Reel Repair by Alan Tani

Thank you Alan. Will the purple Cal's have any negative effects at high temperatures,  both warm weather and when it heats up a lot during long runs at heavy drag or is it the same in that regard?

Quote from: alantani on February 05, 2026, 03:34:44 PMcal sheets has a purple greases for low temps.  either one will work just fine.  for an all purpose grease (everything except drag washers), any good quality marine grease will be fine.  i use yamalube marine, but anything will do.  for an all purpose oil, i like corrosion x.  you can buy a pump spray bottle and transfer it to any dropper bottle.  and for a bearing lube, i use TSI 321. 

For the bearing oil, since I don't need crazy free spinning,unlikely to be casting weights under 8 ounces, would reel x work just as well for the bearings or does the tsi 321 still have a significantly better performance,  especially in terms of preventing corrosion?
It's just a bit of a pain to get here/I'm shirt on cash but it's not enough for me to care if it actually matters, but since I won't be liveliness and frankly don't really care about freespool/need to thumb/use my mc cast control I was wondering if it makes sense at all to have a super light oil, or even if potentially a light grease might even be better.
For example,between the Makaira Sea and Fold I don't really notice a difference in how well they cast even though one has tsi321 the other is grease packed

Congerslayer - Relax, you're fine.  And I suspect overthinking the impacts that lubricants have on our reels.  If you do not use them or do not do regular maintenance - things go bad.  There are countless threads on the forum that debate the virtues of "TSI 321 vs Superlube vs Pennzoil" or "Yamalube Grease vs Cal's vs Beef Tallow".  The reality is that if you are using quality lubricants as many of the members are using, in an appropriate manner, you will be fine.  With regards to Purple Cal's vs Tan Cal's; I use both, and truthfully could probably get by with just one.  And if temperatures are cold enough to worry about the grease in your fishing reel, I hope you have given the same thought to your automobile that got you to (and you need to get home!) from the fishing grounds.  You indicated you "don't need crazy freespool" and that you are not looking to start investing a lot of cash in different lubes.  As long as you use a good oil and a good grease you are fine - the important thing is regular cleaning and maintenance depending on your fishing environment. - john

Superlube seems to stay the same consistency regardless of temp & it's food safe for kitchen appliances.I use it on gears & drags to keep it simple.

https://www.super-lube.com/product/super-lube-multi-purpose-synthetic-grease-nlgi-2/

Seeking manual for Ryobi AD80 Super Protarget fishing reel that I was gifted. English or Japanese is fine. Reel works and just need manual to learn settings.  Willing to purchase.  Thanks

 See if this is any use    https://www.2instructions.com/n_manuals.php
 That should be the page for Ryobi AD80 Super Protarget fishing reel

   https://www.2instructions.com/      is the home page

Hello, have not been on the forum in a long time and kinda having difficulty navigating.
I am looking for a power handle or jigging handle for a fathom 25nld2.
Is there somekne thru the forum that sells these handles for a fathom?

Alan, the boss, sells a fine handle. Very popular for a fathom

Quote from: jigasaurus on February 08, 2026, 03:55:17 AMHello, have not been on the forum in a long time and kinda having difficulty navigating.
I am looking for a power handle or jigging handle for a fathom 25nld2.
Is there someone thru the forum that sells these handles for a fathom?

the one i have is the same grip that you see in the post, but it is a "bolt on" design that requires no drilling.  you remove the stock plastic grip, leaving the arm and stainless steel post.  then drop on my handle grip and screw it on tight.  done.  really easy.  the cost is $35 plus shipping.  if this works for you, please send a pm with your address and i'll get you a final price and ship it out.  thanks!  alan

https://alantani.com/index.php/topic,12785.0.html

I know I'm overthrowing but if I do it like to do it right, lol. If I like the consistency of super lube better I might get the super lube high temperature grease for the future but for now it's Cal's light for drags, let's see. Is cal's susceptible to change consistency depending on temperature? Would've thought that's exactly what a quality drag grease shouldn't do sin e you want smooth, even tension

Cal's Universal Reel and Drag Grease is rated up to 500°F (approximately 260°C). It is a blend of calcium, Teflon, and polymers designed for high heat and wear resistance in carbon fiber drag systems.
Shimano Drag Grease is typically rated up to 300°F (approximately 149°C). While effective and suitable for most freshwater and general saltwater fishing situations where long, screaming runs are less common, it has a lower thermal tolerance than Cal's.

Hey, for getting the grease everywhere,  specifically grease packing (non spool) bearings is a grease gun necessary/recommended or do you just smeared it in or use something like a squeeze/dropper bottle? Got a few reels to service, my grease gun is to small for my superlube so unless I clean out one of the fitting grease shells and fill it with superlube I need a new grease gun, which is no problem, but if it isn't a good idea or offers no real advantage I might just not

Quote from: Lunker Larry on February 19, 2026, 02:04:21 PMCal's Universal Reel and Drag Grease is rated up to 500°F (approximately 260°C). It is a blend of calcium, Teflon, and polymers designed for high heat and wear resistance in carbon fiber drag systems.
Shimano Drag Grease is typically rated up to 300°F (approximately 149°C). While effective and suitable for most freshwater and general saltwater fishing situations where long, screaming runs are less common, it has a lower thermal tolerance than Cal's.

Yes! Only other drag grease I'd use would be Super Lube's High Temperature Grease, from what I heard that might potentially offer even smoother performance through all Temperature ranges, but no other grease I know(aside from maybe some of Daiwa's Non-Retail high end ones) get even close to Cal's and to me it seems like a silly point to make compromises. Also if you ever smelled a SMOKED reel, yeh, no thanks!
Of course this only matters if some of you applications might cause such a heat build up. Mine do, not often but I won't re grease my drag washers differently all the time, now will I? Also the old low temperature grease would be tough to get out, so ..

Quote from: Congerslayer on Today at 02:34:10 PM

Quote from: Lunker Larry on February 19, 2026, 02:04:21 PMCal's Universal Reel and Drag Grease is rated up to 500°F (approximately 260°C). It is a blend of calcium, Teflon, and polymers designed for high heat and wear resistance in carbon fiber drag systems.
Shimano Drag Grease is typically rated up to 300°F (approximately 149°C). While effective and suitable for most freshwater and general saltwater fishing situations where long, screaming runs are less common, it has a lower thermal tolerance than Cal's.

Yes! Only other drag grease I'd use would be Super Lube's High Temperature Grease, from what I heard that might potentially offer even smoother performance through all Temperature ranges, but no other grease I know(aside from maybe some of Daiwa's Non-Retail high end ones) get even close to Cal's and to me it seems like a silly point to make compromises. Also if you ever smelled a SMOKED reel, yeh, no thanks!
Of course this only matters if some of you applications might cause such a heat build up. Mine do, not often but I won't re grease my drag washers differently all the time, now will I? Also the old low temperature grease would be tough to get out, so ..

TLDR:  the "temperature rating" we are discussing could either be the temperature that the grease thickener liquifies or it's max operating temperature, which is much lower.  There are several commonly used thickeners with a dropping point around 500F and operating temperatures around 350F. We may not be making an apples to apples comparison here.

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I believe that that Cal's  is claiming dropping point temperature and not maximum operating temperature.   I have been gradually educating myself on the basics of lubricant performance, so this is my opportunity to inflict it on the rest of you

Dropping point is a standardized measurement performed by lining the walls of a specified metal cup with a small hole in the bottom((2.8 mm?).  As the grease is heated, the thickener will eventually liquify, and the lubricants will start dripping through the hole.  The temperature at which the drops start falling is the dropping point.

The thickener used in the grease determines the dropping point.  There are several commonly used thickeners that have a 260C (~500F) dropping point, including lithium complex,  which is on the less expensive side, and calcium complex, which is considered a more premium product, but also more expensive. 

Maximum operating temperatures for these thickeners are all around 175C (350 F).  Thickeners will oxidize and degrade more quickly at higher temps, and the base oils and additives have varying performance and lifespan degradation as operating temperature decreases.  I suspect that Shimano is listing the operating temperature for its drag grease.  It wouldn't make sense for them to cheap out on a low end thickener when they are selling the grease at a high markup and putting it in their high end big game reels.

It also seems  unlikely that these "drag greases" are some sort of specialized unique formulations. This would be both expensive and unnecessary. They are more likely blends selected by Cal's, Shimano, etc., because they are appropriate for the job at hand.

With the exception of big game situations, drags don't get super hot, and even in big game situations we are talking about very infrequent bursts of a few minutes.  The vast majority of time, there is no motion in the drag at all. Beyond that short heat burst at relatively low surface speed, we are not asking much of  these products compared to some common industrial uses.

It does make sense for us to use a grease with a high dropping point. Since PTFE (Teflon) is a common additive in "drag grease" products, it also makes sense to select a grease with this additive. 

I personally don't worry about heat performance beyond this.  At this point I care about  handling /toxicity, and oxidation resistance.  Oxidation resistance  is important, because oxidation leads to separation/bleeding, and we end up with sticky drags.  Oxidation advances faster at higher temperature, but it also occurs when exposed to normal ambient temperature. For the vast majority of us, our drag grease degrades mostly from the reel just sitting on a shelf.

If I wanted to decrease my odds of having problems, I would also lean toward a product that has a good track record in lots of reels like mine.  But I also like to learn by trying new stuff. That is how I have settled on Super Lube for now.  Cal's is the product most commonly used  by members here by a long shot, including big game situations.

-J