xtreme reel +

[alantani]

here's something new for you. if someone would have told me that dribbling some of this new lube through a set of bearings would increase the freespool time from 15 seconds to 360 seconds, i would have smiled politely and started backing up towards the nearest exit. i just cleaned out the bearings and levelwind assembly of an old ambassaduer, then lubed it and the spin time was equally amazing (for a levelwind). my concern remains saltwater corrosion resistance. i am going to start playing with this stuff in my own reels. i'll keep you posted.

not affilliated, etc.... alan

ok, now this is even more bizarre. after reassemblying the bare spool, i'm back down to 15 seconds of freespool. this is after cleaning and lubing the bearings with corrosion x, then letting it sit for several months before finally completing this post.



before shipping the reel out, i decided to give it one more try and lubed it up with this stuff. i took both bearing out, stacked one on top of the other, then added some of this stuff down through the bearings. the freespool time jumped from 15 seconds to 3 minutes. i'm going to have to take a closer look at this stuff.

[alantani]

Hey Alan, I have been servicing reels for a local shop for a while now.  How long have you been using this stuff?  I have seen some very good results and the science speaks for itself. But the proof is in the pudding. I service my gear too much but do you trust this stuff for the long term? Lets face it, average Joe just sends in his gear when it acts up. Do you think it will go a year? I trust your input. Thanks.

even corrosion x will not go for a year.  this xtreme reel stuff spins so damned well that i just can't pass it up.  i've used it on 200 customers' reels in the past two months.  if i suddenly found out that all of those bearings are seizing up, then i will make good on all the bearings.  in other words, i'm screwed.    

i've been telling everyone what's going on.  when guys see their reels spin, everyone has been just as enthusiastic as me.  i think i will be able to say for sure after a year.  hey, we've only got 10 more months to go.  personally, i would do this - tell guys that your standard is "xyz" oil and that the freespool is "adequate."  tell them that you are aware of this stuff and that you've tried it on your own personal gear and you think it's great.  tell them that you are willing to use it only by special request and that the customer is required to follow a maintenance schedule that involves lubing up the bearings after every fishing trip.  this is fine for a saltist (three screws and two bearings) but not so good for a tld 25 (a preset knob, 12 screws, and a drag cover).  tell them that there is no lifetime guarantee.  

there is one thing that i absolutely can not dance around.  these reels spin like crazy.  i personally can't cast worth beans and need every bit of help i can get.  i am dead certain that this lube will help me cast further and i know that this WILL get me bit!  good luck with what ever you decide.  good or bad, please let me know how things progress for you.  alan

[alantani]

I know its not a saltwater Q, but if I cleaned the grease out of my Curado 201 for steelheading and used this stuff would it increase my casting distance of light lures and weights?



Or would I just end up with backlashes?

both. 



so here's the deal.  you have to put together all of these random variables - spool weight, line weight and characteristics, the rod and the lure that you're throwing.  then add in your level of skill and the exact distance that you want to cast.  specifically addressing the reel, what you want to do is start with a spool that will give you the maximum amount of freespool.  that means the cleanest, best lubed bearings, zero load/zero freeplay on the endcap, zero friction between the spool shaft and the pinion gear, no brakes, no magnets and not friction anywhere else.  then start casting to see how far you get. 



what has to happen is that the lure has to start pulling the line out, accellerating the spool.  if at anytime, the speed of the spool exceeds the speed of the line as it travels through the guides, you will get an overrun.  that's the definition of an overrun.  that's why you have to thumb and stop the spool as soon as your lure hits the water.  that's also why you have to have the slightest amount of resistance in the spool when you cast.  you just can't have too much or you won't get any distance.  then you adjust the end cap.  if that doesn't work, add a brakes, ideally opposing and symmetric, two at 180 deg, three at 120 deg, four at 90 deg, six at 60 degrees.  if that doesn't work, then add magnets in the same symmetric configuration.  i know that no one add's magnets in this fashion, but that is theoretically how it's done.  and if that doesn't work, it's back to your thumb again.  what starts the whole process is a flick of the wrist that gets that lure moving out over the water. 

clear as mud, huh!

[alantani]

so here's where i'm at right now. when you're trying to pitch one of those tiny 4 inch pos sardines with a 30# topshot, you can't get jack for distance. been there. very frustrating. when i clean out the bearings of a reel and lube it with this extreme reel stuff, i watch the spool spin and i know for sure that i am going to get more distance. i've been using corrosion x for years now. for my own personal gear, there is no way that i am ever going back to corrosion x for the bearings. i will still use corrosion x all over for freespool levers and anything else that has to stay oiled. it's just that i will not be using it for my spool bearings anymore.

the difference is HUGE. even if it these extreme spin times lasted only for a day, it will still be worth it to me. i would be perfectly willing to relube everyone of my reels, everday, when i'm on my 5 day trips. particularly after my last 5 day trip. remember, i got my #### handed to me on my last 5 day. what about the rest of you? i think that you will all come to the same conclusion. pull out that old progear 454, clean out the bearings, then lube the bearings and spool shaft and pinion gear with extreme reel and start casting. at the end of the day, back out the two side plate screws, pull the side plate, relube the bearings and set it aside for the next morning. i really do believe that the guy that does this will have the biggest stack of fish at the end of the trip.

now, i do not know how long the spin times will last with this stuff. for me personally, whether it's a day, a week a month or a year, it doesn't matter. corrosion resistance is a separate issue and a separate concern. i know that even corrosion x does not last for more then several months with heavy use. even if extreme reel + has half the corrosion resistance of corrosion x, i think it would still be worth it.

what we are talking about is taking fishing, and fishing reels to the next level. to do this, i am asking you to take your maintenance to the next level. that is what this is all about.......

[alantani]

Alan, It's been about a year now since you and (myself) have been using that Xtreme Reel +.  What 'da you think, you said you would share your experience after about a year of using the product.  I'll give you mine... I'm back to using Reel X & Corrosion X,  hands down.  Art.

what i've found is that the xtreme reel + last for a couple of months.  the corrosion x last longer, perhaps twice as long, not really sure.  the thing i do know is that the spin you get from a properly cleaned bearing lubed with xtreme reel + is nothing short of incredible.  that's why i've stuck with it for spool bearings.

for situations that do not benefit from extreme freespool, i still use corrosion x, and lots of it!  volumewise, i still use 5 times more corrosion x than i do xtreme reel +,   alan

[alantani]

Hi Alan,

I think xtreme reel+ is only a solvent with PTFE particles (round or flat) and extremely expensive. You find such dry lubricants with a cheaper price in the bike scene and in shops for modell maker, radio cotrolled modells a.s.o., too. There are different manufacturer for such dry lubricants like Interflon, OKS,.....

I don't know if a PTFE based lubricant is a good solution for ball bearings. The technical data sheets don't show a use as a ball bearing lubricant. I think the speeds are to high.

Best regards from Germany, Dietmar

thanks!  it seems to be working so far...........

[alantani]

dale, thanks a million!  btw, you can post on the welcome board.  alan

Hi Alan,

I typed this up on Word for spellcheck etc. then noticed that I can't post. Tack this into the discussion if it will contribute. Thanks again for your help today.

Dale
*************************************************************

Set-up
I am posting this as requested by Alan to kick-start the XtremeReel + discussion that I saw on the site here in a thread from earlier this year.  I usually call Alan when I need adult supervision but fortunately today I scanned the website first and came across Alan's comments on XtremeReel+. He seemed to like the freespool increase but warned time will tell.

My story
Back in April in was prepping my reels for a 15-day trip. I had a bottle of the XtremeReel + that I picked up at a show somewhere. Holy smokes did it ever give me incredible freespool times. For a while I thought maybe I had this reel maintenance stuff down. Fortunately I jotted down the freespool times on the few reels I managed to service. Then just before the trip, my Mom started having chest pains. She's fine after receiving one stent for a partially blocked artery and is 1 month away from her 85th birthday. No I didn't go on the dream trip I waited a year for. I missed the trip and my reels sat on the dining room table (I'm single) for about two months due to work and business travel. I just started prepping for an upcoming 7-day in mid-July and found those incredible freespool times back down to average. Gone after no fishing trip usage.
Today
I called Alan with a question about an Avet and to report what I had noticed with the XtremeReel +. For example, I have a small Tiburon auto-shifter that had 1:30 freespool after the April service. Today it was 30 seconds at best. Now in the past I would have been happy with 30 seconds but what gives? Trying to keep this story short, I busted open 4 reels after talking to Alan and all 4 regained the incredible freespool times after another shot of XtremeReel +. The small Tib went beyond 1:45 when I stopped counting. My rookie observation is whatever gives the XtremeReel + its extra oats wears off after a couple of months and resumes back to normal lube times.
Conclusion
My plan is XtremeReel + the spools of all my live bait reels shortly before a trip for maximum freespool and use the regular lube/grease of choice for all other bearings and moving parts. Again, these observations were offered to continue the discussion on XtremeReel + only.

[alantani]

i still have corrosion x as my totally reliable all purpose lubricant.  i tried reel x and speed x and did not see a big enough improvement to justify the cost.  xtreme reel + is without a doubt the fastest, slickest stuff in the world but just does not last long enough.  jim nomura brought over some TSI 301 and i've been using it for the last 3 months.  i'm am going to use this for a while and see how it goes.  so far, so good.  alan

[PennDaddy]

Late to the party as always, is this stuff still available and if not, do you have a similar alternative suggestion?

[theswimmer]

TSI 301

[Bryan Young]

I haven't seen ExtremeReel for a while now. We have been using TSI301 and TSI321 with really good results.

[Tiddlerbasher]

TSI321 for me. For applying to spool bearings I mix it with pure IPA (isopropryl alcohol) in a ratio of 8 parts IPA to 2 parts TSI321. CorrosionX for AR bearings -TSI 321 is just too 'slippy'

[Decker]

TSI321 for me. For applying to spool bearings I mix it with pure IPA (isopropryl alcohol) in a ratio of 8 parts IPA to 2 parts TSI321. CorrosionX for AR bearings -TSI 321 is just too 'slippy'

Very interesting...  Thinning synthetic oil with alcohol.  Could you explain the reasons for this in more detail?  Also, spool bearings versus AR, lubrication.  I'm a hungry newbie.

[Tiddlerbasher]

TSI321 is pure oil. TSI301 is a mix of solvent and TSI321. To simulate TSI301 I dilute the TSI321 with IPA for spool bearings. Only the smallest amount of oil is necessary for the best free spool. Mixing it with alcohol makes it easier to apply the right amount.
I won't use it on AR bearings because I've found some will slip and not engage properly. I've had bearings (particularly Shimano spinners) slip even when using CorrosionX - so I usually run those dry - you just have to suck it and see
Hope that helps.

[Decker]

TSI321 is pure oil. TSI301 is a mix of solvent and TSI321. To simulate TSI301 I dilute the TSI321 with IPA for spool bearings. Only the smallest amount of oil is necessary for the best free spool. Mixing it with alcohol makes it easier to apply the right amount.
I won't use it on AR bearings because I've found some will slip and not engage properly. I've had bearings (particularly Shimano spinners) slip even when using CorrosionX - so I usually run those dry - you just have to suck it and see
Hope that helps.

Does the alcohol evaporate?  Is that part of the intention?