Penn Squall 12 drag problem

[ctfisherman]

Hello all,

I bought a squall 12 last season and loved it but this spring I took it back out and now the drag seems to be way less then I remember. With the drag
maxed out I can still pull drag fairly easy and if I back it off 6 clicks there is barley any drag. I have took the reel down to inspect the drag washers and
they seem to look new.

Any suggestions as to what the problem could be. I am very disappointed because I really like this reel but having problems this soon sucks.

Thanks,

Jay

[alantani]

spectra slipping on the spool?

[ctfisherman]

No, the reel has mono backing and when I pull drag the spool is moving. Maybe I am expecting this reel to have more drag then it does. With the drag buttoned down all the way it has decent pressure but doesn't seem like it is the 15lbs of drag as advertised.

I would need a spring scale to test it?  

[Keta]

I would need a spring scale to test it?  

Yes.

[SoCalAngler]

Did you happen to leave the drag cranked down in the off season? The reason I ask is maybe the spring washers part #18 got compressed and are no longer conical or maybe one cracked. I have not heard of this happening and this would only effect the drag ramp up and not total drag pressure but as you said with only 6 clicks from max drag to no drag it sounds like a spring washer problem to me. Also did you do a prefishing service to this reel? If you did just make sure you put the carbon and metal washers in the correct order, though it is pretty hard to mess up the drag stack in these reels.

[ctfisherman]

It is possible I didn't back off on the drag before I put it away for the winter. I have a local dealer who sells all the penn parts I may try replacing both the #18 washers

[johndtuttle]

It is possible I didn't back off on the drag before I put it away for the winter. I have a local dealer who sells all the penn parts I may try replacing both the #18 washers

The small bellevilles are possibly fatigued, yes, but I would check the regular washers #86 as well for flatness. Small bellevilles when fatigued usually result in less drag range but it's possible that you put a bit of a bow ( in the drag stack by the constant pressure in the center of the washers.

Take a look at those two while you have the reel apart. A visual inspection of either those or the bellevilles should tell you if they need replacement.

[SoCalAngler]

When checking out the washers make sure the #18's are in the reel like this () and not like this ((. This second order may give you greater movement of the star closer to the reel when cranking it down before the drag starts to ramp up and it will ramp up very fast. Or if their in the reel like this )) the drag may ramp up fast as well with less movement of the star.

A good investment is a spring scale so you know exactly where your drags are at. I always back off my drags after washing down my reels and letting them dry out, then I reset them the next time I use the reel.

[ctfisherman]

Thank you to all who replied. This site rocks  !!

It ended up being the #18 spring washers arranged (( I put them back in the correct order and it right back to how it was new.


Thanks again everyone.