Pinion Blow Up

[Alto Mare]

If the pinion is not hobbed (i.e., without the ring) then fishing "high" drag on these smaller reels will eventually result in failure...most likely regardless of brand or reel model. Split a 13-155 pinion after one season.

I agree with Wai!
I've seen it happen myself when testing the Jigmaster's drag washers above 27lb.
The ring does help, but can't ask too much for a reel when going double than recommended settings in some cases.
On the particular reel mentioned, The ProChallenger's pinion is heat treated and could take a little more abuse than stock.

Also keep in mind I have seen milled teeth that don't match to others as positioned to the notch.
Some gave 3 teeth on each side, (slight groves) some have 2.5. This leaves the ones with less teeth a little weaker.


Sal

[Porthos]

...but can't ask too much for a reel when going double than recommended settings in some cases...

Sal

Even after replacing the 13-155 with a 13-200, I am only pushing the host reel to 12 lbs drag max (w/ SS gear sleeve vs. the 8 lb ceiling for the factory brass). Another 4 lbs on top of that is something I'd not even attempt with the 13-200.

[Alto Mare]

From what I've seen, you should be ok with 5 more lbs, but don't blame you if there is no need.
The 13-200 was originally rated at 15lbs, not sure what it is now.
The max drag on the Jigmaster was actually at 17 lbs max  from Penn at  one time.

I know the custom gears can easily take 25lbs max, but other components will need to be replaced to make those work.

Sal

[Gfish]

I think I see it now. With a modern baitcaster, when casting you keep your thumb on the freespool lever as well as on the spool/line, stopping the line just before the lure/bait touches down. Hit the handle on somethin and it won't go back into gear during the cast, cause the kick lever won't move with your thumb pressing down the freespool lever.
So, I'm good with the 2015 Abu Revo, but gotta watch the old '73 Abu 5000.
Good stuff here thanks for posting L.L., et.al.

[jurelometer]

I think I see it now. With a modern baitcaster, when casting you keep your thumb on the freespool lever as well as on the spool/line, stopping the line just before the lure/bait touches down. Hit the handle on somethin and it won't go back into gear during the cast, cause the kick lever won't move with your thumb pressing down the freespool lever.
So, I'm good with the 2015 Abu Revo, but gotta watch the old '73 Abu 5000.
Good stuff here thanks for posting L.L., et.al.

Don't know about the Revo, but it is sort of hard to thumb the spool and hold down the thumb bar at the same time. 

[gstours]

  Thanks for the good information, and trying to keep this post alive there is a possibility that the larger reel grips can cause the reelhandle to rotate during casting as its certainly an inertia thing ..... Im some of my reels just rolling the reel over with oversize handles allows unseen gravity to engage the reel when jigging.  The autoengage is both good and bad, take your pick?   Everybody fishes different in and around the globe.   We all learn stuff here.
  As for another good question?     Why dont most if not all reels have a floating levelwind like some of the old Ambassadors?  The line automatically engages the levelwing when winding in line and floats when casting or freespooling out line?    This is my nickels worth.
   Just wondering.

[Gfish]

I think I see it now. With a modern baitcaster, when casting you keep your thumb on the freespool lever as well as on the spool/line, stopping the line just before the lure/bait touches down. Hit the handle on somethin and it won't go back into gear during the cast, cause the kick lever won't move with your thumb pressing down the freespool lever.
So, I'm good with the 2015 Abu Revo, but gotta watch the old '73 Abu 5000.
Good stuff here thanks for posting L.L., et.al.

Don't know about the Revo, but it is sort of hard to thumb the spool and hold down the thumb bar at the same time. 

Right. The Abu 5000 would be pert near impossible to hold down the f.s. button while casting and thumbing the spool. The Revo has a free spool "bar" that your thumb rests on. Just move your thumb up 1/4" and you're thumbin the spool as well as holdin down the bar.

[Cor]

................
 As for another good question?     Why dont most if not all reels have a floating levelwind like some of the old Ambassadors?  The line automatically engages the levelwing when winding in line and floats when casting or freespooling out line?    This is my nickels worth.
  Just wondering.

I think you mean what I understand to be a engaged level winding mechanism, IOW it moves during a cast?
I've always believed that moving the levelwinder from left to right during casting uses a fair bit of energy and will limit freespool and therefore casting distance.   For some casting fanatics this may be very important.

However, I can possibly argue the other side of that myself.

*  Most casters these days use various cast control mechanisms to slow the spool down during cast to avoid the dreaded "birds nest",
    perhaps these would not be necessary, with that type of level wind, or to a lesser extent?

*  Some of the Daiwa levelwinders and I am thinking of the Saltist range, cast just as well with moving levelwinder as other reels without,
   perhaps nullifying my own reason for preferring a disengaging system.

[jurelometer]

Right. The Abu 5000 would be pert near impossible to hold down the f.s. button while casting and thumbing the spool. The Revo has a free spool "bar" that your thumb rests on. Just move your thumb up 1/4" and you're thumbin the spool as well as holdin down the bar.

Nope.  At least for my thumb and the Komodo, which has a bar like the Revo.   Thumbling the spool requires a very light touch.  I cannot hold the thumb bar down with enough force to stop the reel from going into gear still have a light enough touch to thumb the spool.  Not sure if it is good for the reel to force it to stay in free spool either.

................
  As for another good question?     Why dont most if not all reels have a floating levelwind like some of the old Ambassadors?  The line automatically engages the levelwing when winding in line and floats when casting or freespooling out line?    This is my nickels worth.
   Just wondering.

I think you mean what I understand to be a engaged level winding mechanism, IOW it moves during a cast?
I've always believed that moving the levelwinder from left to right during casting uses a fair bit of energy and will limit freespool and therefore casting distance.   For some casting fanatics this may be very important.

However, I can possibly argue the other side of that myself.

*  Most casters these days use various cast control mechanisms to slow the spool down during cast to avoid the dreaded "birds nest",
    perhaps these would not be necessary, with that type of level wind, or to a lesser extent?

*  Some of the Daiwa levelwinders and I am thinking of the Saltist range, cast just as well with moving levelwinder as other reels without,
   perhaps nullifying my own reason for preferring a disengaging system.

To elaborate a bit on Cor's excellent post:

Levelwinds that stay engaged during freespool track the location of the line leaving  the spool, so there is less force on the levelwind when pulling against a heavy load, and slightly less friction against the levelwind guide on the cast. But moving the levelwind back and forth steals  energy from the cast.  You can cast  far with the right always-engaged levelwind reel  (but not quite as far as a disengaging levelwind)  as long as the levelwind mechanism is kept cleaned, properly lubed, and is not worn out.   This requires much more frequent maintenance than I expected.   Once things get a bit sticky or dry, casting distance can degrade pretty badly.

But... Disengaging levelwind reels should have a narrower  spool to decrease the maximum out-of-alignment angle from the levelwind to the line on the spool.  Within reasonable limits,  a wider spool will outcast a narrower spool of the same line capacity.   So some of the advantage of a always-engaged levelwind can end up being lost by narrowing the spool.

While I don't have firsthand experience with all the different brands,  by looking at the schematics and the experiences posted here, each brand seems to have made some reasonable and some dubious design choices, so it is hard to directly compare only  disengaging vs always-engaged levelwind as a design choice.   It would seem that the lighter the lure, and the lighter the drag, the better the chances are that a disengaging levelwind will be a good choice. And always-engaged makes sense for bigger jigging and trolling reels.  As to the point where the tradeoff crosses over?  Dunno.

Oh,  I just thought of something else: Modern braided line is much softer and smaller diameter than mono.  So the friction penalty during the cast for a disengaging levelwind is much lower nowadays.  A cast that jammed coils of stiff mono through a levelwind  that was not synchronized with the line on the spool could have been a big deal back when some of the original designs were made.

-J

[jurelometer]

  Thanks for the good information, and trying to keep this post alive there is a possibility that the larger reel grips can cause the reelhandle to rotate during casting as its certainly an inertia thing ..... Im some of my reels just rolling the reel over with oversize handles allows unseen gravity to engage the reel when jigging.  The autoengage is both good and bad, take your pick?   Everybody fishes different in and around the globe.   We all learn stuff here.
 

Wasn't  this a known problem on certain models of the Abu (NaCl?) with a factory power handle?  If the knob is in a location that encourages it to rotate during the cast, it can pop the reel into gear.  Presumably this was fixed in later models, and as mentioned in this thread, the newer big levelwinds of various brands have beefed up the mechanism  that holds the handle in place during the cast.  If I was adding an aftermarket power handle to any levelwind, I would tread carefully, and use as light a knob as possible, preferably with a counterbalance.

-J

[Gfish]

Yup. The Revo has 3 adjustable cast control systems: spool/bearing cap for friction; magnetic; and centrifical. So I don't needa thumb-control the cast until I kinda jab it to stop the spool as the lure/bait hits the water at the end of the cast. Havin your thumb right there at that time works great.
How might constant pressure damage the thumb bar, i.e. "forcing it to stay in freespool"?

[oc1]

Without a counterbalanced handle you're asking for trouble.  Just don't cast it.

However, you can find reels that have a counterbalance weight on the handle but it is still not really balanced.  Try to balance it on a blade right at the center of the screw hole to see.  Also, there is a passive balance and a dynamic balance.  Things like the length of the arm and profile of the knob can make it want to move during the cast.  Probably without enough force to trip the clutch though.

On an ABU, you cut a notch about 3/32" into the 'L' shaped clutch button/lever.  That bent piece of metal (the button/lever) can rock forward and backward a little and it's movement is normally constrained by the slot in the head plate.  When taking the reel out of gear, you depress the button/lever and then rock it backward so the notch that you cut catches on the slit in the head plate.  That's enough extra tension to prevent it from accidentally engaging the clutch.  It will still engage automatically when the handle is purposely turned.
-steve