US113 Handle Going Backwards

[Rivverrat]

All accept for the sleeve & handle bearing. I pulled the shields, cleaned the bearing & repacked the bearing with Cal's put the shields back in place & reinstalled the bearing.

[Rivverrat]

I do not believe I will have the ratchet/dog issue with this reel. The gear being much better made & the dogs appear to be getting a much better purchase of the teeth on the gear.

[steelfish]

on your pictures I see the ratchet teeth still pointing upwards with the same side rounded and the same light wire floating springs.

according to Steve Carlson the only difference vs the Baja Special is the color of the frame, spool and the name of the reel.


the dog/ratchet problem is not a common or regular problem, it´s just the "the only problem" found in few reels of haundreds out there, so chances are that you might not have that problem at all.

[Alto Mare]

The ratchet and dogs look the same to me.
This is a lot of reel, I personally believe the design with the dogs and ratchet could use an upgrade.
BUT, as you guys are saying, if this doesn't happen that often, you could rest assured that Penn will not do anything about it...I don't blame them.
Sal

[Rivverrat]

This ratchet does not have have the pronounced rolled bottom edge of the teeth that the ratchet did in Baja.

[Rivverrat]

Plus the dogs are making contact with the bottom of the main gear.

[Rivverrat]

Sal, I agree there could be improvement in this area on this reel. However when I compare the pics of the ratchet on the Baja with the ratchet & dogs on this reel there is more contact area on this reel. 

[Alto Mare]

Thanks for taking a close look for us, your work is appreciated.
Sal

[Rivverrat]

on your pictures I see the ratchet teeth still pointing upwards with the same side rounded and the same light wire floating springs.

Yes there is the radius on the ratchet gear teeth that comes from being a stamped part. It  is not as pronounced as it was on my Baja. A few thousands makes a huge difference in the amount of contact in this area. Overall the dogs on this USS113 have a much better purchase on the ratchet. Also as I mentioned prior they contact the bottom of the main gear keeping them level & contained on their studs.

[steelfish]

on your pictures I see the ratchet teeth still pointing upwards with the same side rounded and the same light wire floating springs.

Yes there is the radius on the ratchet gear teeth that comes from being a stamped part. It  is not as pronounced as it was on my Baja. A few thousands makes a huge difference in the amount of contact in this area. Overall the dogs on this USS113 have a much better purchase on the ratchet. Also as I mentioned prior they contact the bottom of the main gear keeping them level & contained on their studs.

thats good to know, maybe we just need to get the new ratchets and dogs from the US senator reel.

i think a lot of part of the issue are the light wire springs, I have 5 baja dog springs and 3 of them are kind of different, 2 were already used and 3 brand new, depending on they sit on the dog the deform a bit and I am pretty sure they act also a bit different too.
one was more compressed, another bit deform of the tips, etc.

[Rivverrat]

Yup going forward with upgrades on this reel, the springs being made of such lite wire while playing such an important role in keeping the dogs in position on their studs is in my opinion one that needs to be addressed. I'm quite content with the amount of contact between these two parts on this reel.

[foakes]

For a company as good as Penn -- with the rich heritage and resources -- and the desire to build the best reel possible -- the next step is to just do a simple engineering adjustment.

Better cut SS machined ratchet with an indented center portion so the ratchet wheel will be nearly on the bridge surface -- SS dogs, stronger springs -- "C" clip to hold the dogs in place -- and more firmly attached dog posts. 

The gear and weak springs should not be relied upon to hold the floating dogs in place.

I know a failure may only happen 3 out of 100 times -- or more often on a very large fish -- but to me that is unacceptable. 

Lets be frank -- in my opinion only, this is close to the most perfect reel Penn has ever produced -- why not just make it perfect?

Penn would not have to do this for free -- they could come up with an improvement on all of these reels manufactured in the future -- then offer an upgrade kit for say $25-$30-- for all of thr previous Bajas and US Senators.

Best,

Fred

[steelfish]

we all know Penn guys check this site regulary but lets have high hopes that they are already working on some upgrade just like shimano did on the the gold trinidad reels , the offered the "upgrade kit" or at least thinking in doing it in a near future.

110% agree with Fred

[Rivverrat]

portion so the ratchet wheel will be nearly on the bridge surface -- SS dogs, stronger springs -- "C" clip to hold the dogs in place -- and more firmly attached dog posts. 

The gear and weak springs should not be relied upon to hold the floating dogs in place.





Fred

Fred, that is exactly what I was referring to. I think it would be great if Penn did as you stated.

[Tightlines667]

I started a new thread on the mods I'm working on, any input will be considered and appreciated.

http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=14881.0;topicseen

I really like these reels, especially the US113N.

Maybe Penn can subcontract Lee's, John's, Fred's, or Sal's services out to develop and test a working prototype ratchet, dogs, clips etc?