ProGear Albacore Special 280 - drag

[bradz]

Hi guys

Well I managed to get my hands on a Albacore Special 280. Wow. What a nice piece of machinery.

As per the usual I pulled the reel down and lubed up the bearings, exposed surfaces and gave it a good looking over.
I did discover (much to my disappointment) that it does not have Carbon Fibre drags. It had a some sort of material with what appears to be metal flakes in it. From my understand they were supposed to com out standard with Carbon Fibre. The previous owner assures me that the drags have not been changed from new. The reel is actually unused from new. Lucky me.

Upon testing the drag I am also disappointed to say that I cannot get more than about 18 lbs of drag, let alone the 30+ lbs that the reels are supposed to have. I have checked the belleville washers and they are in () sequence. Could the drag material be limiting the drag capabilities? Would Carbontex give more power?

I had a look on Smoothdrag and they dont have a listing for this reel. Can anyone help out with what Carbontex washers I need?

Cheers
Brad

[Bryan Young]

Brad,

Take a picture of it next to a ruler so I can get a rough idea of the size of the washer.  I may have them.

Bryan

[bradz]

Thanks Bryan

Could the lack of Carbon Fibre drags washers be the reason for not getting as much drag as it should?

Cheers
Brad

[redsetta]

G'day Brad,
I've got a 282 Albie special with the same fibre washers - they're original.
If you decide to upgrade to CF, be aware of the drag stack height as the CF will be significantly thinner.
I'm yet to upgrade for this reason (also, the original drag - with a little Cal's - has been flawless to date).
CF won't generally add to drag capacity (not significantly anyway), but it will make it smoother (especially on start up) and it'll basically last forever.
While I haven't tested max drag on mine, 30lbs sounds too much.
It's definitely more than I'd fish a 282 with - probably a little over 15lbs max.
Hope that's of some assistance.
Cheers, Justin
PS Re: drag washers, here's a post about the 540 which may be of interest: http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=3419.msg23456#msg23456

[bradz]

Hi Justin

Thanks for the reply.

One of the reasons I wanted the 280 was because they are supposed to have 30lbs of drag. Now, I would only fish 20lbs at most but at the moment I have to completely tighten up the star to get anywhere near that, and that cant be a good thing.

[Bryan Young]

Brad, I'm sure Dawn has them.  They are the ones that are 1 mm thick.  I have a few original, unused CF drag washers that I got for the Wahoo Special.  I believe they were the same washers as what is in your reel.

[bradz]

I will get some photos tonight so that you can have a look at them.

It still doesnt address why the reel doesnt get as much drag as it should though.

If the Carbontex are only 1mm (0.040 inch) thick, what effect will this have on drag performance if the originals are 1.4mm (0.064 inch) thick?

Cheers
Brad

[redsetta]

You could no doubt shim the drag stack (ie with another bellevile) to get the full height.
I'd be keen to hear how it all works out as I'll do the same with mine if the parts are available.
Good luck, Justin
PS I'll do a drag test on mine tonight and let you know what I get...

[Bryan Young]

If you could take photos of the drag stack.  Something seem a miss.

[bradz]

I will take a picture tonight and post for you guys to have a look at.

Cheers for all of the input so far.

[rodent]

brad, just did my albie 282, dawn at smooth drags have the cf drag washer that you need, they are thinner than the stock washer so i doubled up on a drag washer. it was recommended to place the doubled up washer on the bottom to minimize the potential for water getting in between the washers.  you can also add another metal washer on the top to get you close to the stack height that you need, it is cheaper than buying another cf washer.  when you place your order be sure to mention that you need the replacement washer under the main gear, dawn will fix you right up.  the washers are not readily apparent on the website, just tell dawn what you need and she will get back to you.  you may want to look at bryan's article :TUTORIAL: Pro Gear Wahoo Specials, Model PG461, it show the two stock and cf washers, it wasn't apparent but if you read the thread someone questions the doubling up of a washer to make up the stack height difference.  hope this helps, you've got a great reel rodney.

[bradz]

Hi Rodney

Thanks for the info. I will have a chat to Dawn as well.

[alantani]

the early albacore specials did not have greased carbon fiber.  that was added later, about the same time that the classic series reels were introduced. 

[bradz]

Hi Alan

So, straight from the manufacturer, do you think the carbon fibre in the late model Albacore Specials is carbontex or something else? If it is thicker than the standard 1mm Carbontex then it is either HT100 (possibly) or something else.

I have seen your post about servicing the 280 and the drag stack has 4 fibre washers. I realise that Randy from Progear no longer makes the reels, but, would it be worthwhile contacting him about the washers or just deal with Dawn at Smoothdrag?

Cheers
Brad

[bradz]

Hi guys

In my haste I forgot to look under the main gear. What did I find? One of those dodgy plasticky type washers. It is 1 inch (25.4mm) diameter and about 1mm thick. Am I correct in assuming that this washer will significantly reduce my drag capacity?

The rest of the drag washers are 1.25 inches (32mm) diameter and 1/16 inch (1.6mm) thick. You can see in the image that they are not carbon fibre. They have quite a smooth surface and look almost rubbery.

I also measured the metal washers. They are all 1.25inches (32mm) diameter. The top 2 are 1.3mm thick whereas the bottom one is 2mm thick.

I look forward to hearing what you think I should do next.