Piston Valve Oils

Piston Valve Oils

Improving existing products and developing new ones is a constant process which starts in our laboratory and ends with field testing. At this writing, we have two lubricants for piston valves.

PRO-OIL HYBRID 141-A7 (product #1402 2 oz; #1408 8 oz)

Professional quality horns have valves which are carefully honed to more perfectly match their valve casings. They are generally lapped by hand using a procedure which yields a much smaller gap between the piston surface and the valve casing. This, in turn, results in a tighter fitting valve. There are significant benefits to this approach, but some precision valves are so tight that, without a special valve oil, the valves tend to seize in the casing after a short playing time. In other words, very small changes are exaggerated when playing a professional quality horn. Musicians who make their living with their horn require an oil that not only is exceedingly fast and smooth, but also an oil that must not slow down during their performance. To meet the challenge, we had to solve the paradox of two competing properties: high speed and endurance. In 1991, we embarked on a new research program based on 20 years experience, laboratory testing of numerous candidate components, and intensive field testing by more than 50 world class musicians working in all kinds of playing conditions.

The oil that resulted from this unparalleled effort employs synthetic and non-synthetic components, hence the name PRO-OIL HYBRID was chosen. The current formula (141-A7) is the first in a generation of maximum performance piston valve oils. This colorless and odorless oil does not contain kerosene, silicone, or Teflon, and therefore will not cause a build up. It is sold in a protective clear package, and contains important information about cleaning the valves and valve casings prior to the first application of HYBRID. When it comes to professional quality hyper-tight piston valves, no other valve oil compares to PRO-OIL HYBRID (141-A7). PRO-OIL HYBRID is guaranteed to be the fastest, longest lasting piston valve oil in world or your money back. No other company can or does make that claim.

PRO-OIL RED (product #1702 2 oz; #1708 8 oz)

Most production horns, generally have valve/casing clearances with wider tolerances than more expensive hand crafted professional horns. The demands on these pistons valves are less severe than for tighter fitting professional horns, and our PRO-OIL RED formula is perfect for these production horns. This oil has a low viscosity (hence it is fast), but it also has a relatively low evaporation rate (hence it lasts a long time).

Our original formula (introduced in 1972) had a cinnamon fragrance. We made two changes in the past few years: it is odorless because we removed the fragrance, and we improved the lasting quality of the oil by incorporating some ideas discovered during our research on Hybrid. Like all our other products, this formula does not contain kerosene, silicone or toxic components. It is equally effective on both nickel plated valves and Monel valves. With the singular exception of our HYBRID Formula valve oil, PRO-OIL Red is faster and lasts longer than any other piston valve oil on the market.

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