Hi folks, i am new to this forum and i read a lot of posts in this forum before i join. I just want to ask how long do you guys perform a reel maintenance again for your saltwater reel after the first maintenance . I mean how long do you guys usually fish with your reel in saltwater before you guys service it ? Thank you very much. ;D
I recommend servicing your reels once a year before your season starts, as a general rule of thumb. If you fish your gear alot (say more then 60 days/year) it may need servicing every 6 months. Conversely, if you only use it a few times and you take care of it, it may not actually require a service for 2 or 3 years. If it's sitting on a shelf, it will still fish 5 years after servicing, or so. Of course if you notice any issues (loss of freespool, surgy drag, grinding/bumping, roughness when reeling under pressure, or any noticable loss of function) it should be serviced. Since pinion bearings are one of the first parts to go (on lever drag reels), I can hop on a boat and check all of the reels in the cockpit quickly, and know immediately which should get serviced. Try cranking in high , and flip into free to check freespool, and spool clearance, then add a little drag and crank (while holding the spool) in high then low (checks pinion, gear wear, and shifting function), then ramp drag up past strike and pull off line, flip the clicker on (at full setting), and crank to check function. These few steps only take a moment, and can tell you alot about the wear and internal condition of the reel.
You really can't know exactly what us going on until you crack her open though.
John
I recommend servicing your reels once a year before your season starts, as a general rule of thumb
Hi Jon,
that I would not recommend. Reels should/must be serviced just when the season or vacation has finished.
During the long storage time remaining saltwater can/will cause lot of damage. Especially when the
reels are stored in a plastic bag or neoprene cover and remaining water can not evaporate.
That what I do and recommend to my fishing friends and never had any troubles with my spinners and big game reels when the new season starts.
Wolli
Rodger that.. after the season is better, just is more often. Some reels are easy enough to service, where a simple service can be done after ever trip. Most of my current customers fish all year round, and a reminder to bring them in before the peak season starts tends to help get them on regular schedules.
Quote from: Wolli on March 26, 2016, 11:02:45 AM
I recommend servicing your reels once a year before your season starts, as a general rule of thumb
Hi Jon,
that I would not recommend. Reels should/must be serviced just when the season or vacation has finished.
During the long storage time remaining saltwater can/will cause lot of damage. Especially when the
reels are stored in a plastic bag or neoprene cover and remaining water can not evaporate.
That what I do and recommend to my fishing friends and never had any troubles with my spinners and big game reels when the new season starts.
Wolli
Neoprene covers should be ok, they don't fully seal the reel, but I would never store reels in plastic bags.
As you John, I also freshen them up in the beginning of the season, even though they've been serviced at the end of the season.
Sal
I tear down my reels "because" and often service a few of mine after every exposure to saltwater. Sometimes I strip a reel down just to have something to do.
Reel service should never be a "chore".
Welcome Eason,
I treat my reels like a new car. Every time I get them dirty, I clean them inside and out. ;)
I have too much money and time invested to neglect them.
Welcome aboard, Eason --
For me, the most important thing is to inspect for any salt water intrusion after every trip -- flush out as needed, reapply grease to critical areas, oil, adjust for proper operation, spray exterior wth WD-40, wipe down carefully and completely, bag and tag it with a date and items addressed.
If you look at what the experts here recommend in regards to greased CF drags, synthetic oils and greases, etc. -- you will have a minimum of issues -- and your equipment will be salt ready for your next trip.
I store my reels in breathable, soft polartec cloth drawstring bags. When needed, they are clean, ready, not nicked up from fighting with other gear -- and easily transported with no damage or contamination. Any soft, breathable cloth bags will work fine.
Basic and effective.
Best,
Fred
Allot my reels have been pre-serviced before use. I fish my reels maybe 5 times a year. All rinsed with warm water and air dry and stored away from heat.
I have't had any corrosion issues for 5 years between service.
Quote from: Shark Hunter on March 26, 2016, 03:43:28 PM
Welcome Eason,
I treat my reels like a new car. Every time I get them dirty, I clean them inside and out. ;)
I have too much money and time invested to neglect them.
Agreed
We fish year round, so I generally service my reels when something doesn't feel right or a repair is needed. If I don't have a problem with them than I do it when it's time to change out my monofilament line, which is at least once a year. Reels spooled with braid generally are used for heavy bottom fishing and jigging and usually need some sort of tweaking before the year is up. Other specialty reels that are seldom used may not get serviced for years.
Well, needless to say as often as we service our own reels or at least crack them open for an inspection we all have come to appreciate designs that make that possible with nice robust fittings that can be screwed and un-screwed many, many times without issue.
Some reel companies are going to a model of basically never expecting the reel to ever be opened by the user...And it is our duty to dissuade them of such ridiculous notions of expecting to let them go until they fail.
Every reel needs a one time pre-service/inspection to be sure that it is good to go. Every reel needs an end of season service to be sure salt doesn't get it's chance to do it's worst in the next 6 mos.
After that it is one's own comfort level as to how often...if you just came back from offshore and it got a lot of spray...I am likely to open up any of them to be sure all is well.
best
I always fish with it once or twice before the "pre-service" to feel the reel the way the factory intended. Then, if I screw something up I'll know there was not a design flaw or factory defect. After that, I crack them open when they get wet inside.
-steve
Quote from: oc1 on March 26, 2016, 08:09:52 PM
I always fish with it once or twice before the "pre-service" to feel the reel the way the factory intended. Then, if I screw something up I'll know there was not a design flaw or factory defect. After that, I crack them open when they get wet inside.
-steve
Totally reasonable way to do it.
In actuality it does depend on what the expected first uses are going to be. A reel to be taken out on a nice day should certainly be fine straight out of the factory.
Traveling or going Long Range for 5 days I would pre-service it before leaving.
from my experience any reel used in saltwater should be serviced just after purchase.
The gear etc. are greased/oiled so bad that you imagine the grease is more expensive than the reel,,,,
Yesterday received a Stella SW20000 for service... Really no grease on the gear, nearly all bearing dead,
the metal drag washers completely corroded (its no dirt).......
Its a shame what the manufacturers offer (Daiwa is not better) for lot of money....
Meanwhile i have more brand new reels for first service than used.
Thanks for the welcoming and those valuable comments ;D. Now i knew what to do with my baitcasting reel. I do not use level drag reel or big star drag reel. Just small size baitcaster for inshore or estuaries. The biggest reel of mine is the daiwa luna 300...But the castability is not so good due to the synchronize level wind and they cannot be upgraded ...
Quote from: Wolli on March 27, 2016, 12:45:23 AM
from my experience any reel used in saltwater should be serviced just after purchase.
The gear etc. are greased/oiled so bad that you imagine the grease is more expensive than the reel,,,,
Yesterday received a Stella SW20000 for service... Really no grease on the gear, nearly all bearing dead,
the metal drag washers completely corroded (its no dirt).......
Its a shame what the manufacturers offer (Daiwa is not better) for lot of money....
Meanwhile i have more brand new reels for first service than used.
I just finished a Stella SW10000 with the same corroded drag system. It took 2 hours just to service the spool. Dawn has the replacement top drag washers.
Quote from: Keta on March 26, 2016, 01:00:32 PM
I tear down my reels "because" and often service a few of mine after every exposure to saltwater. Sometimes I strip a reel down just to have something to do.
..thats me.
also when I get a new fancy tool, new grease or new oil, I service my own reels even if they have already serviced few months ago just to use the new tool or new lubricant.
that happened when I just got tsi321, eventho corrosion X is really good, I opened up all my reels to clean the bearings and put tsi321 oil.
samething when using general marine grease on them, if there were nothing good on the TV at night I took one of my reels to take the grease out and put yamaha grease in (which it was kind of difficult to find).
Delrin washer under the main gear also made me open my 113h too, thanks Sal.
but for friends I recommend once a year
Quote from: Shark Hunter on March 26, 2016, 03:43:28 PM
Welcome Eason,
I treat my reels like a new car. Every time I get them dirty, I clean them inside and out. ;)
I have too much money and time invested to neglect them.
X2
Marc..
Im glad I found this thread. I was keeping my spinning reels individually inside of plastic bags with the bail facing up, even thought most of them never been used. I have purchased those yellow microfibers cloth (the ones I found at Costco). Those should be more suitable right?
I thought by keeping the reels inside of the plastic bag it would help to preserve the lubrication to stay longer.
Quote from: MarcosG on September 08, 2016, 12:07:45 PM
Im glad I found this thread. I was keeping my spinning reels individually inside of plastic bags with the bail facing up, even thought most of them never been used. I have purchased those yellow microfibers cloth (the ones I found at Costco). Those should be more suitable right?
I thought by keeping the reels inside of the plastic bag it would help to preserve the lubrication to stay longer.
Good move, Marcos --
Any type of Cloth, breathable bags, will prolong the life of your reels long past your lifetime -- both from the standpoint of condensation causing rust, and just getting knocked around in storage or transport.
Cheapest insurance available.
Best,
Fred
Thanks Fred,
I tend to use ziplocs for a bunch stuff I have, maybe it is time for me to quit.
Quote from: foakes on September 08, 2016, 02:37:48 PM
Quote from: MarcosG on September 08, 2016, 12:07:45 PM
Im glad I found this thread. I was keeping my spinning reels individually inside of plastic bags with the bail facing up, even thought most of them never been used. I have purchased those yellow microfibers cloth (the ones I found at Costco). Those should be more suitable right?
I thought by keeping the reels inside of the plastic bag it would help to preserve the lubrication to stay longer.
Good move, Marcos --
Any type of Cloth, breathable bags, will prolong the life of your reels long past your lifetime -- both from the standpoint of condensation causing rust, and just getting knocked around in storage or transport.
Cheapest insurance available.
Best,
Fred
I tell my wife that I need to buy some Crown Royal just to get the cloth sacks for my reels.
Dang, I think my post didn't come out right. :o
Sorry Folks
Quote from: conchydong on September 08, 2016, 04:58:19 PM
I tell my wife that I need to buy some Crown Royal just to get the cloth sacks for my reels.
Conchy, tell your wife that you are buying cloth bags to put your reels in and as a sales promotion the store is giving out a free bottle of whiskey. :D ;D Dominick
Quote from: Dominick on September 08, 2016, 06:31:25 PM
Quote from: conchydong on September 08, 2016, 04:58:19 PM
I tell my wife that I need to buy some Crown Royal just to get the cloth sacks for my reels.
Conchy, tell your wife that you are buying cloth bags to put your reels in and as a sales promotion the store is giving out a free bottle of whiskey. :D ;D Dominick
Smartest man I know right here folks.
Quote from: Dominick on September 08, 2016, 06:31:25 PM
Quote from: conchydong on September 08, 2016, 04:58:19 PM
I tell my wife that I need to buy some Crown Royal just to get the cloth sacks for my reels.
Conchy, tell your wife that you are buying cloth bags to put your reels in and as a sales promotion the store is giving out a free bottle of whiskey. :D ;D Dominick
dont forget to add at the end, that they are on a 2x1 promotion.... it always work the same way their shoes are 75% discount every single time ::)
I generally try to service the reels I use once or twice a year, depending on use. I fish almost exclusively salt water. After every trip I rinse the rods, and reels off with fresh water. Then I dry everything with a soft towel. After drying I take a nice oily rag and wipe everything metal down. I've not had trouble with corrosion at all. If I accidentally dunk a reel, or drop one in the sand at the beach, it gets a complete tear down and I service it as soon As I get it to the house.
Sand is the bane of fishing reels. If sand gets into your reel it won't be long and you'll be having trouble. The worst I ever had was an Abu Revo Inshore, supposedly a reel made for salt water fishing. It worked great until one day my son let it hit the sand, wet sticky sand. He picked it up, and saw sand all over it. Rather than rinse it with a bottle of fresh water, he took it to the edge of the sand and rinsed it in salt water. In about 3 casts that sucker just about locked up. When I got it home it was full of sand. Took a lot of cleaning and service to get it back to normal. I've dropped other reels onto sand, or dunked them in salt water, but never had one get bad as the Revo did. My round Swedish made Abu's will rock on until you get home, unless sand gets into the worm gear for the level wind. I had anything stop my old Penn spinners. Loaded with grease they just rock on and catch fish. They still get a service after a dunk though.
I sold all my Revo's, and don't use any low profile reels in the salt anymore. I didn't really like how quickly the sand took them out of commission, or that I couldn't get them back into commission onsite. I just use my round Swedish made Abu's, and my Penn spinners when I fish in the sand most of the time. I've got some new Daiwa BG SW's, a Saltist 50 I intend to use in the surf. So, we'll see how they hold up with similar service and rinsing as my Abu's and Penn's. I suspect they'll be just fine, and will be just as enjoyable to use as my Abu's and Penn's.
Quote from: mley1 on September 11, 2016, 04:24:19 PM
I generally try to service the reels I use once or twice a year, depending on use. I fish almost exclusively salt water. After every trip I rinse the rods, and reels off with fresh water. Then I dry everything with a soft towel. After drying I take a nice oily rag and wipe everything metal down. I've not had trouble with corrosion at all. If I accidentally dunk a reel, or drop one in the sand at the beach, it gets a complete tear down and I service it as soon As I get it to the house.
Sand is the bane of fishing reels. If sand gets into your reel it won't be long and you'll be having trouble. The worst I ever had was an Abu Revo Inshore, supposedly a reel made for salt water fishing. It worked great until one day my son let it hit the sand, wet sticky sand. He picked it up, and saw sand all over it. Rather than rinse it with a bottle of fresh water, he took it to the edge of the sand and rinsed it in salt water. In about 3 casts that sucker just about locked up. When I got it home it was full of sand. Took a lot of cleaning and service to get it back to normal. I've dropped other reels onto sand, or dunked them in salt water, but never had one get bad as the Revo did. My round Swedish made Abu's will rock on until you get home, unless sand gets into the worm gear for the level wind. I had anything stop my old Penn spinners. Loaded with grease they just rock on and catch fish. They still get a service after a dunk though.
I sold all my Revo's, and don't use any low profile reels in the salt anymore. I didn't really like how quickly the sand took them out of commission, or that I couldn't get them back into commission onsite. I just use my round Swedish made Abu's, and my Penn spinners when I fish in the sand most of the time. I've got some new Daiwa BG SW's, a Saltist 50 I intend to use in the surf. So, we'll see how they hold up with similar service and rinsing as my Abu's and Penn's. I suspect they'll be just fine, and will be just as enjoyable to use as my Abu's and Penn's.
Thanks for the comment buddy... nice to talk to you.
Talked my wife into making reel bags from the legs of old pants. She even made some with drawstrings. Could probably use hot glue instead of sewing.
Quote from: smnaguwa on September 15, 2016, 02:06:11 PM
Talked my wife into making reel bags from the legs of old pants. She even made some with drawstrings. Could probably use hot glue instead of sewing.
hotglue will not withstand the weight of reels, you might have one drop from you while handle it and get an ugly scratch.
I have a habit when i get home from fishing, to screw the drag on, then wash the real out, dry the reel as much as possible, take the pressure of the drag, balance the rod and reel on a table with the reel pointing down to drain any water out of the drag, if you place the rod and reel in the rod holder, your going to get salt spray on your gear, one way or the other, and as already covered in this tread, beach fishing with sand swirling around, is our worst enemy, we all think we will be using the gear again soon, but time gets away from us, we have to be mindful of when we last use our gear, although i dont have any modern or expencive reels its nice to be able to rely on them, when you need them at short notice, ay, cheers donnyboat.
Quote from: Donnyboat on November 23, 2016, 04:49:25 PM
............although i dont have any modern or expencive reels its nice to be able to rely on them, when you need them at short notice, ay, cheers donnyboat.
midrange or economic (cheap) reels are the ones that get more benefits of good after-fishing care as you described, I have some shakespeare spinning reels from wallyworld since 9-10 years ago and still going strong as my 1st option as loaner reel to a rockie, easy to use, I dont matter if it get scratched and WORKS as expected, but everytime after fishing I clean it externaly really good and add a drop of oil on bearings, and every year I open it up to clean it internally and put new grease and oil.
a cheap reel with no maintenance at all will not last a year of use
I fish a lot and my reels work very hard as I am constantly casting and retrieving a lure.
I tend to do a light service, clean in and out, grease gears and oil where needed, and check for anything that's not working properly once every 1 to 2 weeks. Then a complete service probably once every 2 months, but more often when I detect something that is problematic.
In this way my reels generally remain healthy and eventually die from old age when the parts required to keep them working, are too numerous and it is economically more sensible to buy a new one.
I have recently started to use level winders........... nice to fish with, but they require much more frequent service. I clean and oil the worm gear every second trip and remove and thoroughly clean it every month. I am getting a bit irritated with all the servicinging! LOL
I'm not very good at taking care of stuff and think one of the most important characteristics of a reel is how quick and easy it is to service. Preferably, the casting bearings can be cleaned and the gears lubricated without ever touching a screwdriver.
-steve
Quote from: oc1 on November 24, 2016, 08:04:07 PM
I'm not very good at taking care of stuff and think one of the most important characteristics of a reel is how quick and easy it is to service. Preferably, the casting bearings can be cleaned and the gears lubricated without ever touching a screwdriver.
-steve
That is one of the reasons I loved the old Diawa SL50SH, low maintenace workhorses that ocassionally required new bearings and gears and sometimes a spring. A quick clean and service 20 minutes, full service probably less then an hour.