Saltist BG20H Freespool

[SoCalAngler]

I opened my BG20H today to try to improve its freespool.


Took out the plastic bushing on the right side part number 41.


The bushing measures 3x8x4mm and replaced it with a bearing.


Before the change out the reel was serviced with the left side spool bearing and right side bushing lubed with TSI. I was getting around 15-17 seconds of freespool and now I get around 20-22 seconds with the new bearing degreased and lubed with TSI.

[alantani]

did you open and clean the bearings?  i'm surprised you're not up to between 30 and 45 seconds. 

[SoCalAngler]

I did clean out the bearing with carb cleaner but did not open the bearing. I find it hard to remove the metal sheilds in the smaller bearings. I have tried dental picks and straightened fishooks to remove them but it seems I only end up jabbing my fingers and in frustration I have just left the sheilds on the smaller bearings.

I use tape to hold line on the spool when servicing my reels and with its weight only the tape always ends up at the bottom of the spool when checking freespool. When I flick the spool say the tape ends up on the side of the spool, the spool will rotate allowing the taped portion to slide to the bottom rocking slightly until it settles. So, with that I think I'm getting the max spin out of the bearings or the 1" piece if masking tape would not have enough weight to move the spool, especially with just its weight making the spool rock back and forth slightly. Am I off base here?

[alantani]

to remove a metal shield that is pressed into the bearing, you need another specialized tool.  this is an old screwdriver that i've ground to a nice long point.  drive the point in between the shield and the inner race, the pry up the shield.  it will be mangled at this point and will have to be discarded.  this takes a light touch.  drive the point in to far and you will mangle the cage and ruin the bearings.  i tried using the point of a small swiss army knife for a bunch of small boca bearings and ruined the entire lot, about $100's worth.  be careful!

[SoCalAngler]

I guess I was near max freespool with this reel already. I just opened it back up and recleaned the freespool related bearings and opened up the new bearing on one side, the other spool bearings I had already opened last year. I gained maybe a couple of seconds but not a whole lot by removing the last sheild. 

[Ron Jones]

I think the part you are missing is the TSI or Reel-x or some ultra slipery lube.
Ron

[SoCalAngler]

I soak the bearings in TSI 321 and let them drain out on paper towels. If there is too much TSI left in the open bearings I touch a Q-Tip against the open side of the bearing removing the excess TSI.

[Fish-aholic]

One place often overlooked is the pinion gear. It acts like a bushing so my preference is to thoroughly clean it's bore using pipe cleaners, then use the stick of a q-tip (tip removed) to smear a drop of TSI 321 inside. This should help you to get a bit more free spool, but if your satisfied with what gains you've made already, don't worry about it and fish it as it is.

 

[alantani]

when i cast, the bait is never in the air for anywhere near 20 seconds, so this should be good.  to see if the pinion gear is slowing things down, you can spin the spool out of the reel, then compare the spin times and that will tell you how much the pinion gear is slowing down the spool. 

[Fish-aholic]

Also worth taking into consideration the brake blocks/pucks will contribute. After servicing said reel, I can get very near to the 30 second barrier having two black blocks fitted and open spool bearings lubed with TSI (reel as stock). If I remove the blocks, it will easily spin in excess of the 30 barrier, so the potential is there.

[SoCalAngler]

I always clean the inside of the pinion gears and lube both inside of the pinion and the spools shaft with the TSI using a moistend Q-Tip. In the 20H there are only two break collars which can be installed at one time. The reel comes with 4 collars, two sets of two that are color coded for more or less braking. When I first got the reel I removed the 2 that were installed, so I am running brakeless. There is also no grease or anything else rubbing between the spool and frame.

Like I said I think I have maxed the freespool for this reel.

The main reason for my posting was to let anyone looking to replace the bushing with a bearing on what I found.

Thanks for everyones input.

[steelfish]

I think the saltist 20h or BG20H are good casters, but they need at least 2oz or more and a good rod to shine

Im using my saltist 20H old model (grey) on a fenwick 10ft 1-3oz with 2oz jig and I can cast 90-100yd average, if I put the reel on a rainshadow SUR1505 (12.6ft) and cast 5oz I can easily pass the 100yd on every cast.

but this thread made me wonder.

what would be better for the bearings.

use only tsi 321 oil
use corrocion X (3parts) and tsi 321 (1 part) "Bryan Young mix"

I currently have a bottle of pure corrosion X, a bottle of pure tsi 321 oil, and a bottle of that mix

[Slazmo]

A light corrosion resistant oil mixed with Tungsten Disulphide 

[steelfish]

A light corrosion resistant oil mixed with Tungsten Disulphide 

like which brands mixed?
if is a secret mix you can PM me