Penn Fathom LD 2-Speed: Service Tutorial and First Look.

Started by johndtuttle, September 06, 2014, 12:31:12 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Vince

Quote from: johndtuttle on March 30, 2016, 05:55:03 AM

The factory reels sometimes have too much grease on the spool shaft and spool sleeve. It's great protection but they need some light oil in there plus some for the spool bearings.

Thanks for the reply John- can I add speed oil directly to the greased shaft and bearings or do I need to clean the grease off then oil?

I notice the 3x repeated measure to rest the reel on the right side down- I imagine a rain of parts comes out if put left side down? :)

johndtuttle

Quote from: Vince on March 30, 2016, 07:20:30 AM
Quote from: johndtuttle on March 30, 2016, 05:55:03 AM

The factory reels sometimes have too much grease on the spool shaft and spool sleeve. It's great protection but they need some light oil in there plus some for the spool bearings.

Thanks for the reply John- can I add speed oil directly to the greased shaft and bearings or do I need to clean the grease off then oil?

I notice the 3x repeated measure to rest the reel on the right side down- I imagine a rain of parts comes out if put left side down? :)

What happens is that your ratchet gear ends up hanging by the "ears" of the dogs and potentially bending them--ruining your anti-reverse. Or, not knowing any better you tug on it to remove it bending the ears.

The bearings are your standard shielded and ungreased from the factory. Ideally you would remove the shields, clean and oil them but simple oil from the outside will still improve things. A simple wipe down of the spool shaft then oil is all that is needed there.

Vince

Awesome. Do you recommend any particular speed oil? And would you reinstall the spool bearings open, or would you put the shields back on?

johndtuttle

#48
Quote from: Vince on March 30, 2016, 04:44:44 PM
Awesome. Do you recommend any particular speed oil? And would you reinstall the spool bearings open, or would you put the shields back on?

TSI 321 is the standard by which others are judged for pure speed. But plain old corrosion-x is perfectly fine. Uber long free spool is less critical than just easy to start turning (low "start up" inertia) and all of the various oils are fine in this regard for my fishing. Getting a frisky bait with a motor and letting him swim is more important, imo, than a few extra feet casting.

I always re-install them open unless the friend whose reel I am working on prefers them stock. Honestly, shields other than rubber ones are useless and the rubber ones are a special case. The rubber can have their shields popped super fast and easily then they can be packed with grease and be amazingly well protected (but not good for spool bearings as they are slower). Perfect for handle and pinion bearings though.

Open they are much easier to clean or add a drop of oil to as needed to keep them nice and fast. That will protect them better than any shield will on a dry bearing.

Vince

Thanks a ton for the info! Super helpful as always.

steelfish

guys Im sold on the FT LD2 since many months ago, just didnt have the funds for one.

well this week I sold my fathom 40 SD for gettin a LD2, but now the real question would be, which size.


I really cant have 3 sizes for each model of reel I like so I try to mix-match with different brands.
I really like the 25NLD2 but I would like bit more of line capacity in Baja you never know what you could get below, so I have the 30LD2 as the main selection, but that same idea brough me the 40NLD2, a lot more line capacity and bit stronger.

if I go with the 40NLD2 this could be used for trolling, casting heavy irons, bait and yoyo = samethings that Im doing with the Baja
if I go with the 30LD2 this will be used for casting irons, spoons and buttlefly jigs and keep using the baja for the other activities.

there some deep reff that could get you some big Baquetas (pink groupers) and big yellowtails and tresher sharks if you are lucky, for those fishes I would like to be equiped with the 40LD2.. with this reel I see my Baja and medium tanked 113h with less activity everytime.

danggg.. desition..
The Baja Guy

johndtuttle

#51
Quote from: steelfish on April 09, 2016, 07:40:27 PM
guys Im sold on the FT LD2 since many months ago, just didnt have the funds for one.

well this week I sold my fathom 40 SD for gettin a LD2, but now the real question would be, which size.


I really cant have 3 sizes for each model of reel I like so I try to mix-match with different brands.
I really like the 25NLD2 but I would like bit more of line capacity in Baja you never know what you could get below, so I have the 30LD2 as the main selection, but that same idea brough me the 40NLD2, a lot more line capacity and bit stronger.

if I go with the 40NLD2 this could be used for trolling, casting heavy irons, bait and yoyo = samethings that Im doing with the Baja
if I go with the 30LD2 this will be used for casting irons, spoons and buttlefly jigs and keep using the baja for the other activities.

there some deep reff that could get you some big Baquetas (pink groupers) and big yellowtails and tresher sharks if you are lucky, for those fishes I would like to be equiped with the 40LD2.. with this reel I see my Baja and medium tanked 113h with less activity everytime.

danggg.. desition..


I spent a lot of years dragging around reels that were too big "just in case" with miles of braid that never saw the water. I don't do it anymore.  ;)

A 25N holds ~400 yards of 65# Braid. A fish that can spool that at 20# of drag is not likely to be landed with a 30, or even a 40....

In my opinion, the better handling in the hand of the narrow frame, the lighter weight, easier casting of a live bait etc etc etc more than pay off in the classic 25N size.

I have never been spooled in 45 years of fishing other than trolling in blue water by UFO's (unidentified fish objects) on reels that were clearly too small holding only 300 yards of 40# mono and making 12#'s of drag...

I think in the northern Sea of Cortez it is very unlikely that you will see anything capable of spooling 400 yards of 65# braid for many decades. East Cape, yes, you need big reels. Get the 25N and spend the next years saving for old Senator 6/0's for trolling that you can tank up on a budget. It will cost you as much as the reel or more to spool them with braid. ;)

steelfish

Thats wey I asked, New reels That offer 300 yds of 65# are enough for this waters, but without the reel in my hand is Hard to go, I dont like too small reels, fighting sealions its part of fishing here and they always take tons of line every fight, here its easier to get spooled from a sea lion than with a fish.
Hence the need for extra line capacity from the 25n That and the "mees" to use heavy braid 80# for everyday fishing cuz te bottom is super rocky.

Anyway, Thanks for your imput
The Baja Guy

johndtuttle

Quote from: steelfish on April 09, 2016, 11:13:51 PM
Thats wey I asked, New reels That offer 300 yds of 65# are enough for this waters, but without the reel in my hand is Hard to go, I dont like too small reels, fighting sealions its part of fishing here and they always take tons of line every fight, here its easier to get spooled from a sea lion than with a fish.
Hence the need for extra line capacity from the 25n That and the "mees" to use heavy braid 80# for everyday fishing cuz te bottom is super rocky.

Anyway, Thanks for your imput

If you are going to fish 80# then the 40N is a good choice.


best

steelfish

#54
just got my FTH 40LD2

I will open it and the next days and give it a complete pre-fishing service, thanks John for the tutorial.


John, let me ask you, since Im pretty new to LD reels, the only one I have previously used was an Avet LX


on the avets when you move the lever that moves on the Drag setttings you can feel a bump when you are on bait and go to strike and go to Full, but on those reels you dont have middle marks or clicks, just 3 steps, bait, then strike and full, but on the Fathom I can see some small numbers 1,2,3, then Strike then full and sunset when you push the stoper buttom.
I dont know if 1,2,3 marks are important for something, cutbait, livebait, etc, and also I cannot feel any bump or mark to know if I set the lever on the strike mark or bit less or Im bit more infront the real mark, pretty sure when Im on full drag cuz the stopper, same with sunset.

how important could be to be exactly on the Strike mark?
If I set lever on strike or bit lower and a fish is taking line, can I move 1 or 2 click more to the front to have more drag (just like with star drag reels) instead in going to FULL in one jump ?
The Baja Guy

johndtuttle

#55
Quote from: steelfish on April 25, 2016, 08:01:49 PM
just got my FTH 40LD2

I will open it and the next days and give it a complete pre-fishing service, thanks John for the tutorial.


John, let me ask you, since Im pretty new to LD reels, the only one I have previously used was an Avet LX


on the avets when you move the lever that moves on the Drag setttings you can feel a bump when you are on bait and go to strike and go to Full, but on those reels you dont have middle marks or clicks, just 3 steps, bait, then strike and full, but on the Fathom I can see some small numbers 1,2,3, then Strike then full and sunset when you push the stoper buttom.
I dont know if 1,2,3 marks are important for something, cutbait, livebait, etc, and also I cannot feel any bump or mark to know if I set the lever on the strike mark or bit less or Im bit more infront the real mark, pretty sure when Im on full drag cuz the stopper, same with sunset.

how important could be to be exactly on the Strike mark?
If I set lever on strike or bit lower and a fish is taking line, can I move 1 or 2 click more to the front to have more drag (just like with star drag reels) instead in going to FULL in one jump ?


So, the "Strike" bump is a small one in the middle, where the lever just wants to stop naturally midway. It should be very easy to push past. Full is where there is a hard stop with the button needed to be pushed to get past to Sunset.

If you preset Strike to about 10lbs (for an example) then Sunset will be about 15-16lbs. That is how the cam under the lever is designed. So, if you divide the space between Strike and Sunset into fifths yourself, you get an extra pound of drag every increment. This is one of the nice things about this design as you can move around just past Strike or back again very easily, with no button to depress. Just plus or minus a few pounds of drag either way and easy to do during the fight as needed.

The numbers are just there for another visual reference.

steelfish

The Baja Guy

steelfish

#57
Quote from: johndtuttle on March 30, 2016, 05:55:03 AM
Quote from: Vince on March 30, 2016, 03:55:28 AM
Thanks for the really informative tutorial- thinking of getting some beginner tools and practicing on some other reels before I tackle this 25NLD2. I just got mine in the mail today actually, and noticed that out of the box, it seems to only get about 5 seconds of freespool. Does that seem typical, or perhaps it needs some serious servicing before use?

The factory reels sometimes have too much grease on the spool shaft and spool sleeve. It's great protection but they need some light oil in there plus some for the spool bearings.

Its not serious by any means but the design is a little "nest like" when it comes to closing the reel.

To open it and get to the spool you have to take off the LD preset lever (nothing scary in there). Then take off the Left Side plate and push on the spool shaft inside the LD preset bay where the cam sits. Leave the reel carefully on it's right side and lift the spool straight up and out leaving the reel on it's right side. Then you can get some oil on the bits of the spool after removing the black clicker gear.

Keep it safely propped on its right side while you oil the bearings and spool shaft.

With the reel on it's right side place the spool back straight back in and hold it in firmly while you get the LD preset lever re-attached. Once its in you have to line up the cross pin with the Left Side Plate before that will seat properly.

Nothing hard at all, and quite easy if you are familiar with the method. This method is important to not bend the ears on the dogs that function as the anti-reverse.

John, I was about to pre-service my fathom 40LD2 since havent touch the water so far, but since everyone say it comes really greased all around I will just degrease the spool shaft and bearings and put some tsi321
my question is, when you did the previous procedure, did you cleaned the bearings with carb cleaner or something similar or just wiped off the grease and applied the oild on bearings and called it done?


my current freespool time with spool full of line is 33sec, when the average I have read so far is 50-60 seconds, my Baja does 1:15 min regulary (i know, not the same animal on any way, but looks cool seeing the big spool of the baja spins foreva)


The Baja Guy

johndtuttle

#58
Quote from: steelfish on June 03, 2016, 12:44:38 AM
Quote from: johndtuttle on March 30, 2016, 05:55:03 AM
Quote from: Vince on March 30, 2016, 03:55:28 AM
Thanks for the really informative tutorial- thinking of getting some beginner tools and practicing on some other reels before I tackle this 25NLD2. I just got mine in the mail today actually, and noticed that out of the box, it seems to only get about 5 seconds of freespool. Does that seem typical, or perhaps it needs some serious servicing before use?

The factory reels sometimes have too much grease on the spool shaft and spool sleeve. It's great protection but they need some light oil in there plus some for the spool bearings.

Its not serious by any means but the design is a little "nest like" when it comes to closing the reel.

To open it and get to the spool you have to take off the LD preset lever (nothing scary in there). Then take off the Left Side plate and push on the spool shaft inside the LD preset bay where the cam sits. Leave the reel carefully on it's right side and lift the spool straight up and out leaving the reel on it's right side. Then you can get some oil on the bits of the spool after removing the black clicker gear.

Keep it safely propped on its right side while you oil the bearings and spool shaft.

With the reel on it's right side place the spool back straight back in and hold it in firmly while you get the LD preset lever re-attached. Once its in you have to line up the cross pin with the Left Side Plate before that will seat properly.

Nothing hard at all, and quite easy if you are familiar with the method. This method is important to not bend the ears on the dogs that function as the anti-reverse.

John, I was about to pre-service my fathom 40LD2 since havent touch the water so far, but since everyone say it comes really greased all around I will just degrease the spool shaft and bearings and put some tsi321
my question is, when you did the previous procedure, did you cleaned the bearings with carb cleaner or something similar or just wiped off the grease and applied the oild on bearings and called it done?


my current freespool time with spool full of line is 33sec, when the average I have read so far is 50-60 seconds, my Baja does 1:15 min regulary (i know, not the same animal on any way, but looks cool seeing the big spool of the baja spins foreva)


Being an LD reel I didn't stress the free spool too much. In a perfect world you would remove the shields and then soak the bearings in solvent (ie nail polish remover/acetone or other you like) to remove any dirt or previous lube.

TBH they are probably not heavily lubed from the factory as the free spool was very good just after removing excess grease from the spool shaft and sleeve and then oiling the bearings and shaft. But removing the bearing shields too will be ideal going forward for future service.

steelfish

Thanks John, not feeling like taking the shields out from the bearings on this reel.. Just clean them and add some tsi321 and call it done, I dont pretend to cast with it
The Baja Guy