I have been doing most of my own reel maintenance. I bought a tube of Corrosion X grease to use in my reels when I started doing it myself. I have noticed that after about 1 year (sometimes less) the reels are stiff. When I break them open the grease in the higher wear areas has turned to "ear wax" for a lack of a better description. I am wondering if general use is causing this or something else?? Typically it seems factory grease doesn't seem to do this. A couple of reels I have been lazy with and they still function like normal after 2 years of use on the factory grease. These are all spinning reels and were never dunked. Gently rinsed after each use. Does anyone have any ideas on what causes the grease to break down so badly? I use Reel X on the bearings because I did not want any compatibility issues between the grease and oil. One reel I have cleaned and regreased like 3 times with the same results. I am thinking of using Lucas marine grease next time to see if that solves the issue.
i've been using yamaha marine grease forever. :-\
Quote from: alantani on April 26, 2021, 10:29:46 PM
i've been using yamaha marine grease forever. :-\
Maybe I will try that instead. I just mentioned the Lucas because my Home Depot sells it.
walmart used to sell penn blue 1 oz. $3-$4
yamaha grease - Local marine shops or online
Peak marine synthetic - PEP BOYS
try mysticparts.com, they carry penn grease and oil, both grades of cal's, tsi 321, and corrosion x, their prices are reasonable ( penn grease 2-6.00)
Just mix it with Corrosion-X and you're good. You should be in there once a year anyways.
I have had grease 'split' if not used for a year or two - 'split' as in oil leaving the grease, which can become thick almost waxy :(. I used to use Mercury 2-4-C - but after servicing an Okuma 2 speed Andros 5. and not using it for 2 years, when I tried to change gear the reel would lock up. After stripping I found the square section bar, that should lock into low or high gear, had got stuck between the gears - effectively locking both gears together :o The grease had become too thick to allow free movement of the gear selector.
The solution? I now only use a completely synthetic grease (containing PTFE, Teflon) which appears to not 'split' so readily - also the same grease is brilliant on drags :)
I think that a lot of petroleum based greases would behave in a similar fashion - chemists please chime in :-\
Quote from: Tiddlerbasher on July 05, 2021, 01:12:00 AM
I have had grease 'split' if not used for a year or two - 'split' as in oil leaving the grease, which can become thick almost waxy :(. I used to use Mercury 2-4-C - but after servicing an Okuma 2 speed Andros 5. and not using it for 2 years, when I tried to change gear the reel would lock up. After stripping I found the square section bar, that should lock into low or high gear, had got stuck between the gears - effectively locking both gears together :o The grease had become too thick to allow free movement of the gear selector.
The solution? I now only use a completely synthetic grease (containing PTFE, Teflon) which appears to not 'split' so readily - also the same grease is brilliant on drags :)
I think that a lot of petroleum based greases would behave in a similar fashion - chemists please chime in :-\
Which completely synthetic grease (containing PTFE, Teflon) are you using?
This one:
https://www.smithandallan.com/products/industrial-grease/4640-smith-and-allan-teflube-plus-2-grease---synthetic-multi-purpose-ptfe-teflon-grease-high-temperature-water-resistant/
Except I usually buy it on fleabay cos it's cheaper:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/371874087883?hash=item56956c43cb:g:RY0AAOSwKF1c1BVy
Grease is so mysterious.