Full Syn Automotive Oil

[hotajax]

What is the approximate viscosity of your average OVERPRICED boutique reel oil?  I bet I can get a full quart of auto oil for the same price as the two ounce bottle of reel lube.  Thanks in advance.  Hot Ajax

[Donnyboat]

I have ben buying a 1 pint container of synthetic oil, & appying it with a serynge & needle, very little waist that way & you can place it right were you need it, I cant recall the price I paid,cheers Don.

[hotajax]

But what weight oil seems to work best on a reel?

[oldmanjoe]

      Like any frugal old man , the last drops from the 1 gallon 5w 20 oil when doing a oil change . 

[hotajax]

Alright!!  Thanks.

[Gfish]

But what weight oil seems to work best on a reel?

Good question. Don't know. I only use it on ball bearings, bushings, spool shafts and gear sleeves. Oil an be cut with other stuff, to reduce viscosity. Question is, what do you use that doesn't evaporate? I'd like to just use motor oil.

[PacRat]

"OVERPRICED boutique reel oil"...I like that term. There is more to it than just viscosity, that's only one of a multitude of properties. Like does it stay where you put it or does it migrate. Does it evaporate, wash off, or oxidize. Does it play well with water. These properties are formulated and manipulated with chemistry and process. I've never found a 'one size fits all solution'. Some of our benches look like we're bartenders with all the slippery stuff we use. Different reels need different lubes in different places.

I like to scavenge leftover oil change drippings in small eye dropper style bottles. I use this for assessing 'new' old reals. I put a few drops in the old solidified grease and give her a whirl. This tells me a lot about the current condition and which parts I will likely replace.

Synthetic oil has many meanings. I see many auction listings that say "treated with synthetic reel oil" as if it's some kind of magic formula. Some people will apply this term to any oil other than a petroleum based oil...like a silicone. I once had a BASF petroleum engineer explain to me that when it comes to motor oil, both conventional and synthetic oil are formulated from the same feed-stock. He made an analogy that traditional oil has many random molecules but synthetic oil has precise molecules that are all identical. Think of these molecules as ball bearings. Put a coffee can full of random ball-bearings between two plates of steel and it will reduce friction but all the contact will be only on the larger bearings. With a synthetic oil all the bearings will be the same size so all the bearings will share the load and the plates would be completely supported. Previously I thought that 'synthetic oil' was produced from something other than crude oil.

My recommendation is to experiment and find what works best for you and your level of preventative maintenance. Hell, I'll chose an oil because I like the way it smells (like Marvelous Mystery Oil).

Fred shared Jaymor's 191S with us and it has become one of my favorites. I use it all sorts of stuff now. It can be expensive but I have found that I can purchase an aerosol can and transfer it to little pen oilers and it will last a very long time.

If you're casting a conventional and you need a 'fast' oil. It's hard to beat TSI 321. This has been proven by our members

You just need to figure out what works for you.

[thorhammer]

What is the approximate viscosity of your average OVERPRICED boutique reel oil?  I bet I can get a full quart of auto oil for the same price as the two ounce bottle of reel lube.  Thanks in advance.  Hot Ajax

Yeah you can. But you didn't say what kind of reel or intended purpose. There's a reason you use a grease gun on ball joints but 10W30 in the engine....Max rpm, low centepoise, but needs more attention to service. Use 10-40 and you may never service again in your lifetime but you may not cast past the yard. If your are concerned about price, a squirt of 3M actually does well. Just not WD40.

[JasonGotaProblem]

I spilled a quarter of my small bottle of TSI and it still lasted over a year and a half. And that was I think under $10. is that expensive? What am I missing?

[jurelometer]

In most cases with reels you will be best off with grease for sliding and low RPM rotating surfaces, and something lighter viscosity than motor oil for the higher rpm surfaces and exposed surfaces, such as spool bearings and levelwinds.  As John (Thorhammer)  noted- the thicker the oil, the longer it will last but the more it will inhibit casting distance on conventional reels.  If you are looking for generic products, sewing machine oil is a good starting point for light viscocity reel  oil.

If you want to go high performance on the casting bearings, a thin film lubricant (such as TSI) is probably a better bet than magic reel oils, but be prepared to refresh thin films more frequently than oils.

It is more important to just keep parts lubricated with any lubricant.  Those old Penns could be fished for decades as long as you replenished regularly with just that oil that came in those metal tubes.

-J

[Rancanfish]

I agree with Jason, even though he has problems. I bought (3) bottles of ts321 a couple of years ago. $21. I still have 2-1/2 bottles.

I am pleased to learn I am in the 'boutique' class, lol. 

[Bill B]

I don't think you will find an automotive oil that is as light as oil intended for reels.  Automotive oil has to deal with heat and pressure a reel will never encounter, therefore it's formulated much differently. As Alan has said use any oil/grease, what type is not as important as using something.  I have a bottle of ReelX that I bought 8 years ago for around $7 and just getting to the point I will need to pick up another bottle.  Will be trying TSI321 this time.  I service maybe 15-20 reels a year. 

For grease I'm relying on a recipe from the late Sal, which is Valvoline Marine grease cut with automatic transmission fluid.  I vary the amount of ATF based on the reel, a conventional will have less a spinning reel will have more. 

My reels have seen 5 long range trips and multiple 1 day trips and are running fine without any corrosion noted.  But these are some of the 15-20 that get serviced every year. 

When I need speed from my bearing I use ReelX, when I need a general oil Penn Blue Oil, when I'm greasing drags Cal's Drag Grease, and general grease the ATF/Valvoline recipe. 

If you stick around here long enough you will find everyone has their preference but when they find something that works for them that's it no need to look further.

There are plenty too choose from, some have been around for a long time and some are gone in a flash.  Bill

[Shellbelly]

some have been around for a long time and some are gone in a flash.

It's a journey.  I'm the guy at the estate sale that rummages through all the garage workshop stuff that nobody else looks at. No need to use the "good stuff" on an old worn reel that isn't ever getting wet again.  Some of these assist as a solvent.  Probably would have wound up in a landfill.

[Bill B]

There's some oldies and goodies in that picture.  Bill

[Donnyboat]

I have to say Inox mx 4,5 or 6, is quite hin, it is formulated from grease, scoured from sheep wool, cheers Don.