Hi- this is my first post on this forum, which I was directed to from thehulltruth. I am resurrecting some Senator combos that have been in my dad's garage for 30 years. The reels are 112hs and the rods are " s3240 rf 4/0"s with roller guides. I am replacing the the roller guide assemblies and planning to use them with the reels. I've removed the old line and wiped the dust and grime from the reels but some salt or other white crud doesn't want to come off of the spools. Should I soak the spools in vinegar? I've oiled the reels and they seem fine.
I came across a comment from Alan Tani about the limitations of the stock 112h. My understanding was that one can only use about 7.5 lbs of drag before damaging the brass inside and that any line smaller than 30 lbs mono can get between the spool and side plate.
I want to use the combos for Spanish and king mackerell trolling and general bottom fishing. Will these work as is if I'm easy on the frag and don't over fill the spools? I've read about the various mods one can do on this site. What are the best things I could do for my money to improve them for my purposes?
Than you!
i know i've been harsh on the 112h before, but i've worked on plenty of these reels after they've done charter boat service and they've held up amazingly well. i do still recommend the penn 24-56 jigmaster power handle as a standard upgrade, but otherwise the reels remains solid. like any reel, it can be damaged if you lean on it too hard. fish it within specs, and it should give you years of reliable service.
oh, and welcome!!!!!!
I'll check those out. Thx!
They will catch Kings and Spanish all day, everyday, and fine for light bottom fishing as Alan stated within limits. Maybe not grouper, but a fine sea bass and snapper reel. You might consider a service and upgrading to carbontex drags- if the reel is from the 80's it may have original drag washers now glued together. There are also a lot of upgrades should you decide to, and in 112H that age, you likely have steel main gear to start with. Agree with Alan, I find 30lb mono as spec'd to be just right on this one: 375yds is plenty for a king and heavy enough for some bottom bouncing. My cousin kingfished with these exclusively.
Where are you fishing from?
Alan, I have to mail out a couple of reels for guys, and will send you a check for knob in next day or so.
John
Quote from: Sscoville on May 15, 2019, 02:04:09 AM
grime from the reels but some salt or other white crud doesn't want to come off of the spools. Should I soak the spools in vinegar? I've oiled the reels and they seem fine.
Welcome.
Regarding the white crud, I would try soaking the spool in hot water first to see if the white curd dissolves. If not, I would add white vinegar to the hot water and sir around up until 50% of the mixture. If you don't see bubbling of the white crud, then I go to something like CLR specifically on areas where the corrosion exist. after removing the corrosion, I will use a heat gun or blow drier to get the spool hot enough to dry it out, then seal the corrosion spots with a good liquid lubricant, such as TSI or CorrosionX as liquid will get deep down into the nooks can crannies that grease cannot get to. Then apply a very light coat of grease or hard wax (pure carnauba) to the entire spool and wipe off the excess, and the spool should be good before lining the spool.
For that reel, the stock HT-100 3 stack drag system is more than sufficient, but I also produce a 5 stack drag system that may be smoother at higher drag settings. than the 3 stack. Both are available at Mystic Reel Parts.
Post some pictures. We all love pictures...and let us know if you need any help.
Hi Ssoville, be careful with the vinegar and water 50% x 50% mix, only leave the spool & other gear in it for 20 to 30 minutes before you start to brush the crud of, then see if it needs more soaking, if you leave it in to long, it will remove to much chrome, once you think it is okay then, wash the parts in hot water & detergent, & rinse in hot water, good luck, cheers Don.
I use straight vinegar & soak for a couple of hours. Vinegar will not remove chrome, it will only remove the corrosion in the pits in the chrome & the corrosion under the chrome. When the corrosion is under the chrome the chrome is not bonded to the underlieing metal anyway. If you don't remove that corrosion from under the chrome it will continue to errode under the chrome. On the brass parts the vinegar will make the brass change color slightly but a little 0000 steel wool after will brighten it right up. Vinegar is very mild acid & is nuetralized with warm water mixed with baking powder. Rudy
I'm fishing from Beaufort, SC. I'll try to post some tomorrow. I thought the spools were made of some sort of plastic?
112h spools came either in stainless steel or anodized aluminum. Some spools also came in graphite from Newell but are not to common.
Here are some photos. I haven't taken either of them completely apart to the point of checking the drag washers.
Welcome from Virginia,,, :D that's a very nice reel you're working on,,,, ;) what kind of fishing will you be doing with it,,,, ;D
Nearshore trolling and bottom fishing
that will all clean up quite a bit with vinegar and simple green or dawn. don't put aluminum in simple green.
John
The first fish you get on it,,,, :D your going to love it even more,,,,,, ;D
I have a fondness for the 112h.....fits my hand well, is capable and plenty strong, many upgrades are available, but with CF drags it will do just about anything you want to do. Uses the same drag washers as a jigmaster, basically anything a JM can do the 112h. Bill
The diameter of the 112H makes it faster than the Jigmaster when both spools are full, and it has higher capacity. That capacity may or may not be relevant depending on your use. I can cast a 3/0 about as far as a Jgmaster, I lose some distance with a 4/0 because of my silly little hands. That means for bigger line in rough conditions, 60#-80# mono or floro, a 3/0 is nice, a narrow 3/0 is really nice.
Ron Jones
I got one cleaned up and lubed. It just needs line. These were previously spooked with some sort of backing and mono. Any recommendations on what I should use for my intended use?
Scoville, you have aluminum spools so no line backing is necessary, if you had three piece spools then you would add a Dacron backing to prevent spool damage. If you like, spool it with 50 lb braid then add a top shot of mono, or spool it completely with mono. If spooling with braid add a couple wraps of Flex Wrap to the arbor to prevent the line from slipping. Make sure you add a very light coat of grease to the spool before hand to prevent the corrosion you just removed from returning. I've never fished for your target species, but as others have said 30 lb mono is the ticket here. Let us know what you do and pictures of your catch with the reels would be appreciated. Bill
Is the 24-56 power handle still available? All I see on mysticparts is a 24-66?
Quote from: Sscoville on June 07, 2019, 12:56:17 PM
Is the 24-56 power handle still available? All I see on mysticparts is a 24-66?
Here.... https://www.mysticparts.com/PennParts/Parts/24-56.aspx
steve
Thank you
Is it typical for replacement outer rings to be ill fitting? I sanded the side plate a bit to get this replacement ring to fit a little better, but it's still not quite right.
Yes, Sscoville —
Many times, a modern new replacement ring will be too tight for an existing sideplate.
Whether the Bakelite plates have swollen over the years — or the new rings are manufactured a little too tight — makes no difference to the solution.
My solution is to just run a flat file a few laps around the inset rabbet edge of the plate — until the ring just fits on smoothly & flush with no forcing.
Nothing shows when the rings are installed — plus I always smear a little grease under the rings — not so they attach easier — but so when the next guy services it 10 years from now — it will just easily come apart with no salt rust on the inside of the rings.
Lastly, I snug up the plate screws — but do not over-tighten them. No need.
Best,
Fred
Very common.
They worked pretty good. I couldn't figure out how to rotate the pictures. I want to thank Alan and the folks on this board. Had I not found these old reels and rods to fix up, I would not have gotten interested in this type of fishing. My wife, my son and I were ecstatic when we got this and another up to the boat. Doing it on rejuvenated gear made it even cooler.
Nice work!
Good fish!
Best,
Fred
** I straightened your pics...
It's a great catch ! And all the better 'cause you "did it yourself " !
Great way to test the reels after working on them, thanks for showing us the result.
Mike
Thats awesome....congratulations...
Brett
Way ta go Sscoville! I have that same Senator rod you have pictured here. I put a Sailfisher 130 on it. Looks like your work was a success. 8)
I greased the drags and added the jig master power handles. The size of these handles doesn't really come through in pictures. They are truly substantial compared to the original handles.
Great job! They will fish you for years to come. I have a half dozen of those old Senator rods- pretty indestructible if one takes care not to bang the ring guides (as with any rod). I put those power on all my larger reels with that sleeve- 3/0, 67, 68, 4/0. Nice upgrade.
John
Great catch Ssoville, great feeling when you have serviced the reel yourself, then catch nice fish like that, dont forget to screw the drag down before you wash the reel after fishing, then try to dry the reel before you lay it down to dry, take the pressure of the drag, and lay the reel down with the face plate pointing down, so you dont let any water work its way into the drag, cheers Don.
Thanks. I've also greased the drags. That should help in case they get wet, right? How can I tell if I have the HT 100 stack? In reading some other posts it seems that Penn upgraded the drag set at some point and that the HT 100s were a great improvement? I may have this wrong.
Also, I've seen where some people like to put a stainless dog in and even double dog the reels. What does this do? Does the double dog take the back play out that occurs when the first dog is between teeth? Does it provide a practical advantage when fishing?
SS dogs are usually used when using a SS gear sleeve. Double dogging can be done two ways. Alternating dogs will take out about 1/2 of the backlash in the handle. Simultanious engagement of the dogs will equalize the pressure on the gear sleeve & balance out the pressuse on the dogs. It can be done by either grinding & reshapeing the dogs or using a gear sleeve with a different number of teeth. SS gear sleeves for the 112h are available with either 8 or 10 teeth. The original sleeve has 8 teeth.Alternating dogs can usually be done by using a 10 tooth sleeve. The fishing advantage is up to you to decide. As to if you have CF drags I couldn't tell unless I see what you have in a closeup photo. Rudy
Thx. I'll have to get a picture. They are red-brown in color, not black. I guess I could just order new ht 100 washer. They look to be about $1.25 a piece.
HT-100 CF drag washers are a dark grey color. Don't forget to order a new fiber washer for under the main gear & a little container of Cal's Drag Grease. The drag grease is used mainly to aliviate sticky drags. It wouldn't hurt to order a half dozen dog springs also. Those little buggers tend to head for never never land every so often. ;D