Replacing worn stop arm bumpers can also be a challenge. In short the rotary is a great mechanical device but when maintenance comes around it can be really incredibly time consuming. Not to mention patience.

Pistons are a lot more forgiving so even when the corks are worn the horn will still play. If properly tight and quiet they can also be very quick. Yeah it’s best to oil them with each usage but once thats out of the way (and the valves are clean) then it’s also a sure bet.
I recently bought a 22K and these are really nice, quiet and quick.

Conclusion=maintenance for both types of valves probably cost in the long run about the same amount of time and effort.
Both types of valves make my tuba sound like a tuba.
They efficiently aid me in changing the notes which is good.
I usually go with the type of valve provided on the instrument.

Do yourself a favor and oil your rotary valves every time you play the instrument.

Thanks for this.
And coming from a professional repairman I take this very seriously.

Do you know why all the tuba manufacturers (and all the sources on internet) advies only oiling the bearings weekly and the linkage monthly?

pjv wrote: Mon Nov 03, 2025 5:18 am Thanks for this.
And coming from a professional repairman I take this very seriously.

Do you know why all the tuba manufacturers (and all the sources on internet) advies only oiling the bearings weekly and the linkage monthly?

The "bearings" are the spindles on the top and bottom of the rotors. You can use thicker oil on those - even if rotary valves are in new condition, because there is so little surface area that something about the thickness of mineral oil or even automobile oil shouldn't slow the valves down... and the same goes for hinge tubes, linkage, and stuff like that...

Yes, I probably oil those moving parts every other or perhaps every third time that I play a rotary instrument (unless I haven't played it recently, and then I will - of course - oil them before I play it)...

...but the large air seal surfaces of rotors should be oiled with thin oil (I would advise) every time you play the instrument by dumping oil towards them from the main slide or from valve slides or even from the mouthpipe tube - if the mouthpipe tube is clean.

... so manufacturers are referring to using some medium thin oil on small surface moving parts, and I'm talking about using some very thin oil on the large air seal surfaces of valves, whether they are rotary or piston valves.

I've posted dozens of times about what type of very thin oil I use on air seal surfaces to avoid spending a fortune on oiling. I would imagine that you've seen those posts. I also don't buy fancy priced oil for medium thin oil, and purchase the least expensive mineral oil from a drugstore or department store shelf that I can obtain. (In the United States, "mineral oil" refers to the type which people use to help relieve constipation, and can actually be consumed.)

addendum:
Some claim that the large air seal surfaces of rotary valves don't need to be oiled, because the spindles prevent those surfaces on the rotors from ever touching the casings. That may or may not be true, but - even if tolerances are perfect - those tolerances do not prevent the formation of hard scale nor that soft disgusting filth that also forms due to instrument interiors being moist and somewhat sealed. Heavy oiling of everything discourages the formation of scale and defines that it's easier to blow out that disgusting soft stuff with high velocity (hot, if possible) water, which defines that the instrument doesn't have to be completely dissembled for routine and "95% effective" cleanings.

Thanks for responding.
I appreciate advice but also knowing the reasoning behind it.