Latest 10/0 - 12/0 insert kit

Started by Alto Mare, September 23, 2018, 01:53:32 PM

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TheReelShop

Quote from: handi2 on November 22, 2018, 08:17:45 PM
Adam can attest that I have purchased and installed many of his insert kits. I have them in reels all over the NW of Florida and S Alabama.

When I noticed the drag washers ears wearing off I started puting them in dry. None of them have come back with a drag washer problem using them dry.  Penn put them in dry a lot longer than we have used them wet.

With the new thicker drag washers that eliminated the problems of the thinner greased washers.



So on the newer drags would you leave them dry or go ahead and grease them?

Tiddlerbasher


Alto Mare

It has been found that greased washers work better than dry... grease them up.


Sal
Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.

Donnyboat

Yes the grease should be Cals or a teflon based grease, happy fishing cheers Don.
Don, or donnyboat

handi2

With the new thicker drag washers having them greased will not cause the ears to wear off like the original ones did. Defiantly grease them and wipe off the excess.
OCD Reel Service & Repair
Gulf Breeze, FL

Tightlines667

#20
I finally got around to servicing my 2-12/0s yesterday.

The reels had steel gears, insert kit with delron washers below gear, and above drag stack, Stainless sleeve, and dog.  They were spooled with straight 100lb mono, and fished on Rainshadow STUB 80 rods.  They saw 1 year of heavy use trolling big lures for around 750hours.  Around 2,500-5,000lbs of Pelagics including Blue Marlin and Yellowfin Tuna over 100lbs were caught on these 2 reels.

Overall I was very impressed with the drag insert functionality.  When trolling for tuna and marlin drags were set for 35lbs.  I ran them at around 25lbs when trolling for Wahoo, Mahi, or Skipjack.  
They handled blistering runs of 400-700yds with fight times on fish over 100lbs lasting between 45-90 minutes.  Most fish were fought from shotgun style rod holders.  

There was noticable heat on the gear sleeve/star/handle arm during a few fights.  Drag performance remained great throughout most of the year with silky smooth pull, after about 9 months I noticed some minor rod tip bounce on start up, but overall much smoother and stronger than stock (which I fished on 1-12/0 throughout the same period).  Besides ocassional heat issues, I also noticed I had to pay attention to where the drag star was positioned and got in the habit of checking the drags before each outing.  With higher drag numbers, turning the star a relatively small amount did change the drag setting more quickly resulting in a steeper drag curve with less fine tuning /adjustment possible.  But hey, you can't get something for nothing.

When I serviced the reels last night, I noticed there was visable corrosion/electrolysis/aluminum powder on the surface of the inserts, but I was able to remove them from the gears with minor persuasion and the insert looked good after cleaning.  The sleeves and maingear were still in good overall working condition.  The drag washers were a bit grimy/dirty but after cleaning they still looked really good.  No noticable wear marks, tabs were intact with crisp edges, though some minor fiber seperation could he observed on the tabs.  They looked almost new after cleaning and regreasing with Cal's.  The Stainless gear sleeve had a few shiny spots where the metal drag washers rode, but no marring or ridges were evident.  There was some light surface corrosion on the gear sleeve where it fit the handle, which was easily removed with steel wool.  The gear sleeve and stock star threads were undamaged, fit tight, and still turned easily.  The undergear delron washer looked new.  One overstack washer looked the same, while the other had melted and sunk down into the thick metal/upper drag washer.  It still turned easily though.

One reel had a badly deformed reel seat.   I am not sure if I inadvertly overtightened the rod brace or if this happened when fighting big fish.  The reel mechanic in me suspects the former, but the fisherman likes to believe it was because of a big fish.  3 of the 4 bearings (which had been fully packed with grease prior to use) were toast.  Everything else was good.  

Aside from 1 delron washer, 3 bearings, and a stand the reels were simply cleaned/greased/reassembled and put back into service.  I sold them to a friend who plans to test them on some big fish.

I do prefer fishing the 130 class lever drags, but these senators with insert kits and SS sleeve and dog are more than capable of handling heavy trolling duty and landing big fish.

John
Hope springs eternal
for the consumate fishermen.

Darin Crofton

Wow, John, what a thorough report that I really enjoyed reading, and a great testament to the drag kits, thanks for sharing! Darin
God, Family and Fishing, what else is there?

Shark Hunter

Great Work John. I only get to go a few times a year, but I meticulously go through my reels after every trip.
Great to see those inserts getting it done for you.
Adam makes some fine upgrades.
I really like his handle arms too. The offset ones are the best.
From my Experience, The 12/0 insert seems to work the better than the bigger ones.
I wish I could fish more often, but I have to work and am 700 miles from the coast.
Two months from now, I will be doing what I love to do the most. ;)
Life is Good!

Three se7ens

Very cool, thanks for sharing! 

Matrix

Any update on the availability of the drag kit for the 12/0's? I also need a power arm for it too.

Three se7ens

The big senator kits will be available around the end of next week.