Can switching to a longer handle give more power?

[thedw]

Hi all.
say for two reels of the same model, just that one is low gear and the other high gear, does changing the handle on the High gear reel deliver more cranking power?

i know it will generate a greater moment, but... does it meant I will get more cranking power?

[Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B]

for sure it will be easier to crank with a longer one. think of it as a steering wheel for big vehicles before "power steering became of age"...

[BMITCH]

You will get more cranking power ie. leverage, but this will NOT increase the drag strength. IMO with the high speed reels like say a 6:1 the longer handle defeats the purpose of having a high speed. The lower speeds, say 3.2:1 really benefit from a longer arm for cranking.
Bob

[Ron Jones]

Bob,
The benefit really seems to depend on your body shape. I am a big guy with long arms and can spin an extra inch or so at the same RPM on a high speed reel, so I get the best of both worlds. Someone without the reach may have to slow down with the longer arm, then you are losing the advantage of the high speed, but considering you would slow down with a lower gear ratio reel and long handle anyways, I'd say your retrieval rate is still higher.
Ron

[MFB]

Torque = Force x Radius. A larger radius ie longer handle will increase your mechanical advantage.

Rgds

Mark

[Keta]

I'm the opposite of Ron and sometimes a longer handle arm is hard for me to turn because of my shorter arms.  You will still have a mechanical advantage with a longer distance between the gear sleeve and handle but some of us can't wind a really long handle as well as a slightly longer than stock one.



2lbs down                                 2lbs up      2lbs down                                 4lbs up
                            ^                                                                         ^

[wallacewt]

only the other day i went onto the peter pakula site
and he had a guest fisherman in his back yard
teaching him some basics before going fishing.
fighting fish,drag,etc;etc;
how to wind faster when a fish swims at you,(game)
all you do is bend your wrist and point it away from the reel handle.
while you have hold of the handle of course

[gstours]

Hello from se alaska: here is a test to solve my and other peoples curiosity.  the question was what if you are stuck to the rail, and how much weight could you crank with just the reel, no pumping the rod.....so what did I find out, with a small 2 spd, of the gearratio of 4.2 hi gear and 1.7 low gear the weight was a 20# lead ball.........the reel had an extended length handle and offset to boot. but could not even start to lift the ball in hi gear, noway;;;;;   but in low gear the reel cranked the ball up with some difficulty but did it . (try this youself ) so this proved to me the low gear gave me great lifting cranking power and in hi gear the benefits were fairly fast line retrival rate untill the load becomes difficult then , push the button. now you have the leverage advantage, most people at this time have to pump the rod to gain line......am i correct???let me know????comments>>>> see the below  pictures of the reeel cranking test....  gstours.

[Ron Jones]

Makes sense to me. I really prefer pumping the rod. Actually, I prefer fighting the fish with the rod and using the reel to hold the line. I have fought a few fish from the rod holder or fighting chair but it just isn't my favorite.
Ron

[Keta]

.....gearratio of 4.2 hi gear and 1.7 low gear.........

Lets make it simple and go with a low of 2:1 and a high of 4:1.    Your handle arm would have to be roughly twice as long to get the same "cranking power" in high gear.   This would be too long for most of us.

It would take a roughly a 4" handle arm with 5:1 gears to feel the same as a 3-1/2" handle arm in 4:1.

[thedw]

ok. so can it be safe to say:

that if im using a high gear reel and i would like more cranking power, i can achieve this by using a longer handle?

[Keta]

More but it takes a much longer handle when you get a big gear ratio spread.  A 4" handle arm will give you more cranking power than a 3-1/2" one.  I would rather have a lower gear ratio (4:1 or 4.5:1) with a 3-1/2" arm, than a 6:1 with a 5" handle arm....better still a 2 speed reel.

[MFB]

ok. so can it be safe to say:

that if im using a high gear reel and i would like more cranking power, i can achieve this by using a longer handle?

The short answer is yes, but you are using the word power in the wrong context. You are applying the same power regardless of handle length a longer handle (radius) will give you more leverage. Try & think of it as taking less effort to achieve the same result.

Regards

Mark

[MFB]

Hello from se alaska: here is a test to solve my and other peoples curiosity.  the question was what if you are stuck to the rail, and how much weight could you crank with just the reel, no pumping the rod.....so what did I find out, with a small 2 spd, of the gearratio of 4.2 hi gear and 1.7 low gear the weight was a 20# lead ball.........the reel had an extended length handle and offset to boot. but could not even start to lift the ball in hi gear, noway;;;;;   but in low gear the reel cranked the ball up with some difficulty but did it . (try this youself ) so this proved to me the low gear gave me great lifting cranking power and in hi gear the benefits were fairly fast line retrival rate untill the load becomes difficult then , push the button. now you have the leverage advantage, most people at this time have to pump the rod to gain line......am i correct???let me know????comments>>>> see the below  pictures of the reeel cranking test....  gstours.

You are correct torque is inversely proportional to speed. Low speed = high torque, high speed = low torque. This is why you can stall a drill that is rotating at 30,000 rpm between your finger & thumb, but when it's doing 20 rpm it will damn near break your wrist if it grabs. This is one of the many equations for torque. (Nm)Torque = kilowatts x 9550 divided by rpm.

Regards

Mark   

[Makule]

ok. so can it be safe to say:

that if im using a high gear reel and i would like more cranking power, i can achieve this by using a longer handle?

Simple answer to this specific question:  Yes.