What Shimano grease should I use on gears of my freshwater reels? I mostly fish 2500 size spinning reels (Stradic 2500 FH to be specific) and aside from my Great Lakes trolling gear the largest reels I have are 400 size Calcuttas, or 4000 size spinning reels. I normally use Shimano Drag Grease on all my gears and drags. Is this ok or am I causing harm to my reels?
No, Shamano grease is a good choice.
I don't think your really causing any harm by using drag grease on the gears but it really isn't ideal. I'd use the Yamaha grease like most others on here, its cheap and seems to work well. Another option if you don't feel like trying to obtain Yamaha grease is run down to your local Walmart and pick up the Penn angler pack, it comes with a little tub of blue grease and Penn oil. Thats what I'm using at the moment, seems to do the trick. ;)
EDIT: Keta would know better than me, if he says drag grease is good to go on gears then I'm sure it is.
Unless it's some specialised purpose then grease is grease, I'm using 8 yo Daiwa reel grease on my bike chain and it works fine. ;D
As long as its not saltwater i personally believe it should be fine
If you are specific on Shimano Grease, you can use Permalub (violet) for your spinning and Ace 2 (blue) for baitcast reels/drag material. Drive/Pinion gear for trolling reels will need TBM-O. For ease of use, just buy the Spray Kit from Shimano. They are quite expensive compared to Cal's and Reel-X.
Quote from: FishermanTom81 on November 14, 2013, 11:39:40 PM
What Shimano grease should I use on gears of my freshwater reels? I mostly fish 2500 size spinning reels (Stradic 2500 FH to be specific) and aside from my Great Lakes trolling gear the largest reels I have are 400 size Calcuttas, or 4000 size spinning reels. I normally use Shimano Drag Grease on all my gears and drags. Is this ok or am I causing harm to my reels?
Lighter is better, particularly with small spinners used in fresh water. Heavy Marine Greases are just too much for moving 1/16 oz lures as you really notice how much more sluggish the reels get, especially over a day's fishing.
No greases will really harm the reels, just make them less fun to use. Sal (Alto Mare) has used Valvoline Red bearing grease cut 33/66 with Brake Fluid with great success. I simply make a small batch as needed with regular marine grease mixed with corrosion-x to loosen it up. Seems to be ok and not too sticky.
The lighter Shimano stuff is what they use themselves on their reels from the factory. The only knock on the lighter ones is longevity before they no longer coat the surfaces well.
best
Quote from: johndtuttle on January 18, 2014, 07:18:47 PM
Quote from: FishermanTom81 on November 14, 2013, 11:39:40 PM
What Shimano grease should I use on gears of my freshwater reels? I mostly fish 2500 size spinning reels (Stradic 2500 FH to be specific) and aside from my Great Lakes trolling gear the largest reels I have are 400 size Calcuttas, or 4000 size spinning reels. I normally use Shimano Drag Grease on all my gears and drags. Is this ok or am I causing harm to my reels?
Lighter is better, particularly with small spinners used in fresh water. Heavy Marine Greases are just too much for moving 1/16 oz lures as you really notice how much more sluggish the reels get, especially over a day's fishing.
No greases will really harm the reels, just make them less fun to use. Sal (Alto Mare) has used Valvoline Red bearing grease cut 33/66 with Brake Fluid with great success. I simply make a small batch as needed with regular marine grease mixed with corrosion-x to loosen it up. Seems to be ok and not too sticky.
The lighter Shimano stuff is what they use themselves on their reels from the factory. The only knock on the lighter ones is longevity before they no longer coat the surfaces well.
best
I also mix corrosion-x with Yamaha marine grease to thin the grease. I pack the bearings on my spinners and the thinner grease doesn't make the reel as hard to turn. It seems to stay on the gears and other surfaces too.
Bob