NOTE: This is a short version. If you follow my previous posting on the 80 Tiagra, its almost identical to this reel.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1440.jpg?t=1291091226)
Remove the handle, back off the drag all the way, remove drag lever and quadrant ring.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1441.jpg?t=1291091490)
Get yourself a towel, and lay the parts out in the order they were removed.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1442.jpg?t=1291091571)
Remove right cover, pinion gear, and spool. wrap spool with saran wrap to prevent getting grease on your line.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1443.jpg?t=1291091853)
Remove anti-reverse gear and left side plate.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1444.jpg?t=1291091894)
Remove crosspin, Bellville washers and shims, pinion shaft, drag washers, clicker plate, drag plate and spool bearings,
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1445.jpg?t=1291092216)
Clean and repack spool bearings. NOTE: all Tiagra's run unshielded bearings. Put a light coat of grease under the drag plate.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1448.jpg?t=1291092369)
Lightly coat alert ratchet with marine grease.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1449.jpg?t=1291092489)
Coat drag washer with Cal's grease, wipe excess.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1452.jpg?t=1291092519)
Clean left side cover and bearing. Lightly coat all surfaces with grease. NOTE: 0-ring on side cover, this is found in both 80 and 50 series Tiagras. Repack bearing and install in cover.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1453.jpg?t=1291092713)
A small bead of grease around frame, brush all screws with grease and install left side cover.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1454.jpg?t=1291092882)
Install pinion shaft, spring, cross pin, and drag washer.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1455.jpg?t=1291092929)
Grease drag cover 0-ring, install cover and anti-reverse gear. Make sure to grease screws.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1456.jpg?t=1291093396)
This is where the madness begins. Install shims, Bellville's, flat washer, and cross pin. Stock configuration for this reel is: (())(())| I opted for the max: (((((((((|
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1457.jpg?t=1291093707)
Install spool in frame.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1460.jpg?t=1291093792)
Remove gear assembly and cover bearing. Clean and re-grease bearing and cover.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1463.jpg?t=1291094041)
Clean gear assembly. NOTE: cut away in gear.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1464.jpg?t=1291094163)
Grease shaft and install gear. NOTE: fiber washer face inward.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1466.jpg?t=1291094280)
Install fiber washer and drag adjuster in right side plate.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1469.jpg?t=1291094345)
Remove 2 Phillip screws, this will separate the 2 right halves.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1470.jpg?t=1291094540)
Separate right side halves. NOTE: outer half is plastic.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1471.jpg?t=1291094656)
Remove spring on alert plunger.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1472.jpg?t=1291094745)
Remove cross pin.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1473.jpg?t=1291094802)
Alert plunger assembly. NOTE: grease turned light blue color. This is from water intrusion. In my opinion, this is the worst water intrusion point on these reels.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1474.jpg?t=1291094802)
Pack plunger assembly with grease.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1477.jpg?t=1291094802)
Coat outer cover with grease. NOTE: this cover is made of plastic, be careful not to strip screws.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1478.jpg?t=1291096556)
[b>Install gear assembly in right side cover. Install cover on frame.[/b]
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1479.jpg?t=1291096603)
Install quadrant ring, drag lever, and handle.
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1488.jpg?t=1291096648)
Here's the madness. 45LBS at strike. Only 15 secs. Of free spool with grease packed bearings. Im not worried about free spool because I wont be casting these reels. Drag setting=Tiagra 130. Hope I don't break my pole.
Hi Kamuwela,
I certainly enjoyed this post. It was well organized and had great pictures. I found it also answered my question about the gear/spacer stack up on the drive shaft. Thanks!
Josa1
45lbs at strike? WOW! What's max? - Jimmer
thanks josa glad i could help. jimmer i really dont know scale only goes to 50 lol. i was afraid the pole was gonna break.
Hi Kamuwela, very nice post, have encountered a tiagra 50 wlrs drag cover that came off while retrieving bait ??? have you experience this? any remedy ??? many thanks :)
i have never seen this. most time's those cover's almost need to be pryed off. is the o ring still there? did the screw's back off?
yeah, you'd have to lose all 5 screws. maybe they were never there to begin with! that's happened with penns and their screw in covers before.
Very nice post Kamuwela, I'm seeing a lot of talent here. Thanks for sharing.
thank you very much such kind word's
Ok guys, I got one for you. In the Tiagra 50s and 80s, there is a thing called the piston centered just behind the right side spool bearing. It is known as Shimano Hydrothermal Drag. Per the Tiagra brochure, it states "The Shimano Hydrothermal Drag (SHD) system has a special oil-filled piston that
is an integral part of the drag system. The hydrothermal piston expands with the heat at a rate that compensates for the heat induced-drag washer friction change (drag decrease). The piston's size has been carefully designed to keep the net drag change (due to heat) to a minimum." It's not on the 130s nor on the 30s and smaller. Seem rather odd tha it is only used on the 50s and 80s.
Oh, I just figured out how it works. when it heats up, it pushes on the right side bearing, which is against the bevels, pulling the drag washer tighter on the left side.
The reason why I'm asking is because wondering if it's absolutely necessary. I was tasked to take a Tiagra 50W and create a reel this size with optimal freespool to toss live bait to the big boys (I'm assuming marlin) and allowing the bait to swim freely. I discovered that this device, slows down the free spool as if the bearings were greased. Well, I removed the piston and replaced it with another bearing and spool sleeve, and now I have got optimal free spool. To account for the non-automatic adjustement, I figure that a bevel rearrangement from <<>><<>> to <<<<>>>> would allow the reel to have greater drag with less movement of the lever. This will allow the fisherman to better compensate for the loss of drag vs. heating effect as Shimano described. Check this out and let me know what you think.
Pics will follow this weekend at the latest.
hi kamu,i cant get my mind around the bellevile washer set up.
what maxi drag you aiming at?
also,will the reel take it?
if i used that setup they would be cuttin doughnuts offa me.lol!
yes wallace it was a joke. well ill try a poke at this. we fish for ahi and marlin with 130 pound class reel's. we use 150 lb mono with 300 lb leader. many of us have had many large marlin on small lures with 80 lb test. most time the marlin win's. so i decided to see how far i could take a 50 loaded with 100 lb mono with 30lb leader. keep in mind here in hawaii we hand line most fish so this the closest to sport fishing. anyway's the reel put's out the same drag as a 130 havent caught anything large on it yet but im thinking of lowering the drag pressure. i think if anything give's out it will be the anti reverse and the side plate bearing's bryan's configuration is more then enough. if i catch a 1000lb marlin on my fifty ill be sure to let the gang know lol. aloha
kamu
resurrection the Old & dead here!!!!!
I just has a Tiagra 50 W LRS returned due to freespool issue...
What I found was loose screws (all 4 loose) on the Alert plate (Left side Clicker plate)...
One was far enough out it was hitting Bottom of gear????
Let me get a pic up asap.....
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y213/92345NessieHunter/DSCF1456.jpg)
Now my question is.
(I of course had Greased these screws on original service.)
**Do you think the grease was the problem or just not tight enough on assembly**??
I will Loctite them if needed....?
Any one with experience on this type of issue?
Or had this problem before??
Would like to get this figured out to avoid it in the future!!!!
Holding off re-assembly till Im sure what the problem is....
Quick FYI:
this reel was just serviced a couple of months ago, played with some Im sure, then taken to Cabo and this happened on first bait thrown out..
Not much use at all for a screw to back all the way out like that IMO????
Im leaning toward MY error???? (be gentle on me). LOL
Thanks all.... :D
.
boat's have alot of vibration. try using corrosion x on those screw's for piece of mind. i use grease but use a real good tight fitting screw driver and try to get it as tight as possible. this is not an uncommon problem.
good luck aloha
kamu
I'm wondering, would the Bellville configuration (((((((((| on a 30W LRS put the drag any where near what it did for the 50? Any ideal of the max I could get from it?
it should get pretty close to 50 lbs, well beyond the 1/3 breaking point lol
Thanks Kamuwela. That's a lot of drag for a small reel. Can the reel handle it. It will mainly be use to pull big Aj's away from rigs and wrecks.
the bearing's will go bad from the extreme load. i dont see anything that would blow up lol. my 50 is for large yft and marlin avg 200 lbs
Hey all, I just got a Tiagra 50WLRS in for service that has a unique issue I haven't seen before.
I haven't even opened it yet, and I suspect a bad pinion bearing.. but maybe something else too....
After preseting the drag knob to a desirable strike setting...freespool is poor now....start reeling....the handle has the telltale sign of a bad pinion bearing... harder to crank..
THEN the preprogram dial starts "ticking" backwards... if I reel long enough, (20-30 turns) the dial reverses on its own all the way back to minimum setting... still poor freespool.... but handle now drops and spins freely.... ???
Would it be ONLY a properly seized and corroded bearing doing this, or is it a combination of factors?
I've seen some pretty hammered tiagras, but not one that is too tired to fight like this one
Not that I'm feeling lazy.....it's just that there's another 8 reels in front of that one.... ::) ... gonna be a long nite...
Thanks in advance !
Erik
i think the reel is haunted by the spirits of all the fish that it has killed. get one of the local priests to do a ceremony to release their tormented souls. and do a full tear down of the reel while you're at it. it is completely corroded inside. ;D
LMAO Alan!! Hilarious ! you made my morning... ;D ;D ;D
You may be right!
I'll post a follow up when I crack it open.....
i'm still laughing..... ;D
I saw this only once I changed just the bearing and it still did it then changed the shaft and all the spooks were gone.
Thanks Alan & Kamu.. here's the update:
the inside didn't look bad at all...pretty clean, but as I dug deeper
the bearing was frozen solid, also the 505 &506 preprogram key & screw were also bound up in dried grease,and there was gobs of salt between the lever shaft body and right side plate....the whole lot was just turning together...
In the end a thorough strip & clean, and a new pinion bearing exorcised all the ghosts!
we're good to go... Vinaka !
Bula all,
cracked open another tiara 50w today and found an odd issue:
here's all 4 bearings,
(http://i1353.photobucket.com/albums/q680/fijigreen69/SANY0385_zpsfd5eac0c.jpg) (http://s1353.photobucket.com/user/fijigreen69/media/SANY0385_zpsfd5eac0c.jpg.html)
LT= pinion bearing, Bottom= Lt. side plate, Top=LT.spool bearing(drag side), RT= Rt. spool bearing
4 very different stages of well being... 1 one went straight in the bin, the other 3 cleaned up nicely with the exception of the crusty spool bearing which after cleaning still had a distinct BUMP in it, so trashed that one too.. SCORE 2 for the carb cleaner!
The left spool bearing and shaft were stuck for a day in the spool, after soaking i was able to coax them out as a unit.
It took some extra beating to get the bearing off the shaft, and here is why....
(http://i1353.photobucket.com/albums/q680/fijigreen69/SANY0387_zps4a93704e.jpg) (http://s1353.photobucket.com/user/fijigreen69/media/SANY0387_zps4a93704e.jpg.html)
see all the score marks on the shaft? they're from under the bellevilles.... and the bearing will not slide over them, even after multiple file strokes...if you look closely, you can see right where the bearing sits, just left of the score marks..
i guess i could slide the shaft in the other way, but my question is are all these scores signs of another problem ??? .. and can i just leave them be? seems so, but would like other input.
Vinaka ya'll
Erik
I usually wet file those flat.
thanks Bryan, i'll try leaning a little harder on that file.. ;)
any idea what causes that... is it any concern?
mahalo
Got it Bry.... set.
BTW... any good trick to remove those most stubborn of stuck on outer plastic side plates??
(http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/r_willis62/DSCF1470.jpg?t=1291094540)
photo by Kamu. :-)
can't get it to separate, once i was able to pry one off bit by bit, but it mangled the plastic in places and don't want to repeat that on this reel.
i injected half a can of WD underneath to saturate it last night, but it still won't budge.... nada...
i could access an ultrasonic but there's so much pitting on the main plate already, i'm afraid to toss it in there. learned that lesson before too :-[
would a freeze/boil scheme work? any suggestions would be awesome.
meanwhile, it's Beer:30 !! ;D
mahalo
Erik
Update:
Ta-Daaaaa !! ;D Finally, it came apart
(http://i1353.photobucket.com/albums/q680/fijigreen69/SANY0390_zps5d472834.jpg) (http://s1353.photobucket.com/user/fijigreen69/media/SANY0390_zps5d472834.jpg.html)
(http://i1353.photobucket.com/albums/q680/fijigreen69/SANY0391_zps38ee8f2d.jpg) (http://s1353.photobucket.com/user/fijigreen69/media/SANY0391_zps38ee8f2d.jpg.html)
One cycle submerged in boiling water + salt-away and sit till cool
-nada
One more cycle boiling water + simple green and salt-away.. few shakes here and there
one hour later she started to budge with a nudge from mr. screwdriver...
...and presto!
yeah, it'll still leave a mark or two ;)
Here's how it cleaned up:
(http://i1353.photobucket.com/albums/q680/fijigreen69/SANY0392_zps94e4529f.jpg) (http://s1353.photobucket.com/user/fijigreen69/media/SANY0392_zps94e4529f.jpg.html)
(http://i1353.photobucket.com/albums/q680/fijigreen69/SANY0393_zps36714b74.jpg) (http://s1353.photobucket.com/user/fijigreen69/media/SANY0393_zps36714b74.jpg.html)
(http://i1353.photobucket.com/albums/q680/fijigreen69/SANY0397_zps94cabd78.jpg) (http://s1353.photobucket.com/user/fijigreen69/media/SANY0397_zps94cabd78.jpg.html)
well it's not quite beer:30 yet, but I think i deserve one anyway...it's already friday afternoon here!
Hope that helps some folks out.
I know if that was mt reel I would be buying some new parts. All that pitting will only grow.
Mike
Today I was on my 5th Tiagra 30WLRSA for a customer and found the drag washer to have the tiny metallic specs in the drag material. Instead of ordering a $42.00 drag washer I scraped the old material off with a razor blade, It comes off extremely easy. The material I use to replace it was 0.75mm Carbontex as I keep many sheets on hand.
The backing was cleaned and I used 3M spray adhesive. The 2 were bonded together and the extra Carbontex material was carefully removed. It works perfectly and I did this to a Shimano Torsa 2 years ago that is used for Amberjack fishing so I know it will hold up.
Nice job Handi.
Let us know how that 3m adhesive holds up.
Which product did you use? was it 76, 77 or 80?
Thanks for sharing!
It was 3M 77. I just happened to have it in the shop. I did a Shimano Torsa 30 the same way and it has caught many Amberjack and Tuna with no problems. I guess I'll know for sure when it comes back in but he say's it's fine.
The original material is soft and thin and I could have used .5mm just as well.
Anyone ever notice that the Tiagra 50W, 50WLRSA, and 80W don't come with removable reel stands ???? I just worked on a 30A that had a removable stand and a 130A that has it too. I wonder why Shimano chose to do these reels differently. I think that it's an important feature in a reel as a new frame is $200 for a 50WRLSA. I mean it would make sense if they only had them on the larger reels but I'm confused why an 80W wouldn't have one and a 30W would. Any thoughts?
Quote from: fatstriper on March 26, 2015, 07:44:03 PM
Anyone ever notice that the Tiagra 50W, 50WLRSA, and 80W don't come with removable reel stands ???? I just worked on a 30A that had a removable stand and a 130A that has it too. I wonder why Shimano chose to do these reels differently. I think that it's an important feature in a reel as a new frame is $200 for a 50WRLSA. I mean it would make sense if they only had them on the larger reels but I'm confused why an 80W wouldn't have one and a 30W would. Any thoughts?
I have wondered the same thing. The only thing I can come up with is posdibly trying to save some money on the front end, or less parts to stock, or something? Just musing...doesn't really ad up for me.
Tightlines, do you know if the only difference between the 50W vs 50WLRSA is the belleville configuration? I was just looking at the schematics and that was the only difference that I noticed between the two models. I just got finished rebuilding a couple or LRSAs but I've never seen the 50W in person.
The cam has a steeper ramp too. I think I discussed this in another post. Easy enough to make the conversion.
Thanks. I'll look for the thread you posted in.
Guys,
I need some help. I have a tiagra 50W that I had a local shop upgrade to the LRS. The reel has worked flawlessly. I respooled the reel myself and noticed no issues with it. I went fishing the other day and the free spool is awful. We were high speed trolling for wahoo, so attached to the line was a 24 oz trolling lead and an 16 oz lure. even at 6 knots, we would have to pull line off the reel with it in free spool and the clicker off.
I took the reel apart this morning and everything looks normal. the spool bearings are greased, but they are on my other 4 tiagras and they all have working free spool. The thing I did notice is that the cooling shield (562) is rubbing against the backside of the pressure plate (296). when the cooling shield is removed, the spool spins freely. with it on, it rubs.
Has anyone experienced this before? could the cover be warped? I dont think it was assembled incorrectly, because the reel has been used and worked fine since its last service.
thanks for any input or ideas.
Any chance the preset is set higher on this reel? If you adjust the preset too high you start to lose free spool.
we tried backing the preset way off and still have the issue. with the reel apart, holding the main shaft in my hand, and spinning the spool with the other, the spool barely spins with the cooling shield installed.
i dont understand how the cooling shield can "go bad".
When you are spinning it, do you have all of the belleville washers on the spool shaft?
Maybe Tightlines will chime in; he knows a lot about these reels.
The only thing I can think of is that the bellevilles are in the wrong order or that something else could be in the wrong order. If that's not it, you could try swapping the cooling shield from another one to determine if it got warped somehow.
No I dont have the beville washers on it.
Great idea about swapping it out. I will give that a try.
Loss of freespool is due to improper spacing and/or Belle illegal # & configuration along the spool shaft. The drag plate will rub on the cooling shield when the entire assembly is not compressed (i.e. outside of the reel). If the drag itself is excessively worn(>0.3mm) you may need a shim on the tailplate bearing, and if worse outside the left spool bearing as well. First double check your Belleville washer numbers and configuration, and ensure you have a preload, and thrust washer as well. Of the Bellevilles have loss some compression due to use, and/or storing the reel with the drag lever forward, replace them or add 1 or 2 0.3mm shims with the washers to maintain stock stack height.
Just play around with the spacing along the shaft and you should get it. Do not overshim, 1.0mm total is usually too much, or damage to the tailplate, cam, and bearings may result.
Keep us posted on your progress.
thanks for the help. I will look at that tonight and report back.
Standard Belleville config for a 50WLRS should be (())(())|
There is a 0.3mm shim between the right end spool bearing and the innermost Belleville.
Have just done 2 this week, but might crack one open an measure the washer/shim stack height with some verniers if you still can't get to the bottom of it, for comparison
I'm with Tightlines, it's a spacing issue. It doesn't take much to throw these off.
I finally got a chance to look at it this morning. I seem to missing the pre-load washer. The bearing thrust washer is there, along with the 8 bellevilles. I guess I can assume that since i having these issues the shop missed putting that back in.
I didnt bother putting it all back together without the pre-load washer. I need to get a replacement now.
Thanks
Fred
update: so I finally ordered the part and put it all back together - and the freespool is working great again. I didnt bother to time it or anything, but with a spin with my hand, it zips right along.
Thanks for all the help.
what is the bearing bore diameter in inches of this EDIT:bearing?
.....considering switching to these bearings:
https://www.amazon.com/Angular-Contact-Miniature-Bearings-VXB/dp/B002BBIGQQ/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1492794019&sr=8-5&keywords=8+x+22+x+7+axial+bearing#feature-bullets-btf (https://www.amazon.com/Angular-Contact-Miniature-Bearings-VXB/dp/B002BBIGQQ/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1492794019&sr=8-5&keywords=8+x+22+x+7+axial+bearing#feature-bullets-btf)
Specifications for this item
Part Number Kit8330
Maximum Rotational Speed 41000 rpm
Static Load Capacity 1350 newtons
Dynamic Load Capacity 3300 newtons
Bore Diameter 0.314 inches inches
Brand Name VXB
Inside Diameter 8 millimeters
Item Diameter 22 millimeters
Item Weight 0.48 ounces
Number of Items 1
UNSPSC Code 31171531
Width 7 millimeters
The bearing sounds good but its chromed steel. Not stainless steel. It may work if you check it once a year.
Quote from: handi2 on April 21, 2017, 11:29:12 PM
The bearing sounds good but its chromed steel. Not stainless steel. It may work if you check it once a year.
Man..
I don't know if I'd trust chromed steel bearings in an offshore trolling applications. Guaranteed the bearing will get exposed to salt and water. Maybe if it (the bearing) was truely 'sealed' and the reel was serviced regularly. Still, the outter race would likely develop issues. Just an opinion. Testing the theory in a real world environment would provide answers.
Did we ever recieve any feedback on these type of bearings after a season of use?
John
I have been slow so I started servicing our Taigra's for next years trolling season.
I got through 2 of the 50WLRS reels and they had no problems. They started getting heavy so I went to the 30W reels. I serviced those last year. I'll finish the others 50W's later.
I started on the 30W's because I knew it has been at least 5 years because the grease I used was Evinrude Triple Guard heavy blue grease. The reels have been working fine.
These 2 reels had loose alarm ratchet screws and one of them had come out and was stuck to the handle side plate.
I started using blue Loctite 3 years ago after seeing customers reels like this. I also replace the screws.
Any alternatives to the A/C bearing posted above that would handle the salt exposure
Quote from: handi2 on April 21, 2017, 11:29:12 PM
The bearing sounds good but its chromed steel. Not stainless steel. It may work if you check it once a year.
Why not simply use the standard Shimano ARB bearing? part # TT0033 - 8x22x7
The price tag on a spare one I have says $18 FJD from the old dealer here, so that was only like $9 USD!
All 4 bearings are the same size. Tried and true. Pack the pinion gear with marine grease and you'll probably never need to replace it.
While they're not listed on Dawn's Smoothdrag price list, you could try her.
I have an extra if you need it.
Quote from: erikpowell on January 14, 2018, 06:09:04 AM
Why not simply use the standard Shimano ARB bearing? part # TT0033 - 8x22x7
The price tag on a spare one I have says $18 FJD from the old dealer here, so that was only like $9 USD!
All 4 bearings are the same size. Tried and true. Pack the pinion gear with marine grease and you'll probably never need to replace it.
While they're not listed on Dawn's Smoothdrag price list, you could try her.
I have an extra if you need it.
I'm just experimenting here - it appears that there is some advantage (from an engineering/physics) standpoint if the load is dispersed [as is suggested by the properties of the A/C bearing].
If it doesn't work then we all know what works ;)
Its too bad the photos aren't working on this tutorial anymore. Are there any other links to tutorials on the 50W LRS out there?
Has anyone found an optimum bellville washer configuration to get more drag than stock but not overtax the bearings too much? I understand stock is (())(())| and the original poster used (((((((((| to get max drag, but I'm worried about burning out bearings prematurely with the max setting. I fish on Cape Cod and sometimes we have to use 40-50lbs of drag on a bent butt out of the rod holder to bring in a beast.