Hi All -- new to the board. I took a quick look and didn't immediately see if this existed anywhere -- does anybody have any recommendations for rebuilding the drag system on a Penn 545GS?
What is it you are looking to do? Should already have versadrag carbontex washers in it, although maybe a very early one might not (not sure on that). One of my favorite series of reels- got the 545 and 555's in 1996 for kingfishing and still going strong; I use 525's and 535 for drum. Put new carbon fiber drags in and grease with Cal's or Shimano drag grease and you should be good to go. Soak some Corrosion X into the bearings while you're in there.
John
Welcome to the Forum
Older Reels have stock drags like Thorhammer said.
There are upgrades for better Carbon Washers and Upgrade kits for the latest Cogged Washers with Gear available from MYSTIC PARTS CLICK HERE (https://www.mysticparts.com/PennParts/Technical/545GSDesignChange.aspx)
The new replacement HT-100 drag washers have a larger hole in the middle resulting in less drag friction. I have a box full of these newer style
https://www.mysticparts.com/Assets/images/pennparts/parts/gsgear.jpg
Quote from: thorhammer on June 03, 2022, 11:37:54 AMWhat is it you are looking to do? Should already have versadrag carbontex washers in it, although maybe a very early one might not (not sure on that). One of my favorite series of reels- got the 545 and 555's in 1996 for kingfishing and still going strong; I use 525's and 535 for drum. Put new carbon fiber drags in and grease with Cal's or Shimano drag grease and you should be good to go. Soak some Corrosion X into the bearings while you're in there.
John
The drag on my reel seems to have lost its ability to be adjusted -- it's either off or on (a slight exaggeration). I've read about adding another set of drag washers to other reels, so I'm wondering if that's a possibility for the 545. If not, and I just get new fiber washers, should I get carbontex or HT100 washers (or are they the same)? Thanks!
Quote from: handi2 on June 03, 2022, 07:47:01 PMThe new replacement HT-100 drag washers have a larger hole in the middle resulting in less drag friction. I have a box full of these newer style
https://www.mysticparts.com/Assets/images/pennparts/parts/gsgear.jpg
Thanks -- to use these, I'd have to change the main gear, right?
No they are the Penn HT-100 carbon drag washers.
I don't really know why people are calling them Carbontex, Carbontex is a trade name owned by Smooth Drag.
There are no Carbontex replacements
QuoteThe drag on my reel seems to have lost its ability to be adjusted -- it's either off or on (a slight exaggeration). I've read about adding another set of drag washers to other reels, so I'm wondering if that's a possibility for the 545. If not, and I just get new fiber washers, should I get carbontex or HT100 washers (or are they the same)? Thanks!
First you should open the Reel up and see what you have in the way of Shims and disks . May just need a good cleaning .
You may just need a different size Spacer.
To install the
CARBON FIBER TYPE Drag Disks with the Tangs on them you will need the Right Main Gear to fit those and When you tear into you may find you already have that Gear .
Soooooo open it up and post us some pix. :d
Quote from: handi2 on June 04, 2022, 03:15:57 PMNo they are the Penn HT-100 carbon drag washers.
I don't really know why people are calling them Carbontex, Carbontex is a trade name owned by Smooth Drag.
There are no Carbontex replacements
Found this on the smoothdrag site:
49
Set of 4 $11.80
Fits: Penn 49, 49L, 535GS, 545GS,
555GS first models using round washers
These are not replacements for the HT-100s?
Quote from: Wompus Cat on June 03, 2022, 11:42:23 AMWelcome to the Forum
Older Reels have stock drags like Thorhammer said.
There are upgrades for better Carbon Washers and Upgrade kits for the latest Cogged Washers with Gear available from MYSTIC PARTS CLICK HERE (https://www.mysticparts.com/PennParts/Technical/545GSDesignChange.aspx)
Thanks!
Quote from: Wompus Cat on June 04, 2022, 03:38:23 PMQuoteThe drag on my reel seems to have lost its ability to be adjusted -- it's either off or on (a slight exaggeration). I've read about adding another set of drag washers to other reels, so I'm wondering if that's a possibility for the 545. If not, and I just get new fiber washers, should I get carbontex or HT100 washers (or are they the same)? Thanks!
First you should open the Reel up and see what you have in the way of Shims and disks . May just need a good cleaning .
You may just need a different size Spacer.
To install the CARBON FIBER TYPE Drag Disks with the Tangs on them you will need the Right Main Gear to fit those and When you tear into you may find you already have that Gear .
Soooooo open it up and post us some pix. :d
I'll give it a shot!
Quote from: handi2 on June 04, 2022, 03:15:57 PMNo they are the Penn HT-100 carbon drag washers.
I don't really know why people are calling them Carbontex, Carbontex is a trade name owned by Smooth Drag.
There are no Carbontex replacements
habit- like calling all adhesive strips Band Aids :) Should've said carbon fiber.
Quote from: Wompus Cat on June 04, 2022, 03:38:23 PMQuoteThe drag on my reel seems to have lost its ability to be adjusted -- it's either off or on (a slight exaggeration). I've read about adding another set of drag washers to other reels, so I'm wondering if that's a possibility for the 545. If not, and I just get new fiber washers, should I get carbontex or HT100 washers (or are they the same)? Thanks!
First you should open the Reel up and see what you have in the way of Shims and disks . May just need a good cleaning .
You may just need a different size Spacer.
To install the CARBON FIBER TYPE Drag Disks with the Tangs on them you will need the Right Main Gear to fit those and When you tear into you may find you already have that Gear .
Soooooo open it up and post us some pix. :d
Here's my picture -- I believe this is the old gear, right?
Those don't look like the factory drags! Go with either the Penn HT-100's or Smooth Drags Carbontex.
Yes that is Correct Sir .
You probably can get new Fiber Discs to replace those .
Or if you want to upgrade you will need a New Gear and all the washers .
If it were mine I would Use Brake Cleaner on the discs you have then use some 80 Grit Sandpaper to clean the surface of the.m
THen Clean and polish the Metal Disks and put it back together and see what you get .
Thank you both!
I have two 555s - one has the non-tabbed main gear and disks, the later version has the tabbed disks.
What do some of the physics geeks here think about the difference? Is it worth upgrading the older style main gear to the tabbed main gear and disks?
Squidder bidder can you tell the difference when you're fishing them? Nice thing about the old style is finding drag washers should be easy for the foreseeable future maybe not for the tabbed ones
Quote from: Swami805 on June 13, 2022, 10:19:10 PMSquidder bidder can you tell the difference when you're fishing them? Nice thing about the old style is finding drag washers should be easy for the foreseeable future maybe not for the tabbed ones
I haven't fished them in a long while (15+ years) so I couldn't say. I played with them in the surf for a while and then got on to other things so they went into a closet somewhere. I just broke both down last week/weekend and stripped the old grease out and lubed them up. I'm a bit OCD so I made all of the brass internals gleam before lube and reassembly. Cal's purple on the drag stack, which was pretty dry. Then I got nuts and bought another one and a spare spool from fleabay which is on the way. I know Alan has expressed some misgivings about this line on the grounds that the frame may torque under heavy load. Otherwise they seem like lighter, updated wide Jigmasters with ball bearings over bushings.
The plan was to use them for 3-waying bucktails and live lining spot/eels for Stripers this fall.
Now that you mention it with three of these I should probably stock up on some spare parts . . .
Jim's drags look like Smoothies to me. Should easily find carbon fiber for those.
555 / 545 should handle any sort of striper fishing you'd want to do. Would I spool them with 100 lb braid for tuna fishing? No, these were designed before braid and fish them in design class, no issues. These were the bee's knees king fishing in the 90's and we've had sharks to a hundred and large cobia caught on them, no sweat. I'd absolutely spool with 30 / 40 mono and go striper fishing. Note, the little 525 Mag has caught loads of citation drum in OBX surf, and still considered a coveted reel for that today (fished mine three weeks ago). You might look at upgrade to Torque handle for cranking. Big knob. I forget what series it is but they are on Mystic for 26 bucks i think.
thor - do you see issues spooling up with 65# braid over mono backing on the 555s?
Well, depends on drag you want to fish or you risk getting into Alan's realm. If you use the 1/3 drag rule, that's 22 lbs of drag and I prolly wouldn't want to put that much heat on it. Academically, I don't recall seeing where anyone tried to figure what max drag upgrade was, because these already came with eared carbon drags, double dogs, bearings, etc. by the time AT came about. But for purposes of using braid for sensitivity and diameter, why not? You're not horsing a grouper locked-down out of a ledge, and stripers don't run far, respectively. But I'd def have backing- that reel would hold maybe 800 yds of braid, lol. Clearly, I have affinity for this series- I have all models totaling a dozen, and think they'd be great candidates for frame kits. My 0.02.
John
Yeah - we're fishing inlets and near a lot of bottom structure, so I'd want to lock down and turn the fish's head before it could get me into trouble.
Quote from: thorhammer on June 14, 2022, 01:16:50 PMJim's drags look like Smoothies to me. Should easily find carbon fiber for those.
Thanks!
Quote from: Squidder Bidder on June 13, 2022, 10:14:38 PMI have two 555s - one has the non-tabbed main gear and disks, the later version has the tabbed disks.
What do some of the physics geeks here think about the difference? Is it worth upgrading the older style main gear to the tabbed main gear and disks?
Haven't played with the 555, but you should get more braking surfaces for the same clamping load (star tightness) with tabbed fiber washers, which can give you the opportunity for more and/or smoother drag.
Tabbed fiber washers provide two sliding surfaces when sandwiched between keyed metal washers. With the old style round fiber washer between keyed and eared metal washers, one only one side of the fiber washer will slide. Looks like three sliding surfaces in the old style stack photo. Versa drag should get you five with the same number of fiber washers.
Whether the effect is noticeable enough to make for a worthwhile upgrade for this particular reel, dunno.
Regarding the hole size: braking work is not directly related to surface area. The coefficient of friction (smoothness of sliding surface pair), clamping force, and distance traveled (drag surface circumference) determines the amount of braking work done per surface pair revolution.
As strange as it may seem, despite the smaller surface area, a larger hole in the same diameter disk actually
increases the braking work per revolution, as more of the sliding is occurring at a larger circumference. If you look at performance cars, they increase the circumference of the disk rotors to improve braking. They don't go for deeper pads that cover more surface toward the center of the disk.
So that is the physics part of it, but the firsthand advice from the folks that have fished and wrenched on these reels is equally if not more important.
-J
I had the 525, 525 mag, 2 x 535, 545, 555. Over the years I sold all but the 525's. They had big strong drags and cast well. I liked them, well, I thought the 555 was too wide. The 545 was sold to one of my son's friends who wanted it and it was surplus to the need. My 525 mag has braid under the mono... works great!