Posted by Gus Pratt on October 23, 2000 at 20:05:55:
In Reply to: Stuffy 3rd Valve - Helicon posted by Matt Chin on October 23, 2000 at 12:42:47:
What I do to check for suspected leaks is submerge the horn in a tank of water like a bathtub or swimming pool and blow into the leakpipe. If you see air bubbles anywhere but out the bell then you have a leak at that place. Another thing to do is wrap any solder joint of the third valve tightly with electrical tape, then play the horn and see if there is an improvement. Given the year of the horn it could be just about anything. If your third valve leaks only when depressed then you should be able to see a significant about of wear towards the top of the piston. But what I suspect it is, and this is just on a hunch (there's a 90%chance I'm wrong), is that you have a wrong finger button on the third valve that isn't allowing the valve to line up correctly when depressed. Try removing the finger button and pressing just on the stem until the stuffiness goes away.