ProGear Albacore Special 280 - drag

[bradz]

I am trying to work out if this reel should have some forward and backward play in the spool.
It is as if the spool shaft is not sitting far enough into the back of the Pinion. I have checked that the yoke and its screws are in the right place; I have made sure the bearing is sitting nicely.
Holding the handle still the spool can be moved forward and backwards about 1/4 inch. Is this meant to happen? If not, what could it be?
I cant recall if it had this play when I first received it and now I am paranoid.

[reelgood]

I think I have noticed what you are talking about on many reels including the Saltiga 20 and 30, it disappears when there is any amount of tension on the spool and is only apparent when playing with the reel with the spool in your hand, could be wrong though 

[Brendan]

     I am new to pro gear reels but I noticed that little bit of play in the handle on the three reels I have dealt with.
Tight lines, Brendan.

[Bryan Young]

This is common in all of my PG reels.  Not to worry.

[bradz]

Fantastic. I thought for a while there that I may have busted something.

I will give an update on the drag situation in a few weeks time.

Cheers everyone.

[bradz]

OK.
Well, Randy got me the new drag washers. They were a little too large so I had to file them down to size.

Greased them up with Cals and have installed. The drag is smoother but I am still not getting past about 18lbs of drag. Do the washers need to bed in or something before they are up to full power?

Would changing the bellevue washers increase the drag?

As mentioned previously, I only really want to run about 18lbs of drag but the reels are supposed to put out 30lbs of drag.

Any more suggestions that I may be missing?

Cheers
Brad

[alantani]

i'm not sure where the 30 pound number came from.  you have to figure 5 pounds of drag per drag washer.  you have a three drag system, so 15 pounds would be about right for a little reel like that.  besides, at 15 pounds of drag, i damaged the main and pinion gears of my progear classic series reels.  the gears your reel are very similar to the gear in mine. 

[bradz]

Hi Alan

The promotional spiels from ProGear say that the Albacore Special is good for 30+lbs of drag.

Quote

Albacore Special® Series (Gunmetal is the Standard Color)
** Click on image at left for larger view **

Introducing the all-new Albacore Special® Series. These models deliver and then some. These reels are unbeatable in their class. They feature a new precision-machined and hard-anodized aluminum bridge plate, four ball bearings and one anti-reverse roller bearing, combined with a dog system to create a strong and positive anti-reverse. They have a large manganese bronze alloy main, gear and a heat-treated stainless steel pinion gear.
The smooth oversized drag system of the Albacore Special® Series delivers 30+ lbs of drag pressure, which provides more than enough stopping power needed for almost any saltwater gamefish and yet still remain smooth.
Whether you're fishing for amberjack, albacore, yellowtail or offshore tuna, the Albacore Special® reels are definitely the reels for you and a must on any trip.

Specs
ABS280S-7 - 6:1 Ratio | Wt. 22oz | Capacity 300 yrds/20lb mono - $349.00

ABS282S-7 - 6:1 Ratio | Wt. 24oz | Capacity 425 yrds/20lb mono - $362.00

ABS540S-7 - 5:1 Ratio | Wt. 24oz | Capacity 350 yrds/30lb mono - $349.00

ABS542S-7 - 5:1 Ratio | Wt. 26oz | Capacity 450 yrds/30lb mono - $362.00


The NEW Classic Series has the features which have made the original series so popular with serious anglers, along with the added benefit of engineering enhancements that result from eight years of production experience.
• True one piece machined aluminum frame
• Three screw take down end cap
• Oversized Lubri-drag wet drag system
• Manganese bronze-alloy main gear
• Heat-treated stainless pinion gear
• Heat-treated spool shaft
• Three S/S ball bearings
• One anti-reverse roller bearing
• Hard-anodized corrosion resistant bridge plate
• Limited lifetime warranty on the frame
These reels are "Simply the Best."
Specs

CS501-6 - 6:1 Ratio | Wt. 18oz | Capacity 350 yrds/15lb mono - $199.00
CS5551-6 - 6:1 Ratio | Wt. 20oz | Capacity 400 yrds/20lb mono - $199.00
CS600-6 - 5:1 Ratio | Wt. 22oz | Capacity 275 yrds/25lb mono - $229.00
CS625-6 - 5:1 Ratio | Wt. 23oz | Capacity 300 yrds/30lb mono - $239.00
CS650-6 - 3.6:1 Ratio | Wt. 24oz | Capacity 380 yrds/40lb mono - $249.00
CS700-6 - 3.6:1 Ratio | Wt. 30oz | Capacity 300 yrds/40lb mono - $249.00
CS750-6 - 3.6:1 Ratio | Wt. 36oz | Capacity 300 yrds/50lb mono - $249.00

[alantani]

sorry, that didn't come out right.  i did not doubt that it said that.  it's just that we commonly see inflated numbers.  remember the claims from ambassaduer that the revo would deliver 24 pounds of drag?  that was all over, and it was definitely not true.  not even the penn baja special can deliver 30 pounds of drag without sustaining damage. 

[bradz]

That OK Alan.

I will just need to use my thumb to put the brakes on.

The funny thing is that the CS600 (which has the same drag stack) puts out more drag than the 280. What makes this quite strange is that the CS600 is significantly taller and as such the drag should be less effective.

Cheers
Brad

[alantani]

well, 15 pounds on the rail is about as much as these old shoulders of mine can handle anymore.  i had a guy holding a 15 pound downrigger weight and he was having a tough time.  

[bradz]

Alan

Fishing the rail is unheard of in Australia.

Jigging for Samson fish (similar to Amberjack) it is no unusual to fish 20lb drag and over. Some guys even believe (wrongly) that because their Stella or Saltiga can put out 50lbs of drag that this is what they are actually fishing.

I am the only guy in my state that I am aware of with one of these reels and it will be cool when people start asking "what reel is that?"

PS: Fantastic site.

[bradz]

Well I emailed Randy and he seems to think that you will push 30lbs of drag if you fish them dry.

Now, I didnt think that you would lose any drag capacity by greasing the drags. My drags are very lightly greased and any excess grease is always wiped away.

Does this sound right to you Alan?

[alantani]

yeah, that's sort of the same thing that newell did.  they would lock up the reels until they shredded the gears and called that their maximum drag.  it is not a reasonable working load at all and you would never fish a reel in this manner.  well, you could, but only for the first fish.....   

[Big_E]

Check Ebay.  I've seen them for $13.99. Upgrades from a 3 stack to a 4 stack carbon fiber.