Penn 349's

Badhabit · May 15, 2009, 03:24:15 PM

Alan - any chance we will see a drag upgrade kit for the penn 349's? Like the diawa 900h they have a thick 3 stack drag with room to convert to a 5 + 1 stack, but it appears that custom metal washers will need to be cut.

alantani · May 15, 2009, 05:52:35 PM

unlikely. you can still get a decent 15 pounds of drag out of the 349 with just the stack of three washers. not bad for a reel that size.

to get the 900h metal washers cut, i had to make a minimum order of $500 for 500 pieces (300 keyed and 200 eared). i'm only selling them at cost and have sold 30 so far. the advantage of the 5-stack for the 900h is that the drag range was bumped from 20 to 35 pounds. that increase was essential to put the drag range in line with other "9/0" reels.

to increase the number of drags to 5, there are other options. at the very least, you MUST have a second eared metal washer. if you have that, then it can be done. alan

Keta · May 02, 2012, 03:00:39 PM

I had some thin 349H washers cut and opened up the ID of 5 Carbontex #48 washers to .50+ and stuck them in the gear.

Here's the old washers and and the new parts

5+1 349H assembled

George4741 · May 03, 2012, 12:58:00 AM

Good job, Lee! You've carried the 349H drag thing a step beyond what I've done. I'm sure that it will give you more potential drag than a 6/0. I'm wondering if it is possible to overtighten the drags on our 349H's to the point that we bend the reel foot, or something else gives?

Your thoughts?

BTW thanks again for the drag washers.

George

broadway · May 03, 2012, 06:18:32 AM

Great Job on the conversion, Lee!
George, Your rod will probably malfunction before the reel if it's juiced up like Lee's is

Dom

Keta · May 03, 2012, 01:41:12 PM

As soon as the spring washers compress the drag spikes to higher than I want to use for these reels. I'm looking for a Bellville washer like a 8-115 or 8-116 to put in the 349 drag stack to see if it flatens out the spile in the drag curve.

Yesterday I sanded a set of #63 washers down to the proper OD and 349 #2 has the 5+1 drag now. Doing the OD is easier on a belt sander but the ID is easier if all you have is a drill or Dremel.

Keta · May 30, 2012, 03:06:45 PM

I got some SS Bellville washers for a 113H from Alan and put 2 of them between the star and the spacer, (), and the drag ramps up smoothly now. I did have to replace all but one of the .060 metal washers with .045 ones to get the Bellvilles in place. There is still a slight compression when the star is backed off all of the way.

George4741 · May 31, 2012, 12:06:49 AM

Quote from: Keta on May 30, 2012, 03:06:45 PM
I got some SS Bellville washers for a 113H from Alan and put 2 of them between the star and the spacer, (), and the drag ramps up smoothly now. I did have to replace all but one of the .060 metal washers with .045 ones to get the Bellvilles in place. There is still a slight compression when the star is backed off all of the way.

That is something I'll try on my 349's and 113H.

redsetta · June 21, 2012, 10:25:19 PM

Fitted mine this morning, with the bellevilles oriented as Lee mentions above.
The outcome? Perfect...

Thanks Lee - much appreciated.
Cheers, Justin

George4741 · June 23, 2012, 04:35:16 AM

Lee and Justin,
What is the part # for the bellevilles?

Keta · June 23, 2012, 12:09:48 PM

The Bellville washers are not a Penn part, I think they came from Mc Master-Carr. Penn 70 Bellvile washers will work but they are steel.

George4741 · June 24, 2012, 02:42:18 AM

Quote from: Keta on June 23, 2012, 12:09:48 PM
The Bellville washers are not a Penn part, I think they came from Mc Master-Carr. Penn 70 Bellvile washers will work but they are steel.

Thank you Lee.

alantani · June 25, 2012, 08:27:32 AM

my apologies to badhabit. he is one of the guys that was accidentally deleted! it would be nice to get everyone back on board. $:-\$

Makule · July 22, 2012, 05:09:31 AM

Just a real quick and dirty update: Thanks to the generosity of Lee and Dawn's quick response, one of my 349Hs now has 7+1 drags. Lee sent two sets of the thin washers he cut and Dawn sent two sets of #59 CF washers. Lee's washers fit perfectly, and the #59 CF were ID bored and OD reduced (both very easy to do). The main gear slots were bot ground with a carbide bit to deepen them and that took all of 3 minutes each. Will take pics and post later. Will also post drag poundage figures too. The next upgrade will be to convert to 113H SS gear sleeve.

George4741 · July 22, 2012, 01:59:41 PM

1+7 in a 349H; that's neat stuff! It should have higher drag numbers than a stock 6/0!

I think about where we were several months ago, just trying to get a 1+5 drag in the same reels. As an old commercial says "you've come a long way, baby".

Albert, I eagerly await your next report.

George

Penn 349's

Badhabit