Are all bearings created equal?

Started by sandbar, July 14, 2022, 09:35:53 PM

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sandbar

I am looking to purchase 10 bearings
7mm x 14mm x 3.5mm to do the "Fishing Hobby 1000X upgrade"
I purchased one of these reels then several more after I recognized their decent quality.
I've never shopped for bearings and am looking for advice on quality and pricing considerations.
I don't want to go ceramic but I don't want the cheapest product out there. Who is a reliable source for good quality competitively priced bearings?

oldmanjoe

Grandpa`s words of wisdom......Joey that thing between your shoulders is not a hat rack.....    use it.....
A mind is like a parachute, it only work`s  when it is open.......
The power of Observation   , It`s all about the Details ..
 Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.   Alto Mare

Swami805

I buy mine from Smoothdrag but I don't service a lot of reels. Great service quick shipping and drag washers too
Do what you can with that you have where you are

Wolfram M

Currently the best quality miniature ball bearings are made in Japan, with a close runner up in China. And it's REALLY close, for the top of the line Chinese and bottom of the line Japanese bearing suppliers.

Not what some people want to hear, but it's the truth. USA and EU bearing manufacturing went to crap for any of the small commodity size bearings years ago, just refusing to update equipment and spend the money to keep up in the game.

That said, for the work we do with fishing reels, I'll go with an Amazon 10-pack or the local hobby shop's RC car department, and just change the ball bearings out when they feel rough or gritty. I have a tube of them on my desk from Amazon, and have fished two or three days a week all summer with my 1600X that I did the bearing swap in. 1000X, 1300X, and 1600X all use the same size bearings for the main gear, and the pinion gear bearing in the 1600X is the same size as the 2600X main gear bearing. My 1600X and 2600X needed the counterbores the bearings sit in adjusted to get the gear mesh just right-some of them just need a shim washer here or there.

I should probably put up the list of bearings to fit the different X series reels, while I have them!

sandbar

Thank You for the link Joe. These ball bearings are not stainless steel. I assumed that all bearings used in fishing reels are stainless or ceramic.

Cor

Quote from: sandbar on July 15, 2022, 09:25:45 PMThank You for the link Joe. These ball bearings are not stainless steel. I assumed that all bearings used in fishing reels are stainless or ceramic.
I may get shot for saying this :'(

When fishing from shore for Yellowtail my reels do not really get in to direct contact with sea water so I experimented using ordinary Chrome Steel bearings with very good results as they are a lot cheaper and I believe stronger.

I stopped this because I no longer managed to keep track of which reels were which and took the wrong reels on the boat with immediate results.

No good with most other types of fishing where you get wet from sea spray or boat splashing.
Cornelis

Paul Roberts

I have to say that the worst bearings I tried were from an RC source. They were dirt cheap and when lubed and put on a bearing spinner they rattled and hissed to high heaven. I'm leery of paying too little.

Gfish

"Fast Eddy" sold me 2-overpriced b.bearings in a package specific to the reel. While removing the shield, one of 'em fell apart. Turns-out it had a plastic ball-cage and I couldn't get it back together.
The last ones I bought were from McMaster-Carr ("Dynaroll",ABEC 5 stainless steel) and while made in China seem to be pretty good, I'll see... Like Wolfram, I think inexpensive ones bought in bulk and changed frequently are best if you aren't gonna fine-tune a high quality baitcaster.
Fishing tackle is an art form and all fish caught on the right tackle are"Gfish"!

johndtuttle

#8
It really depends on what type of reel...its it a standard multiplier or is it a spinner?

Then, are you fishing lures or soaking bait?

Fishing lures from a spinner you are going to be very sensitive to grinding/noise. In addition, replacing bearings often can mess with the shimming of the reel, both side to side and sometimes on the pinion. Spend too much time switching them out and you will prematurely wear the main and pinion.

Soaking bait with a conventional reel, hell, as long as they function you are probably fine and multipliers don't have the shimming issues that spinners have. However, throwing light live baits will benefit from quality bearings.

If you are having to replace bearings in a spinner I would go with sealed SS that you have properly re-greased yourself. It will save you money in the long run. Ceramic are a waste of money, generally speaking, imo, and their cages will still rust.

If you have a conventional reel, let your own budget be your guide, I guess, but hucking light lures in the wind tends to make people more finicky.

And, no, they aren't made equally. ie Daiwa CRBB use a coating on the inner race to reduce the electrolytic action between the race and the bearings. I've seen some pretty rough reels that the CRBB have survived when others would not have. But the best for corrosion are the Penn sealed bearings. "Bottom of the Bay" reels dredged up have had those bearings survive due to the grease sealed inside.

Even among SS bearings the quality will vary enormously (ABEC rating, higher being better) as well as the individual alloy's resistance to rust. Not all SS is the same alloy by far.