Shimano torium 14hga drag problem

Started by JonPHangler, October 01, 2018, 06:12:55 AM

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JonPHangler

Hello guys I'm Jon from the Philippines. I bought a torium 14hga (righty) and was able to tried it out once for catching trevs averaging 5-10lbs. The reel is nice and smooth but i noticed something when i'm fighting a fish the drag is weak than it should be. So when i came back from the trip i tried tying it to a scale the max drag i got is 8-9lbs but in the box the torium 14hga has 17 lbs. The 8-9lbs drag is to the point that i cant turn the handle anymore. And when i lessen it with just 3 clicks i only got 4-5 lbs drag which is really weird i dont know if i have a faulty reel or it is really normal like that. And it is really hard here in the phil. To find someone that can service reels and shimano doesnt have any service center here on philippines. Im thinking of opening the reel i have a little expirence servicing spinning reels but i have no experience on these type of reels, i hope someone can give me tips on what to do. Or a guide on how to take the torium 14hga apart with pics or a vid on the step by step procedure. I really appreciate any kind of help. Thanks in advance and sorry for my english

alantani

any chance that you have braid that is slipping on the spool?
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

JonPHangler

I don't think so. I'm using braid but it is spooled nice and tight. Btw thanks for the reply

alantani

take a look anyway.  that's the most common cause. 
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

JonPHangler

I just finished looking about the braid and the spool but i dont seem to se anything wrong. I'm really confused what to do next

alantani

ok, so you pulled on the line and the braid was clearly not slipping on the spool.  if it is not, then likely you have the maximum amount of drag from this reel.  to help any further, i'd have to pull it apart and look.  unless someone else can help, i just don't have time to do a full tutorial on the reel. 
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

Fish-aholic

#6
Quote from: JonPHangler on October 01, 2018, 06:12:55 AM
Hello guys I'm Jon from the Philippines. I bought a torium 14hga (righty) and was able to tried it out once for catching trevs averaging 5-10lbs. The reel is nice and smooth but i noticed something when i'm fighting a fish the drag is weak than it should be. So when i came back from the trip i tried tying it to a scale the max drag i got is 8-9lbs but in the box the torium 14hga has 17 lbs. The 8-9lbs drag is to the point that i cant turn the handle anymore. And when i lessen it with just 3 clicks i only got 4-5 lbs drag which is really weird i dont know if i have a faulty reel or it is really normal like that. And it is really hard here in the phil. To find someone that can service reels and shimano doesnt have any service center here on philippines. Im thinking of opening the reel i have a little expirence servicing spinning reels but i have no experience on these type of reels, i hope someone can give me tips on what to do. Or a guide on how to take the torium 14hga apart with pics or a vid on the step by step procedure. I really appreciate any kind of help. Thanks in advance and sorry for my english

Re: blue text...

Button the star down for max drag and check the area I've put in a red rectangle to see if the lip of the star wheel (yellow dot) is bottoming out against the right side plate (blue dot). Bottoming out means no more adjustment.

If the handle begins to stiffen when max drag is set, this can be one culprit. If this suggestion is correct, the sequence of parts below the star wheel needs addressing as its likely a tolerance issue.

HTH, Steve


JonPHangler

Hi Fish-aholic, thanks for the time to read and reply regarding my problem. But i think i have a different torium model. I have the black body torium 14hga. But I still tried the things you said. I tried bottoming down the drag and I checked there is still enough space and the handle is not stiff. Thanks again

Fish-aholic

Quote from: JonPHangler on October 04, 2018, 09:10:09 AM
Hi Fish-aholic, thanks for the time to read and reply regarding my problem. But i think i have a different torium model. I have the black body torium 14hga. But I still tried the things you said. I tried bottoming down the drag and I checked there is still enough space and the handle is not stiff. Thanks again

Yup, its a Trinidad 14A which I think the gear sleeve assembly would be similar (star wheel is not threaded to gear sleeve but keyed to an adjustable nut). I cannot find a schematic for your model reel on the www which makes things difficult. Would of thought they would be very similar like the prior gold trinidads and older toriums.

Like Alan said, hard to diagnose without reel in hand - or if you can take apart and post pictures as pictures speak a thousand words. :D

Penn Bob

Hi

I know this thread is a few months old but thought I'd comment any way. I just got the 14 HG also and it has the same issue,9 or 10 lbs drag max. I think that Shimano just over rated the drag numbers since this seems to be in line with other star drags I have. If anyone found out different please post what you found out.

Bob

yota924x4

I have the old 14 with carbontex and the new 14 hg. 7.5lbs is only a few clicks away from bottoming out the star on the new one. No way it can hit 17lbs. Personally i dont need 17lbs on this reel but that is still deceptive at a minimum.  Also the drag washers are a good bit smaller than on the model which i believe claimed 13 or 14lbs.

Chris

pitchinwedge

Bumping this thread to see if anyone has figured out a fix for the weak drags; or if the 14a drag specs are indeed grossly overstated?  Seems really unlikely that any manufacturer would over-rate the drag spec by ~50%.

alantani

any chance that the line is moving and the spool is not?  braid slipping on the spool is the most common cause.  you bottom out the star and the handle still turns ok?  another reason might be metal drag washers that are out of order.  usually it's braid that is slipping. 
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

MarkT

When I was your age Pluto was a planet!

johndtuttle

Quote from: Penn Bob on March 16, 2019, 03:22:54 PM
Hi

I know this thread is a few months old but thought I'd comment any way. I just got the 14 HG also and it has the same issue,9 or 10 lbs drag max. I think that Shimano just over rated the drag numbers since this seems to be in line with other star drags I have. If anyone found out different please post what you found out.

Bob

9# or 10# at the top of the spool will equal ~#15 at the bottom of the spool due to the change in diameter....

Guess which one they use to rate the reel?  ;D

This is not entirely unfair as at the end of a long run your leader and knots need to know where they are at....