reel lube question - what's the goto?

[Salmon53]

Hi everyone.  What is the goto reel lube that people are using?  Seems like TSI 321 and Penn reel lube are popular choices.  I see there is ReelX, Lucas, ABU Garcia Oil and Reel Butter out there too.  What is the best lube that you pros are using?  For my Ambassadeurs, they are fished in the rivers and tidewater.  My Okuma and Shimano line counters are the reels that I use in the salt.   Thanks, Craig

[Midway Tommy]

There is 36 pages of lubricant discussion here; https://alantani.com/index.php?topic=50.0 If you read through it you will see a lot of varying recommendations, many of which are high quality. Generally it boils down to personal preference, intended use, how often you service your reels and lube longevity. 

[happyhooker]

Greetings, Craig, from Minnesota.

Despite all the warnings about not using household or automotive products on reels, I have, for some time, just used wheel bearing grease, cut with synthetic oil.  This is on the gears, shafts, oscillation parts and other spots inside the gear case on spinning reels.  The grease itself is a little thick, which is where the oil comes in.  On bail springs, rollers and other external bail parts, where I don't want a sticky lube attracting dirt, I go with a dry lube, usually a drop of Teflon dry lube.

Everybody has their preferences.  Mine, stated above, have produced reels that work smoothly and quietly and otherwise just the way I want them too.

Frank

[Bill B]

You're going to get 100's of opinions, best bet is to start with the basics.  Bearings, bushings, heck oil.  Gears and metal parts (that like to corrode, frames, posts, seats, screws) get grease.  TSI, ReelX, Penn Oil for oil.  Marine grade grease for everything else. 

I've been using ReelX, Penn Oil, Cal's Drag grease for drag washers, and a mixture of Valvoline Marine grease mixed with ATF fluid (more or less atf for thinner/thicker grease). 

But as Alan says, use something, anything, is better than nothing.  As you progress in the reel maintenance hobby you will find out what YOU like.  Bill

[JasonGotaProblem]

You've gotten some good info already. I would say that if you got yourself a bottle of TSI321 and a tube of superlube you'll be better than good to go for just about all applications.

(Edit: NOT the silicone based version of superlube available at walmart)

[Midway Tommy]

You've gotten some good info already. I would say that if you got yourself a bottle of TSI321 and a tube of superlube you'll be better than good to go for just about all applications.

YEP!

[David 13]

I have it narrowed down to just 3. Aluminum complex marine grease, Super Lube and a bottle of TSI321.
A bottle of TSI321 will last a long time.

[Salmon53]

Thanks everyone.  I got some TSI321, some Cals Tan for the drag washers, and some Penn reel grease.

[johndtuttle]

Thanks everyone.  I got some TSI321, some Cals Tan for the drag washers, and some Penn reel grease.

Can't go wrong there but...

In hot locations the Penn can be susceptible to drying out. Cutting with a little reel-x will improve the longevity. Instead of reel-X I buy the "Gun-X" as its the same stuff just cheaper.

But also nothing regular maintenance can't handle too.

[Hytekrednek]

I use tsi321 on bearings, Cal's on drag disc, and Yamaha marine grease on gears. I have used Quantum Hot Sauce oil and grease in the past. It is a beautiful red color. That is all that I can say that is positive about Hot Sauce. That crap cost me many many hours of wasted time. I disassembled, nearly completely, my 15 most used primary reels, thoroughly cleaned every part, and re oiled the bearings and re greased the gears using Quantum Hot Sauce products. Just a couple months later the reels were getting stiffer. I had to open one reel to replace a bearing, then I saw the grease had dried out and turned thick and gummy. Most of the oil had migrated out of the grease it looked like.  As for the oil, it also seemed to thicken up, slowing down the bearings a good bit.
I had to disassemble, clean, and re lube all reels that got the hot sauce. This took me days to finish doing 3 or 4 reels a night.
Whatever oil or grease you choose, make sure it is not over priced goop. Plenty of good suggestions on this sight.