Suggested reel care for saltwater use.

[TravHale]

Hello everyone. I'm new to the forum and have really enjoyed the in-depth knowledge being shared here, thank you.

My reels are exposed to saltwater much more due to my recent obsession with kayak fishing. As a result, I need to protect and maintain my reels a little more than normal. I use mostly Abu round reels and have a Revo Inshore on order. I have done a lot of reading and am getting ready to order products, however, I wanted to get specific opinions on how I should treat these reels given the great exposure to saltwater that these reels are subjected to. Is there anything specific that I should know or do?

[0119]

Ive kayak fished since before it became popular.  Your on the right track with the Abu round reels.  They re the only reel that has successfully survived my years on a yak.  A great guy named Gowge who surfcasted exclusively with Abu's taught me to use turtle wax on the chromed cage and to use clear packing tape on the reel feet.  I feel that has gone a long way.  I also keep to a low bearing count and see no real need for a bearing supported levelwind. Other than that I stick to the tutorial Alan made on the 5500 pinned above.

[alantani]

the most important thing is to tear down the reel complete, first.  put a light coat of grease on everything.  then repeat every few trips.  these frequent inspections will give you an idea of how you're doing. 

[TravHale]

I just torn down one of my 5000c reels and noticed a bit of corrosion here an there, but nothing too bad. This is a reel that goes surf/kayak/wade fishing with me. As a result, it takes a wave and a dunk in the ocean from time to time. I've abused this reel pretty bad by fishing it even after being submerged and stiff from lack of lubrication. All i've used on it is Abu Garcia reel lube and i'm betting a good grease would stop most of the corrosion i'm seeing.

Do the other lubes recommended on this site really improve the performance significantly over say the cheap Abu stuff? Also, how durable are they when subjected to water intrusion?

[alantani]

stick with what you have for now.  if it becomes a problem later, you will be able to tell. 

[TravHale]

stick with what you have for now.  if it becomes a problem later, you will be able to tell. 

Fair enough. However, I am due to run out of my current lube soon and was thinking of trying something new. What is your opinion on how tsi301 would hold up given the environment my reels are used in? I will already be ordering Cal's grease, Yamaha marine grease, and some sort of high speed lubricant.

[coastalobsession]

Dont rinse with fresh water. Just do a light spray with Simple Green and wipe it off. The old Abu Garcias are bullet proof, just clean them every 2 to 3 trips and you will be fine. If you dunk it then clean it that day.

[alantani]

tsi 301 is great if you need the seriously best possible freespool.  otherwise, just stick with corrosion x.  it will work just fine. 

[TravHale]

tsi 301 is great if you need the seriously best possible freespool.  otherwise, just stick with corrosion x.  it will work just fine. 

Freespool isn't as important to me as having a lubricant that stays put after a douse of saltwater. I find that my worm gears are pretty dry after a day of fishing. The Abu lube is pretty thin stuff and seems to fade quickly with saltwater spray.

Also, I have an older 5000C ultra cast that needs new drag washers. I'm not sure which carbontex washers to order--it's the older style with the anti-reverse dog not the bearing.

I don't know if a photo will help, but here's one just in case.

[alantani]

corrosion x would work just fine!

[zechs]

corrosion x would work just fine!

Mr. Alan,

Can I use "Dow Corning High Vacuum Grease" for my reels? It charateristics as below :

CONTAINS - Silica, Amorphous, Fumes/7631869, Polydimenthylsiloxane/63148629

It mainly use to grease the vacuum pump joints and rubber oil seal. Silicone lubricant, can resist most chemicals, heat stable, inert.

[alantani]

it will probably work, but i've never been a big fan of silicone based greases.  to test it out, get three cheap plastic cups and three cheap plastic spoons.  make a simulated salt water solution from a tsp of salt in water in the first cup, then fill the second cup with plain water, the leave the third cup empty.  to each cup, add a spoon full of your grease.  the idea is to see if your grease soaks up the salt and or the water.  if the greases change color in salt water or plain water as compared to the grease left out in air, then they might not be suitable.  

[zechs]

it will probably work, but i've never been a big fan of silicone based greases.  to test it out, get three cheap plastic cups and three cheap plastic spoons.  make a simulated salt water solution from a tsp of salt in water in the first cup, then fill the second cup with plain water, the leave the third cup empty.  to each cup, add a spoon full of your grease.  the idea is to see if your grease soaks up the salt and or the water.  if the greases change color in salt water or plain water as compared to the grease left out in air, then they might not be suitable.  

Thank You Mr. Alan for the info. It's very educational and informative answer. I will try this out and come back with the result.

[alantani]

it's something interesting that i found.  some greases can soak up salt and water.  let's see how your's does.