A Chinese Built Penn

[broadway]

SoCal, Thanks for the show and tell.
Sal, Let us know for sure... graphite or Aluminum.  I'm sure you'll have one by the weekend
Jigger, I was thinkin' the same thing
Dom

[Alto Mare]

You might be right Dom, I've been checking it out this evening
https://www.mysticparts.com/Assets/images/pennparts/schematics/fthsd25n.pdf
That's a  nice package for the money.

"Edited as per Moderators to correct Scott's Bait & Tackle over to their new store name Mystic Reel Parts / www.mysticparts.com"

[Keta]

My 25N is metal.

http://www.pennreels.com/products/reels/conventional-reels/star-drag-reels

"Featuring a full metal body for superior durability, the Fathom star drag includes a live spindle design along with an internally adjustable centrifugal break for exceptional castability. A true work horse built for the rigors of saltwater fishing"

[Fish-aholic]

Here's a pic from my brothers new fathom 15 that I gave a pre-fishing service to. I can confirm it is all metal




I've serviced 4 of my friends fathom 15's so far within months of the reels being launched. All 4 reels have had Penn's blue
grease contaminated throughout the drag stacks. The drags have had a good clean and the Cal's treatment.

With the shields removed from 4 pinion bearings (#55), I found 2 with no sign of grease inside (oiled). The other 2 bearings
were as expected from a factory; poorly greased. Pic of a pinion bearing from my brothers new reel.




With shields removed from 4 drive shaft bearings (#42), again 2 were found with no sign of grease inside (oiled), while the
other 2 bearings were as also as expected; poorly greased. Drive shaft bearing from my brothers reel.



It's been 50/50 with regard to those bearings being oiled that are needing greasing.

Have noticed the side plates are partially coated with grease, though, the right side plates have been bare of a coat.




In one reel I found the silent ambassadeur style dog had the wings widespread, so if the reel didn't have a service, the reel was
reliant soley on the anti reverse bearing

Other than recommending giving the fathoms a thorough service, the reels are very well priced for what you get.










 

[broadway]

Fishaholic,
       Thanks for the solid confirmation... it's definitely all metal
I'm just curious... how does much drag will hold with the blue grease on them? Is there a reason why the fathoms shown in this post from all posters have had blue grease on the drags.  Is this Penn starting to grease their drags or is this grease over usage?
Nice break down, thanks
Dom

PS- Hey Sal, I'll buy you a fathom in trade for that purdy lil' 16/0 ya had up till the wifey pulled the plug

[Dominick]

PS- Hey Sal, I'll buy you a fathom in trade for that purdy lil' 16/0 ya had up till the wifey pulled the plug

Ahem 

[broadway]

Why the throat clearing? ... it's a good deal! 

[Bryan Young]

Penn has some really nice reel designs, but why do they make them is wide spools? 

[alantani]

steve carson would probably say that it's an east coast mind set.   

[Fish-aholic]

Fishaholic,
      Thanks for the solid confirmation... it's definitely all metal
I'm just curious... how does much drag will hold with the blue grease on them? Is there a reason why the fathoms shown in this post from all posters have had blue grease on the drags.  Is this Penn starting to grease their drags or is this grease over usage?
Nice break down, thanks
Dom

PS- Hey Sal, I'll buy you a fathom in trade for that purdy lil' 16/0 ya had up till the wifey pulled the plug

Hi Dom,

The drag washers are not purposely greased. I think what is happening is the drag stack is being handled/installed with greasy mitts   The main gear also has over usage of grease in the teeth, and as you know, this soon gets thrown out when entwined with the pinion gear  

Penn has some really nice reel designs, but why do they make them is wide spools?  

Hi Bryan,

I can only speak for the smaller fathom 15 sized reels here, where the wide spool design is far better for long range distance casting (beachcasting). I'm talking putting a baited trace upto 100+ yards. The wide spool helps to keep the spool sitting lower/closer to the rod for better spool grip. A deeper narrower spool will sit too high for beachcasters to execute powerful casts without getting spool slip. Unfortunately, I can't comment on larger spec reels with a wide spool design

 
Hope to have been of help,

Steve

[broadway]

Fish,
      The assembly line should have a drag wiper added on
Also, thanks for the wide vs. not wide reel explanation... makes good sense to me.
Dom

[johndtuttle]

Fish,
      The assembly line should have a drag wiper added on
Also, thanks for the wide vs. not wide reel explanation... makes good sense to me.
Dom

Wide spools are better for distance, but narrow spools are better for retrieving lures and fish. Beach Casters in the east do not deal with hard fighting fish nor typically fish lures with wide reels but use them for fishing cut bait.

When cranking on a heavy fish wide reels cause lots of 'wobble' that make handling the rod hard under heavy cranking pressure. This is why narrow framed reels are preferred for live bait fishing (lighter spool that the bait can turn over easily) and artificial lure fishing (easier to lay line and less effort required to do so) and for cranking. The small differences in casting are easily tolerated due to the other handling characteristics that make narrow frames ideal for anything other than beach casting.

[Bryan Young]

I don't know about you guys, but when I used to surf cast, I could cast my Penn 113HL just as far as my Penn 113HLW.  No difference, but the 113HL was much easier to handle casting and retrieving.

[akfish]

On Penn greasing drag washers: Penn uses its own blue grease to grease the drag washers on the new SS spinning reels, at least that's what they say in the intro video.

[Tile]

Someone should start making a set of security springs for this reel because it lends itself pretty well to this modification .