Improving drag on PENN Warfare 20n

[Mrc70]

Hi guys.  I recently measured the drag on my new WAR20n and the max I could get on a spring scale was 6.5lbs with the star drag hammered down.  The reel is full of 50lb braid and I attached the reel to a 7' rod.  Any suggestions on improving the drag to around 9-10lbs?  

[Bryan Young]

Penn indicates that this is a 15# max drag, max 25# mono reel, so I would except the  reel can easily obtain at least 8# of drag with more if you crank down on the star.

Is the star bottoming out when you tighten the drag?  Can you tighten the drag any more?

Other than that, the only thing I can think of is that the drag washers may have gotten contaminated, which would require cleaning or replacing.

Oh, one more thing, is your braid slipping on the spool?

[Mrc70]

Hi Bryan. The star drag is bottomed out and line is not slipping.

Update:  I took the reel apart, greased the drag washers with Cals grease and noticed that the Heavy Metal Washer, key # 7 was upside down. After greasing drags and flipping the metal washer around I am able to now achieve 8.5 lbs of drag.

[mo65]

The star drag is bottomed out

   You might want to check the spring washers(key #8)...there are 4 of them...and if they all stack like this (((( the star will bottom out. Not sure of their actual order, but they need to oppose each other like ()() or (()).

[Mrc70]

Thank. The washers are definitely stacked ()().