Avet bearings & freespool question

[the rockfish ninja]

Hi 'Ninja,

Something I noticed when I started 'playing' with the MXL MC was that after I cured the over-achieving magnet, was that I could cast the reels without setting them at 'cast' position, as this was just too slow to let the reel accelerate.

At the beginning we just used the reel with standard factory greased bearings, and even with the magnet set to minimum, we found the reel way too slow to use for surf casting, hence the opinion that the magnet was over-achieving.

We trimmed the magnet down, and found that when used in total 'free spool position, the spool achieve the desired 'lively' status for surf casting, but was a little less wild than using a non-mag version.

What I have also found is that when I make a mistake and set the reel to 'cast', distance drops by the same order of magnitude as you are seeing. With the magnet versions, the 'cast' position becomes obsolete.

Since the early days of setting up the reel, we have serviced the bearings at reasonable intervals, and used some quite quick lubricants in the system, and found no adverse effects. Reel-X being one of the faster lubricants that we have tried on this reel – and no ill performance, except the expected shorter service intervals. The reel is used in quite extreme conditions in our surf fishing, easily over 50 outings a year, and no real problems. I have only used the same bearings as came fitted from the factory for over 2 years now, but then I fish with only about 8lbs of drag.

From your own admission, you are using it a fairly heavy drag settings, so it might be worth considering one of the larger Avets to get more drag potential, MXL or LX???

At this time I would suggest that you change the spool bearings, and for the sake of a few bucks, the pinion bearing – either AVET or some of the after-market options, and see where that gets you. Then if that gets you back to where you started, then you need to consider whether you are over-exerting the reel, and hence causing early bearing wear.

I assume that you haven't changed any of the other parameters in your casting like – rod, line level on the reel. These reels do go much slower when low line levels occur.

Hope that helps.

Cheers from sunny Africa.


Jeri

Correct, same setup, and yes line level is a small detail that a lot of people overlook. (Myself included sometimes )
Don't plan on moving up to a larger reel & the MX has the same drag capabilities, so I'm just going to have to adjust my habits if I'm gonna stick with these reels. I do love how they winch tough fish up and being a rock fisher they do that job well.

Out of the box I was able to get 50-70 yds consistently, and mind you I only need that distance when the sanddabs come in for a couple months, the rest of the time I don't need beach casting distance, maybe 30-50 yds or so. I just want to get it up to original specs, so I'm not going to fart around with the magnet or anything like that.

Thanks for the tips, I think I'm gonna get some repl bearings and another reel to alternate with this coming year.

[alantani]

a magged reel is never going to spin freely.  i'd just replace the bearings and go from there. 

[Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B]

it's hard for me to believe that the SX has the same drag capacity as the MX models because of the diameter of the spool, unless the belleville washers are of different types. the sx's is smaller therefore IMHO, taking into consideration everything on the axis is equal except for the size of the CF washer, the MX is more capable in comparison with the SX. anyways, if you want to consider boca's use this coupon code THANKYOU2013 for a 25% discount.

[the rockfish ninja]

it's hard for me to believe that the SX has the same drag capacity as the MX models because of the diameter of the spool, unless the belleville washers are of different types. the sx's is smaller therefore IMHO, taking into consideration everything on the axis is equal except for the size of the CF washer, the MX is more capable in comparison with the SX. anyways, if you want to consider boca's use this coupon code THANKYOU2013 for a 25% discount.

salamat po! Pare. I'll use the 25%, and yes the drag is the same on MX & SX, check their website.

[Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B]

yes i know what the specs are, at least what they say. but just like what i've written it's hard for me to believe it, just science.

[the rockfish ninja]

Back on track, got some bearings, cleaned them out of grease, a little corrosionX, a drop of avet lube, and back to specs, casting well.

Thanks for all the pointers, in the short time I've been reading the info on this site and a couple others, I have learned a ton about these reels. The miracles of modern technology.

Which brings me to one more question. As I said previously in this thread that after breaking the thing down and getting it back up to specs, I feel there really isn't much to this reel as far as parts are concerned. So why is it you can't find any cheap used ones? It's a $150-$200 reel that looks like $30-$50 in raw materials and I know we're paying for the "design", but all the ones I see popping up on Ebay always get bid up to close to retail price. What gives? Now that I know the basics of how to work on these reels, I wish I could find a few cheap beat up ones to restore.

Again thanks for the info Sensei & crew.

[alantani]

they hold their value, in part because they are not that expensive to begin with.