Greasing Drag Washers on Penn reels - Maintenance

[peterpan]

Hi guys, I need some advice regarding lubricating the Drag Washers on Penn GTi330 and Penn 309 reels.

My question pretty much is: how many of you do lubricate the Drag Washers?

I got the washers stuck and decided to clean and replace those. I went online” http://www.pennparts.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;” and bought me 2 oz. of “Penn Precision reel grease” along with the some sets of new washers.

Then I decided to call the pennparts shop and asked them if this grease can be used to lubricate the gears and washers as well. A lady answered me that this grease is specifically used for the GEARS, as for the Drag Washers it is up to the fishermen to lubricate them or not. Also if I do decide to lubricate the washers, this wouldn’t be the grease of choice, but rather “ Cal’s Universal Reel & Star drag grease” which she had available on the shop. On the Penn website they don't mention anything about it, but the recommend to clean these reels every fishing season.

I don’t want to pay another 8 bucks for shipping me this grease. Is it really necessary, pro cons? It seems that I got some salt on my Drag Washers and with the grease it might have gotten stuck. If I had it without the grease, maybe it would still be good to use. If greasing the Drag Washers is really necessary, where around in Texas I can find it? FTU, BassPro, Cabelas?

Thanks a lot for any inputs and Happy Christmas!

[Mythman]

I never grease my bushings, but oil them.

Don't know if that is right or wrong, but has worked for me for over 50 years.

[peterpan]

Thanks Mike, I guess 50 years of experience answer it all!

My only question is, is there any specific type of lubricant oil to use? I got the "Reel X". Would that work?

Thanks!

[Mythman]

I have several brands of reel oil, I have used 3 in 1 oil and even gun oil. They all seemed to work great.

Good luck!

[habanerojooz]

I use a couple of drops of light oil on my bushings and bearings. Any thin viscosity reel lube will work but my favorite light oil is Hot Sauce by Quantum.

I use drag grease on drag washers and reel grease on gears.

[peterpan]

Gosh, maybe I got this wrong, I meant to say DRAG WASHERS instead of "bushings". Aren't those the same? I thought so.

So the question comes back again? Do you guys lubricate the DRAG WASHERS at all? If so, what type of grease/oil?

Thanks a lot and sorry for the misinterpretation, or most likely my mistake.

[Mythman]

That is a tough question.........Yes/No.................depends on the reel and they type of washer as to whether you grease or not.

Perhaps this will help:

http://www.pierfishing.com/resources/in ... _and_drags" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Do a search "greasing drag washers" on Google search and see what information you get.

[peterpan]

The reels I have to service are the: Penn GTi330 and Penn 309M.
Does anyone have experience regarding maintaining them?

Mike, I'll do a serch on that, thanks anyways.

[altonr77]

if it is not a casting reel i grease everything. on casting reels i use oil. they make a drag washer grease. rub the grease into the washer wipe off with rag. while we r on the subject of drag washers. i have used these before they are good
http://www.smoothdrag.com/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; they also cary drag washer grease

[habanerojooz]

The reels I have to service are the: Penn GTi330 and Penn 309M.
Does anyone have experience regarding maintaining them?

Mike, I'll do a serch on that, thanks anyways.

I have two Penn reels and they're very easy to maintain, compared to a smaller baitcasting reels.

Oil the bearings and bushings with light oil, grease the carbon fiber drag washers, and grease the gears. The key is....don't over-grease or over-oil. Some Academy stores carry Shimano drag gear grease as well as other lubricant products.

For carbon fiber drag washers, you should put only enough grease on them so that if you touch them, you leave a finger print on them. There are articles on the internet which talk about this.

I hold the drag washer between my thumb and index finger and I use the edge of a toothpick like a trowel to spread a thin film of drag grease on a drag washer. I grease both sides.

My Peen reels are much smoother now that I've oiled and greased them.

[jeffw114]

anything you wanna know about a reel or how to care for it,, http://alantani.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[habanerojooz]

anything you wanna know about a reel or how to care for it,, http://alantani.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That is the best link on reel maintenance that I've ever seen. I liked all of the comments on lubricants, tools, bearings, and the numerous pictorials on how to break down different types of reels. What an excellent link. Thanks.

Peterpan - there is a pictorial under the Penn Reels section which shows a breakdown of your reel.

[jeffw114]

anything you wanna know about a reel or how to care for it,, http://alantani.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That is the best link on reel maintenance that I've ever seen. I liked all of the comments on lubricants, tools, bearings, and the numerous pictorials on how to break down different types of reels. What an excellent link. Thanks.

No problem, glad I could help.. The man knows reels.

[peterpan]

Thank for yall's inputs! They were really informative!
I'll be in Galveston for 5 days and I'll stop by FTU and see if they have any type of grease for the star drag washers, otherwise I see I'll order them online....
You all have Happy 2010! I hope to see some of you in the water next year!
Thanks and Gig'em!

[peterpan]

anything you wanna know about a reel or how to care for it,, http://alantani.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That is the best link on reel maintenance that I've ever seen. I liked all of the comments on lubricants, tools, bearings, and the numerous pictorials on how to break down different types of reels. What an excellent link. Thanks.

Peterpan - there is a pictorial under the Penn Reels section which shows a breakdown of your reel.

Ditto!

Anyways, I went to FTU 2 days ago and a guy at the shop told me I wouldn't need any type of grease on my drag washers, now it seems it is up to me...

Thank you all for the inputs again. Happy New Year!

Lots of fish on TT (Twenty Ten)

[habanerojooz]

...
Anyways, I went to FTU 2 days ago and a guy at the shop told me I wouldn't need any type of grease on my drag washers....

I don't know how you asked the question or the context of your conversation when you were given that advice....but carbon fiber washers need a little bit of grease to perform their best.

If you were to send your Penn reels to a professional for proper cleaning and lubing, I guarantee that cleaning and greasing your carbon fiber drag washers would be part of that service.

[peterpan]

...
Anyways, I went to FTU 2 days ago and a guy at the shop told me I wouldn't need any type of grease on my drag washers....

I don't know how you asked the question or the context of your conversation when you were given that advice....but carbon fiber washers need a little bit of grease to perform their best.

If you were to send your Penn reels to a professional for proper cleaning and lubing, I guarantee that cleaning and greasing your carbon fiber drag washers would be part of that service.

Hi habanerojooz, all I remember I asked a young guy at the shop at FTU if they would have a grease for star drag washers on Penn reels 309 and 330 gti. I don't know if it could lead to another issues, seriously I am new to this maintenace thing. So he brought me to the shelves and showed me a 2 oz. Penn Lubricant Reel Grease container (it can be find here: http://store.scottsbt.com/2-oz-Penn-Lub ... 1C473.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). I told him that this is suitable for gears, shaft, plates, etc... but it is not specific for star drag washers. So he went inside the shop for a suggestion from another person who was working there. Then after 2 minutes he comes back and tell me that I wouldn't need to grease my drag washers, they should work fine without grease.

Well, I went back to the penn parts supplier website to find out what is it made from, and I couldn't find it. Here are the specs on the friction drag washers:

http://store.scottsbt.com/6-309-Drag-Wa ... 8C229.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Does anyone know what they are made from just by looking at the picture? Thanks!

[peterpan]

I've found the drag washers to be: HT-100. It looks like they use them in several other reels...

This is what I found in a forum:

"If you want to beef up your drag, take the suggestion from zzsdad and get the SMOooth DRAG metal washers to go with the HT 100s. If you want to keep top end drag run them dry. If you want them incredibly smooth with almost the same range, use a small amount of either Shimano ACE star drag grease or the Cal's grease.


FISH HARD!

Chris "

[jeffw114]

...
Anyways, I went to FTU 2 days ago and a guy at the shop told me I wouldn't need any type of grease on my drag washers....

I don't know how you asked the question or the context of your conversation when you were given that advice....but carbon fiber washers need a little bit of grease to perform their best.

If you were to send your Penn reels to a professional for proper cleaning and lubing, I guarantee that cleaning and greasing your carbon fiber drag washers would be part of that service.

Hi habanerojooz, all I remember I asked a young guy at the shop at FTU if they would have a grease for star drag washers on Penn reels 309 and 330 gti. I don't know if it could lead to another issues, seriously I am new to this maintenace thing. So he brought me to the shelves and showed me a 2 oz. Penn Lubricant Reel Grease container (it can be find here: http://store.scottsbt.com/2-oz-Penn-Lub ... 1C473.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). I told him that this is suitable for gears, shaft, plates, etc... but it is not specific for star drag washers. So he went inside the shop for a suggestion from another person who was working there. Then after 2 minutes he comes back and tell me that I wouldn't need to grease my drag washers, they should work fine without grease.

Well, I went back to the penn parts supplier website to find out what is it made from, and I couldn't find it. Here are the specs on the friction drag washers:

http://store.scottsbt.com/6-309-Drag-Wa ... 8C229.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Does anyone know what they are made from just by looking at the picture? Thanks!

http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=659.0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Thats a link to a penn 209 , step by step on how to service. Your 309 is basically the same, just bigger. The drag disc are carbon fiber. Alan is reguarded as 1 of, if not the best in servicing fishing reels. If your not sure about this, I'm sure he'd answer any question u may have for him.

[habanerojooz]

The HT-100 is a carbon fiber drag washer.

Carbon fiber drags have a lot of grip. Grease gives them the ability to slip smoothly. If they're dry, they eventually begin to stick and cause jerky stop-n-go drag operation. This may lead to line breakage if you're fighting a large and strong fish.

Drag grease has unique qualities over normal grease. Specifically, drag grease will endure higher temperatures than normal grease. This prevents the drag grease from breaking down and becoming ineffective from the high heat which quickly builds up from the drag friction when a large fish is peeling lots drag.

Shimano drag grease is sold at Academy. It's not cheap, but you probably won't be running out of it any time soon....unless you clean reels for a living.

[peterpan]

Thanks for all the info guys! Now I am convinced I need to grease my drag washers.

Yep, the jerks I remember on the last trip just before the washers got stuck. were terrible as the fish as stripping my line, but fortunately the line didn't break at that time. Now I can see it would come soon!

You guys are awesome, so much stuff I learned here, I hope to have the chance to pass this knowledge to others in need one day! That would be my gratitude to TKF and all of its members!

Thanks and gig'em!