lubricants

[tperk100]

And what on bearings?

[Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B]

it seems the consensus here is;

spool bearings TSI 301 to clean and lube or TSI 321 if you have another solution to clean your bearings. a cheaper alternative is SINGER oil but maintenance is higher in comparison with TSI

yamaha blue grease or any marine grease on non-spool bearings, except lithium based because i used it and was not too happy with it...

[tperk100]

Soooo....... Can I use 301/321 and Cal's Tan to lube ALL parts including all bearings and drags?

FYI, my reels are mostly small, like Redfish / Specs sized spinners and a few larger bait casters for Rock / Stripers and other in shore fish.

[alantani]

tsi 301 or tsi 321 on bearings, corrosion x for all other parts that need oil, cal's grease on drags, yamaha grease on all other surfaces and inside non-spool bearings. 

[Killerbug]

Soooo....... Can I use 301/321 and Cal's Tan to lube ALL parts including all bearings and drags?

FYI, my reels are mostly small, like Redfish / Specs sized spinners and a few larger bait casters for Rock / Stripers and other in shore fish.

I prefer lubes that are not harmful to plastics(like parts, found in most smaller bait casters). This means avoiding TSI and other ester bases lubes, especially on IAR bearings.  

I have discovered that Magnalube-G is a better drag grease than Call's, as it will not emulsified with water, and it makes the drag smoother.  

[tperk100]

tsi 301 or tsi 321 on bearings, corrosion x for all other parts that need oil, cal's grease on drags, yamaha grease on all other surfaces and inside non-spool bearings.  

Alan, can I substitute Cal's grease for the Yamaha?....just to make thing a little simpler.

If so, which Cal's would you recommend for my smaller reels?

Thanks much!!

[alantani]

you could, but i've found that teflon grease and pick up moisture.  that's why i prefer yamaha grease as an all purpose grease. 

[Geoff]

Sounds like Cal's grease is the go. Who sells it in usa? Penn maybe? We've plenty of Yamaha places over here for their grease. Is it right that I read somewhere on this site that you use grease on HT100 drag washers?

[alantani]

smoothdrag.com

[MuskyFishing]

Is this for the drag discs only? Or can this be used on the level wind gear (shaft)?

[bluefish69]

The only LUBE that goes on Drag Washers is Cal's Grease. You can use the other Extreme Reel on the rest of the reel. Grease the inside of the side plates to make water dispense faster.

[MuskyFishing]

Thank you for clarifying about what grease to use for the drag discs.
BUT IM VERY confused about the other grease types.

Can I use the above pictured lube for packing BREARINGS?
And what about the level wind shaft gear?
What are spool bearings and what are non spool bearings?  
Should I even try to take my reel apart? Will parts fly out, or be hard to replace inside in the correct face-in / face-out?

What are the differences: TSI 301  VS  TSI 321      
And what is the YAMAHA grease used for if all these other ones are also used? Seems "all other surfaces" are covered by BOTH corrosion X and YAMAHA.

 wow im about to have a head ache.

[MuskyFishing]

https://www.yamahapartsandaccessories.com/product/details/marine-grease?b=Yamalube+for+Outboard&d=38

is the above the exact same MARINE GREASE?

4/15/09 - There a four different lubricants that I use in fishing reels.  A "one size fits all" approach will work in some situations, but not this one.  This continues to be a work in progress.  As of this writing, April 2009, here are the four lubes that I've settled on.  

Blue Grease – There are several different manufacturers that market blue greases for fishing reels.  These products are all hydrocarbon based, salt water resistant, they never harden, (important to a service center) they stay blue forever and cost only $5 to 15 per pound.  You can service a reel, open it up 10 years later and know that you've worked on it before.  These blue greases can be packed into non-spool bearings, applied to all screws, gears and other non-exposed metal surfaces, and provide a lifetime of corrosion resistance.  The product that I use is the $5 per pound Yamaha All Purpose Engine Grease.  Don't use these blue greases on drag washers.


is this the MARINE GREASE?

https://www.yamahapartsandaccessories.com/product/details/marine-grease?b=Yamalube+for+Outboard&d=38

[alantani]

izak, here is where i'm at now......

cal's drag grease - without this stuff, nothing works.  nothing.  absolutely nothing.  having a smooth drag system from this combination of a carbon fiber drag washer and teflon grease changes everything.  it amazes me that a reel would even be sold without a greased carbon fiber drag.  the fact that every reel manufacturer save one has switched over is a final admission that this system works.  yet they still sell reels that have cheaper drag systems because they can get away with it.  so cal's grease is 100% pure teflon and i use it for carbon fiber drags only.  i've seen it thicken when used on other parts of the reel and i think it is hygroscopic, meaning it absobs water.  not a good thing.  plus, it's moderately expensive at $7 per ounce or $25 per pound and i go through easily a pound every month!  so i use it on drags only.  

yamaha marine grease - this is hydrocarbon based grease that should have excellent salt water resistant properties.  i say "should" because i have no idea what makes a grease salt water resistant.  i am going to have to trust the chemists at yamaha to know what they're doing.  other marine greases should work just as well, but i prefer this stuff because it is the cheapest and it stays blue forever.  i can open a reel in 20 years and still see blue grease.  red grease turns black, other greases cost more.  that's why i use this stuff as an all purpose grease.  at at $7 for a 14 ounce tube, it's cheap.  don't use it on drag washers because it will make them stick.

reel x- my favorite thing about reel x is the dropper bottle.  it's great!  but at $7 per bottle, i will refill it with corrosion x that costs $17 per pint, basically $1 per ounce.  i am told by the company that the difference between reel x and corrosion x is that reel x has more of their mystery lubricant in it.  that's why it costs 6-7 times more.  it is no doubt worth the cost and can be used with confidence, but for a high priced bearing lube, i prefer tsi.

corrosion x - i refill my reel x bottles with corrosion x and use corrosion x as an all purpose oil.  at a little more than a buck an ounce, i love this stuff!!!!!  i reach for corrosion x first, anytime i want to oil something.  it's cheap and works great.  i use it specifically for AR bearings.  i do not want to use the slicker TSI products because i'm afraid that the TSI products will cause the AR bearings to slip.  i also keep corrosion x in aerosol cans to spray down my rods and reels after a long range trip.  if you are looking for one oil and want to balance cost, performance and versatility, get corrosion x.  

TSI 301 -  this is the expensive stuff.  i reserve TSI 301 for spool bearings and for levelwind parts, when i want the absolute minimum friction and the absolute best freespool and casting distance.  this stuff is slicker 'n snot!  it is not good to ship because it only comes in metal cans, and these cans leak sometimes during shipping.  the manufacturer says that the solvent will attack plastics, but i've gotten it on plastic before and nothing happened.  and at $23 per 8 ounce can, it's not cheap. not being able to break it down into smaller containers is also a real hassle.   now remember, TSI 301 is something like 90% solvent and only 10% lubricant, so i dip bearing and levelwind parts into this stuff, then let it the parts dry.  

TSI 321 - this is actually a better bargain than reel x and it's cheaper.  reel x is $7 for a once ounce bottle.  TSI 321 is $8 for a 4 ounce bottle.  that makes it twice the price of corrosion x but much cheaper than reel x.  and remember how TSI 301 is only 10% of that mystery lubricant?  well, TSI 321 is 100% of that lubricant.  it's easy to ship and easy to divide up into smaller plastic bottles.  my only concern is that it might be too slick for AR bearings, but that is just a concern at this point.  it's not something i've had a problem with.  i can tell you that using TSI 301 and TSI 321, i have spool bearings in my long range reels that were treated 3 years ago and the spools still spin like crazy!  

and that is where i am currently at!  

[alantani]

that's the right stuff!

https://www.yamahapartsandaccessories.com/product/details/marine-grease?b=Yamalube+for+Outboard&d=38

is the above the exact same MARINE GREASE?

4/15/09 - There a four different lubricants that I use in fishing reels.  A "one size fits all" approach will work in some situations, but not this one.  This continues to be a work in progress.  As of this writing, April 2009, here are the four lubes that I've settled on.  

Blue Grease – There are several different manufacturers that market blue greases for fishing reels.  These products are all hydrocarbon based, salt water resistant, they never harden, (important to a service center) they stay blue forever and cost only $5 to 15 per pound.  You can service a reel, open it up 10 years later and know that you've worked on it before.  These blue greases can be packed into non-spool bearings, applied to all screws, gears and other non-exposed metal surfaces, and provide a lifetime of corrosion resistance.  The product that I use is the $5 per pound Yamaha All Purpose Engine Grease.  Don't use these blue greases on drag washers.


is this the MARINE GREASE?

https://www.yamahapartsandaccessories.com/product/details/marine-grease?b=Yamalube+for+Outboard&d=38