Reel cleaning

From OKFC Wiki

Subject under development - Please feel free to expand this thread

We are not professional service people. These tips are based only on our experience as fisherman not trained service professionals.

[edit] Each fishing trip

Each time that I return from fishing I tighten down the drag and hose it from the top of the reel with a mist setting. Tightening down the drag prevents water from entering the drag pads. I then let it air dry "angled up" in a sunny spot. This prevents water into getting "pushed" into any of the interior parts. By the time I've cleaned the yak and all the rest my equipment, the reel is usually bone dry.

At that point I spray it down with Blakemore's "Reel Magic". That product is readily available at most bait shops & has worked well for me over years of use. Do not forget to release the drag as the constant pressure would reduce its efficiency over time.

On most reels there is a maintenance screw on one side of the body to add oil. Unscrew it all the way and add just add one drop of oil. It goes a long way. I once made the mistake of thinking more is better and had the excess squeeze out through the spindle onto the drag bearing mechanism. Once that happens you might as well get a new one since it will cause slippage on it and the anti reverse will fail.

"Hot oil" is a brand that is widely available but Shimano does not recommend it as they have their own inexpensive Bantam oil. You can order that from them on-line.

Here's a great tips page from Shimano with pictures[1]

[edit] Getting Schematics

Shimano has all their reel schematics [2] available on-line as well as some great how-to Videos. These videos can give you a great overview for the other brands of reels

Okuma Has a reel schematic link which takes you no where. Perhaps if you register then the link would work. I do not own Okuma so I cannot register. Perhaps another club member would pursue this info and update this paragraph.

Penn has a complete exploded parts list. To view these visit [3] Click on "service" on the menu bar pick the "part department" link. Scroll down to Exploded view parts list. Chose your reel.

Daiwa version is [4] Call, write or email Daiwa's Customer Service Department to request a free catalog with ordering information.

[edit] Doing a complete breakdown and Clean

Here's a PowerPoint presentation with pictures on a Shimano Stradic showing a complete breakdown and clean [5]

You can also visit this other Wiki Thread which was compiled from a good forum posting involving several club members on reel maintenance