Reel Repair by Alan Tani

General Maintenance Tips => Pitfalls and Black Box Warnings => Topic started by: JRD on December 28, 2016, 03:49:41 AM

Title: I believe you guys now.
Post by: JRD on December 28, 2016, 03:49:41 AM
I have never had a problem with a Penn plastic spool ........ before today that is.  A NOS Surfmaster 100 loaded 1/2 with spectra and another 1/3 with 15lb mono to test out my new Newell kit from Randy, new Sal's crank from Motive and Alan's 45 mm knob on some benign shallow water rock fish.  LOVE the crank and handle, and very pleased with the Newell kit, not happy with the spool however.  10 minutes in I hear a light "tink" and the reel locks up.  I just put it together last night so I'm thinking I made a.bone head move but no idea what.  I have 150 feet of line out, no way I want to handline it so take the side ate off at the rail.  The spool came out in three pieces.  I removed the broken pieces, reassembled and was able to reel in. 

I shoulda listened and trusted the experience here.
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: mo65 on December 28, 2016, 03:43:33 PM
    Sounds like you had it spooled correctly, but 15lb. mono wound on tight can develop a lot of pressure. The lighter lines stretch more than heavier ones. Who knows...that spool may have had a crack already. I guess 50 year old plastic is a gamble. 8)
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: Keta on December 28, 2016, 03:50:51 PM
I have load tested plastic 29-100 spools loaded with Spectra or Daccron and 100' mono topshots and so far never dammaged a spool.  I have several heavy bronze 349 spools that were destroyed by mono.
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: alantani on December 28, 2016, 04:44:53 PM
ouch.  yeah, it was the mono!
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: Porthos on December 28, 2016, 07:05:58 PM
The only times to disbelieve us are when:


;D
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: Keta on December 28, 2016, 07:34:50 PM
:0)    I like SCA though, he is a member of our family.
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: mizmo67 on December 28, 2016, 07:47:39 PM
Yeah...those old plastic spools start to dry rot even under the best storage conditions.

Combine that with that plastic just not able to stand up to the pressure of modern lines (since they were made for linen line) and that's what you end up with eventually.

It's okay...some lessons just have to be hands on. :)
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: oc1 on December 28, 2016, 08:11:29 PM
You can't go wrong with spectra or Dacron because they don't stretch.  Braided nylon squidding line stretches a lot but does not seem to break spools.  Maybe because it can flatten out.
-steve
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: JRD on December 28, 2016, 09:47:46 PM
Well I have another plastic spool but have a metal one on the way, bought the whole reel just for a spool. Fun little reel and won't get retired cuz a spool breaks.  Now I'm looking at my squidder with distrust tho. 😀. Good excuse to go parts shopping.
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: Calusa on December 29, 2016, 12:36:42 AM
Quote from: mizmo67 on December 28, 2016, 07:47:39 PM
Yeah...those old plastic spools start to dry rot even under the best storage conditions.

Combine that with that plastic just not able to stand up to the pressure of modern lines (since they were made for linen line) and that's what you end up with eventually.

It's okay...some lessons just have to be hands on. :)

Good to know. How do the plastic/fiberglass spools on the old green Spinfisher reels hold up? I've got one that doesn't appear to have ever been used, but I'd like to spool it up with Ande mono and use it.
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: oc1 on December 29, 2016, 12:23:52 PM
The dogma is that the plastic spool on a green 710 is not as strong as the  metal spools on 700, 704, etc.  However, I've never heard of one actually breaking or warping.  It could be because the spool is fairly thick but does not have much capacity making it less susceptible to mono damage.  Also, the tolerances are not that close so it would take a lot of warping for the rotor to rub the spool.

Sometimes a plastic squidder spool will warp from tight mono and start rubbing the rings then return to normal when the line is removed.  Other times they are permanently ruined.  I was taught to remove the line every time it fights a strong fish.  The warping and damage may take time and not happen immediately.
-steve
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: gstours on December 29, 2016, 05:11:54 PM
Good Job finding out where the weak spot is!!!  If you can,  ???   be glad there was not a nice fish on the other end!   
   Like said earlier may be a crack, or flaw?  When I go fishing,  I,m the Flaw! :-*
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: mizmo67 on December 29, 2016, 06:44:47 PM
Quote from: Calusa on December 29, 2016, 12:36:42 AM
Quote from: mizmo67 on December 28, 2016, 07:47:39 PM
Yeah...those old plastic spools start to dry rot even under the best storage conditions.

Combine that with that plastic just not able to stand up to the pressure of modern lines (since they were made for linen line) and that's what you end up with eventually.

It's okay...some lessons just have to be hands on. :)

Good to know. How do the plastic/fiberglass spools on the old green Spinfisher reels hold up? I've got one that doesn't appear to have ever been used, but I'd like to spool it up with Ande mono and use it.

If it looks pretty good? Hand spool on the line with steady pressure but not tight. Do not use a machine. You might still see it break, it really depends on how the plastic has aged.
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: mo65 on December 29, 2016, 09:26:17 PM
   This would make a good "sticky" thread. There are a lot of pitfall warnings here...and ways to avoid them. I have a Surfmaster 150 I'm working on right now, and surprisingly, building it around a cool brown/black speckled plastic spool. It came with a nice Penn aluminum spool...so I'll probably keep it spooled and ready. I thought about looking for a cheap plain black plastic spool to reach limitations on...one that won't make me sick when it pops...HA! :P
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: handi2 on December 29, 2016, 11:36:07 PM
I too have broken one spool on a Newell reel. I was disgusted at myself because I knew better.

A customers 710 with the green spool was cracked on the bottom but it still ran true and didnt rub anywhere. I wouldn't use a machine to spool the spinning reels. When you use the spinning reel it will put the line on as when using the reel.
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: Jeri on December 30, 2016, 07:57:39 AM
Hi All,

A local expression: "we all have to pay our school fees!"

Cheers from chaotic sunny Africa - the fish are jumping, and folks are going 'fish mad'.

Jeri
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: Gfish on December 30, 2016, 06:22:32 PM
Quote from: Porthos on December 28, 2016, 07:05:58 PM
The only times to disbelieve us are when:


  • we are bobblehead Christmas elves spewing out Holiday tunes (http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=20124.0); and
  • SoCalAngler goes off on how much gear to bring on fishing trips (http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=18129.30) Ask Lee to tell you all about that one...

;D

Yeah, that was a fun read(probably only if you're someone like me, though). I myself wish there's a ego filter I could turn for my posts... I think mosta the time it's HOW I say things, not so much WHAT I say...
Could there be a age/ uv light/saltwater factor that weakens the plastic? What about the penn bakelite side-plates? Only busted one spinner(plastic spool) once, it was definitely:"reel in under pressure " related.
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: Keta on December 30, 2016, 09:28:21 PM
Compressed mono warps heavy cast bronze 349 spools, I would not fill any plastic spool more than 10% with mono.
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: mo65 on December 31, 2016, 02:16:49 AM
   I think this thread is a great place to post this little Penn flyer addressing mono issues concerning spools. 8)
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: oc1 on December 31, 2016, 06:56:14 AM
That's the weirdest thing I've ever seen Mo because it is from the wise folks at Penn and it is just wrong.  Dacron has no stretch and will break before it stretches.  So it cannot build up enough pressure to damage the spool.  Mono (single strand nylon) will definitely stretch and cause damage.  Braided nylon will stretch but is less likely to cause damage.  Dacron, linen, silk, and now spectra can be wound on as tight as you want.
-steve
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: mo65 on December 31, 2016, 11:47:42 AM
Quote from: oc1 on December 31, 2016, 06:56:14 AM
That's the weirdest thing I've ever seen Mo because it is from the wise folks at Penn and it is just wrong.  Dacron has no stretch and will break before it stretches.

   I think what happened here Steve was Penn needed to get a spool breakage warning out there and all synthetics got lumped in with the culprit. Later research definitely revealed Dacron to be just as good at backing as linen. I use Dacron as backing myself. 8)
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: Keta on December 31, 2016, 03:20:40 PM
I still use Dacron under Spectra.
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: ez2cdave on January 09, 2017, 01:07:37 AM
Quote from: Calusa on December 29, 2016, 12:36:42 AMHow do the plastic/fiberglass spools on the old green Spinfisher reels hold up? I've got one that doesn't appear to have ever been used, but I'd like to spool it up with Ande mono and use it.

I think that the "plastic" Green Spinfisher spools and the Red "plastic" spools on some Squidders ( "Air-Brake" Spools ) was a material called "CYCOLAC" . . . I don't know if the Black "plastic" spools on other Penn Reels ( 100, 155, etc. ) were also made of that or not.

Tight Lines !
Title: Re: I believe you guys now.
Post by: oc1 on January 09, 2017, 07:46:56 AM
Thank you for that bit of information Dave.  A quick google indicates CYCOLAC is a type of ABS plastic.  I only know ABS from plastic pipe.  ABS is lighter than many plastics and ABS pipe floats.  Need to go back and read more about it.  It would be great to be able to identify the various types of plastic as a dating tool.

For what it's worth, I have a post-war squidder with black plates and a black spool that had air brakes until the original owner broke them out with a pair of pliers.
-steve