Question: What type of grease is best?

[Homer Hiers]

I'm new to repairing reels and I wanted to gauge everyone opinions on what type of grease is best to use with what components. I know I should grease my drags but do I have to use Cals? Can I just use Cals on everything? Are there times where I should use oil instead of grease? What about a light PTFE grease like Superlube? Obviously these answers may vary depending on the reel in hand but I'm just looking for general advice.

Looking forward to hearing your opinions.

[jurelometer]

There is a 36 page thread on lubricants  and the top of the Tools and Lubricants board that is worth a read, but to answer your question:

Cal's on everything that needs grease is fine.  Folks that do hundreds of reels just like to use less expensive "marine grease" on the rest of the reel and save the Cal's for carbon fiber drag washers. 

Many of the pros here that do big game reels stick with Cal's, especially for the drag washers, under the theory of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

Cal's also contains PTFE.

Super Lube has been gaining popularity here.  Inexpensive and less toxicity worries for handling, as it is rated for incidental food contact. It also has a PTFE additive and a high dropping point temperature, making it suitable for both general purpose and drag usage.  I haven't seen any problems reported here. It doesn't separate in storage, or at least not as quickly as Cal's.  I think that it is better than Cal's by far for  drag grease on cork fly reels.

There are other greases that folk like as well.  If you are not doing a lot of reels, get one that works for both drags and general use.  Outside of the drag, reels are not very demanding pieces of machinery. 

Not sure what you mean by "light".   The most common grade (thickness) for grease is NLGI 2.   Super Lube comes in a variety of grades but the most readily  available by far is 2.    Cal's  Tan is 2, the purple might be thinner. 

For some specific situations like very cold weather, or spinning reels that need lower winding resistance, folks look for a thinner  grease than the standard (NLGI 2). This can be achieved by purchasing a thinner grade grease (maybe NLGI 1), but folk here generally cut a standard thickness grease with oils or solvents and hope for the best.  If you go this route, search around to find what combos folk have had success with over time.

Oils and/or thin film lubricants are used where you need very low friction, usually spool casting bearings, and stuff like levelwinds.  TSI 321 (thin film) is the most popular product here currently, especially for casting bearings, but there are lots of choices that will work.  In general, the thinner the oil, the less the friction, but the less time it is going to stay where you want it.  Thin film lubricants penetrate the surface and leave a fine film that adheres well, potentially  with very low friction, but film lubricants  don't repair/ fill-in the spots where hard rubbing has removed the film.


-J

[Midway Tommy]

Well said, Dave!

[johndtuttle]

Can't really improve on anything Jurelometer posted but would add:

Grease for any mating surfaces either inside or outside the reel ie side plate screws get greased as do the threads on reel handles or gears etc. Also use grease to protect a surface inside the reel like the walls of the gear box.

Oil for bearings that need to move fast, grease for ones that move slow ie grease for bearings inside the reel (handle or gears) but oil for the ones that affect casting like spool bearings or level winds.

Grease = long term and where the friction from the lube is minimally a concern and you don't want to replace it often.

Oil = for short term where the friction from the lube needs to be as minimal as possible and speed is ideal or you plan to replace it often ie I oil my line roller bearings before and after every exposure to salt.

Don't oil clutch bearings. Keep them clean and dry is the general rule.

*edit see below for an expansion of this topic.*

[Homer Hiers]

Thanks for the advice, and for pointing me in the right direction on the forum to read more. I'm glad that Superlube isn't frowned upon since it is what I have been using, but I think I'll need to find a more marine rated product.

Tight lines

[Midway Tommy]

I'm glad that Superlube isn't frowned upon since it is what I have been using, but I think I'll need to find a more marine rated product.

Tight lines

Not necessarily. SuperLube is rated for marine use and protects just fine in saltwater applications.


https://www.super-lube.com/marine   ........   and a video

[happyhooker]

Anyone needing a short, basic primer on lubes for reels could do far worse than reading the above posts.  In fact, they are, collectively, the best answers to reel lube questions I have seen in awhile.  Thanks, folks!

Frank

[whalebreath]

FWIW-I find Superlube excellent for bicycle needs as well. 

[jurelometer]

Regarding "marine rated" grease:

There are ASTM tests/ratings for water washout, corrosion in wet environments, etc., but I believe that putting "marine" on the tube is just a product labeling choice, and not an actual standards based rating.

Diving a bit more into clutch "bearings":  these prevent backward rotation by literally jamming metal rollers between a rotating shaft and  little ramps on the inside  track of the outer "race".  As John noted, lubricants will decrease the friction, causing the rollers to slip at a lower load.  Also, greases can have the potential to immobilize the rollers, especially as the grease ages. This can cause a complete failure of the clutch.

But the flip side is corrosion. Metal on metal clutch parts in saltwater reels are almost always made from 440c stainless steel (same as the ball bearings).  Bare 440c is fine in freshwater, but is not highly saltwater corrosion resistant. Lubricate, and you lose some clutch load capacity. Don't lubricate, and you take on a fairly considerable saltwater corrosion risk.  Pick your poison. Splitting the difference with a small amount of light oil is not an uncommon approach,  but opinions here and manufacture recommendations do vary.

-J

[happyhooker]

Good points on the "clutch bearings".

Frank

[alantani]

cal's grease for carbon fiber drag washers, yamaha marine for everything else. 

[Lunker Larry]

I've seen so many rusted clutch bearings in the Shimano 300 and 400 Tranx clutch bearing that I now grease them. Not a ton but I just brush a film onto the tube. I use SuperLube.
Shimano's claim to with sealing the bearings just holds water in.

[johndtuttle]

Regarding "marine rated" grease:

There are ASTM tests/ratings for water washout, corrosion in wet environments, etc., but I believe that putting "marine" on the tube is just a product labeling choice, and not an actual standards based rating.

Diving a bit more into clutch "bearings":  these prevent backward rotation by literally jamming metal rollers between a rotating shaft and  little ramps on the inside  track of the outer "race".  As John noted, lubricants will decrease the friction, causing the rollers to slip at a lower load.  Also, greases can have the potential to immobilize the rollers, especially as the grease ages. This can cause a complete failure of the clutch.

But the flip side is corrosion. Metal on metal clutch parts in saltwater reels are almost always made from 440c stainless steel (same as the ball bearings).  Bare 440c is fine in freshwater, but is not highly saltwater corrosion resistant. Lubricate, and you lose some clutch load capacity. Don't lubricate, and you take on a fairly considerable saltwater corrosion risk.  Pick your poison. Splitting the difference with a small amount of light oil is not an uncommon approach,  but opinions here and manufacture recommendations do vary.  Whatever you use, you gotta keep it fresh for reliable performance be it cleaning or lube.

-J

This is 100% correct but is a subtle topic with some caveats. A small amount of light oil does fit nearly all situations with the exception of Shimano clutches doing the heaviest work. Their plastic bodies provide enough slickness that oil can significantly affect their performance, more so than barrel types although you can get away with it in the lighter models of spinners. However, some super spinners produce a huge amount of drag for a roller clutch to handle and any loss of clutch performance from lubrication can manifest. There is no true "one rule fits all" for spinners. It's a mix of drag power and roller clutch type and rating plus how you are using it. Light oil for a Stradic clutch fighting trout would likely never be a problem. Oil on a Stella clutch fighting big tuna might cause problems hence Shimano's recommendation for "clean and dry" always working. The hard part is keeping them clean and dry.

Most can probably hedge their bets that they won't be fighting cows with some light oil as corrosion is considerably more likely.

Barrel type clutches can withstand as much as Cal's cut with Corrosion-X (Accurate's approach) with no loss in performance as Accurate's clutch bearings still grab better than the top drag setting on such models that have them. However, the biggest conventional reels of course use mechanical dogs for their anti-reverse where the huge drag would overwhelm a roller clutch.

Now we need to be careful lubing the dogs on a mechanical AR as they have their subtleties too. Grease can make them too sticky, oil can prevent the ears of Abu-style dogs from gripping a ratchet plate. Clean and dry for the ears, oil for the posts seems best. Spring activated dogs can usually stand grease as long as its not old! Then it can gum up the works as my grandpappy used to say.

Whatever you use, be it cleaning or lube you gotta keep it fresh, as above.

[jgp12000]

I use Superlube  on drags/gears.Lucas reel oil everywhere else, and I believe SL is also food safe for kitchen appliances.Harbor Freight sells it I recently discovered.