Is it ok to dunk reel in freshwater

Started by Realfunone, May 21, 2019, 02:06:54 AM

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Dominick

-J, I meant that I turn the vents up after they drain to fully dry out the reel.  I agree that drying does leave behind salt crystals.  Dominick
Leave the gun.  Take the cannolis.

There are two things I don't like about fishing.  Getting up early in the morning and boats.  The rest of it is fun.

Alto Mare

Fresh water is just as bad when it gets trapped in there ...and it does. Trapped water is very hard to dry on its own, unless you open the reel.
As Dave has mentioned, do what works for you best.  As for my personal reels, I will always break the reel down after it has gone for a swim.

Sal
Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.

CapeFish

I have not had any of my current  reels damaged because they are wet inside from freshwater and I won't buy a reel to fish with that corrodes so easily. I had an old Phlueger and Daiwa pack up no matter how I rinsed and lubed them but have not found any reel I bought in the last 10 years do that. If a reel, rod or any fishing tackle can't handle freshwater I won't use it, I enjoy servicing tackle but I enjoy fishing more so don't want to spend all my time drying and greasing reels.

This is the grease I use

https://finelube.co.za/products/textile-lubricants/greases/89-omega-95

It is resistant against saltwater and flushing out

Alto Mare

Leon, I'm glad that grease is working out for you.
Me personally have no issues using what I use and really like it.
You could have the best reel, and if the parts are made from Stainless Steel, depending on the grade of that steel, it could rusted.
Does this mean the reel is junk? absolutely not.
I've opened up a few Newell reels in the past that were loaded with rust, a good cleaning and turned out as good as new.
I trust Newell and older Penn reels more than I do the new stuff.

I service my reels once a year, if they get dunked, I'll service them as soon as I get back home.
Not arguing with you or anyone else, just stating what works for me and what I like to do.

Cheers!

Sal
Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.

Crow

This is a very interesting read !  The old "whatever works for you" rule seems to apply, here, as with lots of other things ! My "typical" salt water fishing "trip" lasts about 3 months (the amount of time we spend on Dauphin Island), with fishing..of some kind..almost every day. All my "stuff" starts out , fully serviced, and gets a rinse-down, every day, when I get back....unless it takes an unexpected "dunking", or "sand bath", a good rinse seems sufficient to remove the salt, the blood, and and any sand that maye be on the outside of the reel. Once a week, I pull the spools from the spinners, clean and relube the drags, relube the shaft, and clean any sand / crud that's under the spool. All the line rollers, shaft bearings, bail joints, etc., get a drop or two of oil, every day, after I clean stuff up. The "conventionals" that I use, only get fished about once, or twice a week, normally...they get a good rinse-down, drying, and a good wipe-down with Corrosion-X, and a few drops of oil in the appropriate places ,and that's it, until the "trip" is over. When I'm "back home", everything gets a full cleaning /servicing, line comes off,...the works , so it's ready for storage, and the next "trip south" ! All that said, most all my reels are either "low buck" new purchases, or "somebody else's junk", from e-bay, so it's not like I have a lot of $ invested, but, as my dear ole' Dad always said, "If you can't afford "new", ya' better take care of the old !"
There's nothing wrong with a few "F's" on your record....Food, Fun, Flowers, Fishing, Friends, and Fun....to name just a few !

Gfish

There are some adjustable garden hose nozzels that will give you a nice mist. I got one from Costco. That's what I use. Still though, I find little droplets of water when I open 'em up every 3rd trip, or so. Don't know if it's saltwater or tap, but I just Q-tip blot them. Once inna while I'll find a bit of rust on a frequenrtly used favorite reel.
Fishing tackle is an art form and all fish caught on the right tackle are"Gfish"!

Alto Mare

I'm with you on that Gregg, been tightening the drags and using fine mist on my reels and rods after every trip.
I just don't dunk.

Sal
Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.

jurelometer

Quote from: Alto Mare on May 23, 2019, 07:11:11 PM
Fresh water is just as bad when it gets trapped in there ...and it does. Trapped water is very hard to dry on its own, unless you open the reel.
As Dave has mentioned, do what works for you best.  As for my personal reels, I will always break the reel down after it has gone for a swim.

Sal


Freshwater is absolutely not as bad as saltwater.   All the stainless ball bearings and one-way bearings used in reels that I have seen are made from 440c stainless, which as we all know will corrode in saltwater.   But 440c has roughly the same freshwater corrosion properties as 304 stainless (AKA 18-8).  I have a kitchen sink made out of 304 and it is wet all the time.  No problem  Leave a stainless fork in a glass of water for a couple weeks.  No problem.     Freshwater corrosion resistance  is not to hard to get in stainless, but saltwater corrosion resistance is much more difficult.   Tradeoffs need to be made in hardness, machinability and ability to be tempered.   This is why many stainless reel parts are not made from 316 (the most common grade of stainless with decent saltwater corrosion resistance).

The situation with brass is similar but a bit more complicated.

The plastics generally don't care.   Nylon will absorb water to the point where it can affect it dimensionally,  but it will dry out in the air fairly quickly.

I think if somebody wanted to, it wouldn't be too hard to take a set of clean reel components, keep them wet with freshwater for a week or two and report back.   I won't bother because the corrosion properties of the materials used are already well documented.

You are right in your position  regarding introducing fresh water if it is dissolving trapped salt crystals.  Salt in solution is more of a corrosion issue than dried salt crystals.    If you have salt trapped in a reel, adding moisture will make things worse.  This is why I believe that the worst thing is introducing a little bit of freshwater.   This adds moisture without the potential for dissolving, diluting and evacuating the salt.  I would rather leave my reel crusted in salt than do a quick dunk or turn a sprayer on it.

If your fishing situation allows you to keep the reel mostly dry, and you service the reel when it gets saltwater in it,  I won't argue that you are doing something wrong.   The type and frequency of fishing that I do makes this approach impractical.  Plus I have to confess that servicing my reels is more of a chore than a pleasure :)

Agree that there can be more than one "right way".   

-J

Alto Mare

How sure are we that 304 is used?
There is 303, only one number away and yet will corrode much more than 304, but it's easy to machine.
You'll often see it in nuts and bolts, gears, fittings and bushings.

304 is popular in projects where aesthetics and cleanliness are key. These include:

Architecture
Kitchens
Food processing

Sal
Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.

PacRat

Before discovering this site we had a routine after fishing. My dad and I would wash the boat and my brother would take care of the rods and reels. He would take the reels off the rods and submerge them in a 5 gal. bucket of fresh water while he hosed off the rods. We only did full services if/when issues arose. The issues we were finding were corroded bearings and thrashed drag stacks.
I'm with Sal now. I tighten the drags and just rinse them with fresh water. I will just mist them when possible or a quick rinse under running water in the sink then a wipe-down. I also wipe them down with WD-40 (a whole other topic)...I started doing the WD-40 because I read it in a Shimano manual. I haven't had any issues...but since being part of this group; I also tend to do full services more often too. I've learned to use less grease in some places and more in others which helps a lot. So does tightening the drag...I wish I understood that concept sooner.

CapeFish

Hi Sal,
What I am trying to say is that a  coating of grease and the right oil goes a long way to prevent most decent reels from corroding and being immune to freshwater dunks and being left to shelf dry. No need to open every time. I don't have enough technical background to come up with other reasons other than my own trial and error. I studied biology  :) Even my old stock standard Penns were always good to go. I have now even gone so far as to coat rust spots on my pickup with grease!

Cheers,
Leon

oc1

#41
I think the measure of a good reel is the extent to which it doesn't matter what you do with it when you get home.  I'm usually tired, hungry and craving a beer and tend to just walk away and leave the rod and reel in the rod holder on the boat.... wet with saltwater inside and out.  A day to a week later when it's time to go again the reel is often crusty and crunchy.  I squirt oil in each side bearing, down the gear shaft and the handle knob, make a tentative cast to spread the oil around and it should be ready to go.  If it's not at peek performance after oiling then it is a maintenance hog.  You don't have to put up with a maintenance hog.  There are reels out there that can take the abuse.
-steve

Caranx

My thinking is that when salt water gets on the reel either by misting or splashing, it has less surface tension than freshwater. It will creep into every crack and cranny and keep sleeping into the reel non stop.
Saltwater is actually sticky.
As to the way we wash our reels is up to us and our own maintenance habits.
I still dunk them into a bucket of fresh water and swish it around for a couple seconds and shake what I can out and repeat again with another fresh bucket of water and shake like crazy but hang on to it!
I then leave it out to dry under shade for a few days until I'm sure it's completely dried.

"Swish it in a bucket of water, shake it out and let it dry"
That's what Mr. Newell stated in his maintenance instructions years ago and I stuck with it ever since.


Alto Mare

Quote from: CapeFish on May 25, 2019, 05:24:38 AM
Hi Sal,
What I am trying to say is that a  coating of grease and the right oil goes a long way to prevent most decent reels from corroding and being immune to freshwater dunks and being left to shelf dry. No need to open every time. I don't have enough technical background to come up with other reasons other than my own trial and error. I studied biology  :) Even my old stock standard Penns were always good to go. I have now even gone so far as to coat rust spots on my pickup with grease!

Cheers,
Leon
I hear you Leon, I have no more squeaky doors in my house, a drop of TSI 301 and it will last for years. :)

Sal
Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.

farnorthlbg