AVET AND PENN REELS DRAG TECH QUESTIONS FOR ALANTANI

[mjberrocal]

Dear Mr. Tani:
I have been reading this site with great interest.  I congratulate you.  I live in Panama, Rep. of Panama (Pacific Side), a true fishing paradise and I have been lucky enough to have been fishing these waters for 45 years, since I was 5.  I have some questions in connection with the AVET and PEEN reels I have.  I have not been able to get a specific answer with respect to these reels so far. I keep getting some contradictory answers from my reel service store in Panama.  List of reels:
2 AVET HX 5/2 (2 Speed)
2 AVET PRO 30 Narrow (2 Speed)
2 AVET QUAD T-RX50/2 Narrow (2 Speed)
2 PENN 16 VSX (2 Speed)
2 PENN 30 VSX (2 Speed)
2 PENN 50 VSX (2 Speed)
2 PENN 50 VSW (2 Speed)
2 PENN 50T Narrow (1 Speed)
All of these reels are new, except the old PENN 50T's, which have about 35 years.
Questions:
1. What kind of drags came with the reels from factory?  Can you comment on them?  Are any of those carbon fiber from factory?
2. Do you recommend replacement of the drags in any of them?  If so, what kind of drags do you recommend?  What would be order and position that you recommend: eg: (())?
3. Do you sell/have good state of the art drags for these reels? How many should I buy for each reel?
4. If the PENN SVX's came with carbon fiber drags from factory, can I grease them?  If the PEEN SVX's came with carbon fiber, is it worth replace them?  Here is the link to the "dura drags" I believe the PENN's have: http://www.pennreels.com/repairbulletins/repairbulletin3_duradragbulletin.pdf
It does say if they are carbon fiber.  What is your opinion on these drags?
5. I believe that all of the AVETs came with carbon fiber and the factory do recommend grease on them.  If you agree to grease them, what kind of grease should be used?  What do you think of the red grease AVET has?, seems very good to me, sticky as hell!
6. What is you personal opinion on the AVET QUAD T-RX50/2 Narrow (2 Speed)?  I had an issue with them out of the box 2 weeks ago: One of them only needed 2cm (after having the knob all the way back/counter clockwise) of forward turn on the main drag knob to achieve the proper strike pressure (30%) once the lever drag is set to strike position.  The other (second one) reel needed more than 7cm (after having the knob all the way back/counter clockwise) of forward turn on the main drag knob to achieve the proper strike pressure (30%) once the lever drag is set to strike position.  Is this normal?  Seems like the internal parts or the drum that applies pressure to the drags is not traveling the same distances.  Shouldn't they be precise equipment tools, made to the exact precision standards?  When I called AVET, they told me that I should pass the break-in on the reels to polish the high points in the drags.  Sounds logical, but I have never had this particular issue with any of my previous reels; and I always buy them in pairs, so I can test one against the other.
7. I have noticed that the AVETs HX 5/2 (2 Speed) slip and fail when you reel in or recover line, at relatively normal drag pressure (30%).  I need to apply a lot of drag in order to avoid slippage of the spool when you reel in or recover line.  Any thoughts?  Or the reel is just too small and lacks drags on both sides?
8. Is there anything else that could be done to any of these particular reels listed above to improve them?
I apologize for the long tedious questions.
Thanks,
mjberrocal

[mjberrocal]

I found a drag washer kit replacement for my PENN 50T's at MYSTICPARTS.COM:

"117DN-50 Drive Plate Assembly with Dura-Drag™ Washer
New Dura-Drag™ Design with Lubricant
Penn SKU#:    117DN-50
New Penn SKU#: 1184504
Our Price:    $34.90 EACH"

Is it the appropriate drag replacement for the PENN 50T's?  What would be the difference when replaced?


"Edited as per Moderators to correct Scott's Bait & Tackle over to their new store name Mystic Reel Parts / www.mysticparts.com"