Reel Repair by Alan Tani

General Maintenance Tips => Tools and Lubricants => Topic started by: HalBrown on September 19, 2012, 05:13:03 PM

Title: Frequency of TSI 301 Use?
Post by: HalBrown on September 19, 2012, 05:13:03 PM
I am sure this is buried somewhere in the wealth of terrific information on this great forum, but I have dipped my spool bearings in TSI 301 early this year, so what do I do now?  Is it there forever?  Do I just redip in one year?  Do I clean them with something (what) then redip?
Thanks for the help.
Title: Re: Frequency of TSI 301 Use?
Post by: Bryan Young on September 19, 2012, 06:01:41 PM
I would re-clean them with carb cleaner, compressed air, and then redip.  Depending on how often you go fishing, this may be repeated every month to every year (or two).

Title: Re: Frequency of TSI 301 Use?
Post by: alantani on September 20, 2012, 02:09:10 AM
or it you're busy like me, fish with these reels until the slow freespool bugs you too much and then re-service them!
Title: Re: Frequency of TSI 301 Use?
Post by: HalBrown on September 20, 2012, 01:22:33 PM
Thanks for the help.  I have my dipped bearings in a Citica 100DSV I use for a jig n pig.  So far they are going strong after nine months with no additonal attention.
Title: Re: Frequency of TSI 301 Use?
Post by: ountida on October 22, 2012, 07:18:07 AM
I have finally clean my bearing, I took the shield off. I test it on the spool and it spool for 11 to 12 sec.  I  was happy with that. Before It was like 5 second.

I got the tsi 301 today.  Should I dip the bearing with it?  I did not oil,grease, or put the shield back on the bearing.


Will this be okay?

Title: Re: Frequency of TSI 301 Use?
Post by: alantani on October 22, 2012, 07:50:52 AM
take a moment to pull the bearing, clean it out with carb cleaner or brake cleaner, then gentle compressed air, then dip it in tsi.  you may as well take the time to do it right!
Title: Re: Frequency of TSI 301 Use?
Post by: Reelz on December 13, 2012, 12:33:57 AM
I just ordered some and kindo confused how to use it. Do I dip the whole bearing in or just add one drop? I've read other post in here and just wanted to clarify before servicing them.
Title: Re: Frequency of TSI 301 Use?
Post by: Bryan Young on December 13, 2012, 01:27:43 AM
with TSI301, just dip the bearing.  The can is quite large, so I use a small jar because sometimes the bearing is too large to fit in the opening of the can and I have dropped one in the can once...it's much easier getting it out of a small jar insead of the can.
Title: Re: Frequency of TSI 301 Use?
Post by: Reelz on December 13, 2012, 03:41:22 AM
Ok thanks and after that I can use one drop every 6 months or so?
Title: Re: Frequency of TSI 301 Use?
Post by: Reelz on December 13, 2012, 03:44:04 AM
Forgot to ask. How long do I leave it in there? 5 min and let it sit and blow the excess out?
Title: Re: Frequency of TSI 301 Use?
Post by: alantani on December 13, 2012, 06:56:16 AM
i just dip it for a second, then let the excess drain. 
Title: Re: Frequency of TSI 301 Use?
Post by: Reelz on December 15, 2012, 02:48:24 AM
Ok thanks Alan will do. Should I leave the shields on or off? Its mainly used for saltwater. I've read some people prefer them off so salt crystals doesnt accumulate inside and I've read others leave them on.
Title: Re: Frequency of TSI 301 Use?
Post by: alantani on December 15, 2012, 02:51:57 AM
for spool bearings, i leave the shields off.  for non-spool bearings, i pack them with grease. 
Title: Re: Frequency of TSI 301 Use?
Post by: JGB on December 17, 2012, 04:42:48 AM
For reference TSI does not break down over time but can become contaminated with use. In general if the bearings slow down it is probably due to contamination from dust, salt, carbon from the drags. Re dipping without first cleaning may work as it allows the contamination to move out of the bearing race. You could test this by flushing with hot water and see if the original performance is restored. when retreating with TSI 301 you will also be cleaning the surfaces with the solvents in TSI 201.

Jim N.