Water accumulates in 1st valve slide

[kallen]

Con anyone help diagnose the problem I'm having with my Yamaha 8335G trumpet? I'm getting a buildup of condensation in the 1st valve slide, so that the only way to empty water is to pull that slide out. I'm getting little or no water out of the water key in the main tuning slide, and very little out of the water key in the 3rd valve slide. Any ideas? Thanks for your help on this.
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Yamaha 8335G
Yamaha 8310Z
Yamaha 6330S-II Cornet
Yamaha 631FH Fluegelhorn
Warburton 5M/6*, 5FL

[LittleRusty]

That is odd. Most people are downstream players which means the water should naturally drain.

Edit: downstream meaning the bell is lower than the mouthpiece.

I wonder if your first valve is returning too far creating a “dam” for the water. If so you should be able to see it if you remove the slide, shine a light down the tube and see if it is aligned.

[Richard III]

Really? I mean, really? Do you have the bell pointed up? Show us a photo of you playing.
_________________
Richard

King 1130 Flugabone
King 12C mouthpiece

[HaveTrumpetWillTravel]

I looked into this because I have a trumpet that collects in the second valve. Someone said the cause can be hard to find out (could be design, a blob of solder, etc). I do find that compressing valves while blowing for the main slide helps and not-overblowing while emptying helps. I also have just accepted that sometimes I have to pop the slide.

[JayKosta]

It can also happen because of the way the 1st valve slide port aligns with the port going from the 1st valve casing to the 2nd casing. Or maybe from the 1st valve casing into the bell.
Some tubing 'wraps' allow better downhill flow.

You might have to learn the French horn 'twist maneuver' (or pull the slide) to get the water flowing.

Jay
_________________
Most Important Note ? - the next one !
KNOW (see) what the next note is BEFORE you have to play it.
PLAY the next note 'on time' and 'in rhythm'.
Oh ya, watch the conductor - they set what is 'on time'.

[deanoaks]

The reason this is happening is because spit/condensation is building up in the tuning slide, then being blown into the valve casing and ultimately settling in your first valve slide.
This could be due to the angle that you are pointing the bell when you try to empty the water, the water key being clogged up, or you are blowing far too hard when trying to empty your water.
Check to see if the water key is clogged first and if that doesn't work, perhaps reevaluate the horn angle and velocity of air you use when emptying your water.

[gabriel127]

[abontrumpet]

Is your horn stored first valve side down? Like in a torpedo bag or double case

[tptguy]

Use a water pic on each water key to make sure they are fully clear.

[Ed Kennedy]

Pull the mouthpiece, push the 1st valve down, blow like crazy through the leadpipe, tip the bell up and rotate so the water comes out the bell (just like a French horn player would do.)

[lipshurt]

Every horn I had does that.
It’s because of the angle you hold your horn when playing.
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Mouthpiece Maker
vintage Trumpet design enthusiast
www.meeuwsenmouthpieces.com
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[kallen]

Thanks, everyone. I have checked that the water keys are not clogged. I do play the horn at a slight down angle, maybe close to level, but never tilted upward from horizontal. It's also not a matter of how I blow when I open the main water key There's just no water in the main slide.

I notice that the tube connecting the 2nd to the 1st valve is a bit higher than where the bell pipe comes out of the 1st valve. So any water that gets past the 1st valve probably gets trapped there, and then gets blown into the 1st slide when that valve is depressed.

One possibility is that the bell might be staying cooler than the leadpipe, so maybe more condensation happens there. It's a gold brass bell.

Or maybe it's just time to clean out the horn. Crud anywhere in the tubing may be trapping water and causing it to blow toward the bell rather than allowing it to flow backward.

For a while I did have a similar problem with the lightweight 8310Z, but it mostly cleared up after I washed out the horn.

Probably a combination of factors. Thanks for all the suggestions.
_________________
Yamaha 8335G
Yamaha 8310Z
Yamaha 6330S-II Cornet
Yamaha 631FH Fluegelhorn
Warburton 5M/6*, 5FL

[shofarguy]

I had this happen to the Benge I used to own. In my case, it was that the main water key was clogged with paraffin from the valve oil I'd been using. Once I cleaned the port (and the entire horn), the build up returned to its normal place in the tuning slide and 3rd valve slide.

The second factor, that may have determined the 1st valve as the accumulation point, was a grossly misaligned 2nd valve piston. My particular instrument had a short valve stem, which didn't allow the piston to depress enough to align the ports. Perhaps this produced enough turbulence to capture the moisture out of my breath and collect it in the first valve tubing.

Speculation.

Anyway, a regularly cleaned horn is the place to start.
_________________
Brian A. Douglas

Flip Oakes Wild Thing Bb Trumpet in copper
Flip Oakes Wild Thing Flugelhorn in copper


There is one reason that I practice: to be ready at the downbeat when the final trumpet sounds.

[jondrowjf@gmail.com]

How often do give your trumpet a bath with Dawn dish washing liquid? Also are you using alcohol to clean out the trumpet? Are you using a synthetic valve oil and a slide grease? Have you switched valve oil lately? Many of the valve oils are not compatible.
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Jupiter 520 M shepherds crook
Denis Wick 4 W classic gold short shank mouthpiece
Getzen 4 B short shank mouthpiece
Vincent Bach 5 B short shank mouthpiece

[kallen]

[kallen]