Plastic reel parts? What are some with out?

Bassboss · 08-03-09, 01:27 PM

Hey guys! I getting a new reel sometime at the end of this year, and wanna get one WITHOUT plastic parts. I freaking hate these things. All my bait casters to date have had them. For the first 6-7 mouths they work fine, but after, they start having problems, grinding, loss of smoothness, all that bad stuff!

This next reel I wanna get a one without plastic parts. Right now I'm looking at the Abu SX, and the Daiwa advantage HSTA. Do these have plastic parts? If so, could you recommend some reels that don't have any and that are moderately priced (150-100) I don't mind plastic parts like this one, it's just the plastic gears and bearing I hate! I would guess that shimano and Daiwa don't have them, but how about Abu's and others? Also while we're at it, wanna recommend a cheep good rod to go with it?

I wanna stay under 220 for the whole combo.

Thanks a lot!

basstech · 08-03-09, 01:56 PM

To qualify my comment I'll give you a little back round info. I spent the better part of four years cleaning and repairing reels from around '90 to '94. had gone through hundreds of reels, still do it for myself and a handful of friends. Long story short, don't recall seeing any reel that didn't have a least one or two plastic parts, but generally speaking, they were never the cause or very very rarely the cause for a reel to fail. Most of the time it was just too dirty to work properly. When there was an actuall failure it was ussually a stripped pinion gear, (where the spool mounts into the bottom side of it), a bent crank shaft, a worn pawl in the line guide, or the owner of the reel opened it up thinking they could fix/clean it(they usually lost a spring when they took it apart). I have a bunch of citica's and curados that i bought back in '94 to '96 and the drive gear for the worm gear is plastic on every reel i've got or seen, haven't really ever seen one stripped though. Point being, that you're probably not going to find a reel that doesn't at least one or two pieces of plastic, but like I've said, I can't say that I've actually seen any of those plastic parts fail. Maybe the other guys on here have or know of a reel under $400.00 that won't have plastic in it.

Bassboss · 08-03-09, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by basstech

To qualify my comment I'll give you a little back round info. I spent the better part of four years cleaning and repairing reels from around '90 to '94. had gone through hundreds of reels, still do it for myself and a handful of friends. Long story short, don't recall seeing any reel that didn't have a least one or two plastic parts, but generally speaking, they were never the cause or very very rarely the cause for a reel to fail. Most of the time it was just too dirty to work properly. When there was an actuall failure it was ussually a stripped pinion gear, (where the spool mounts into the bottom side of it), a bent crank shaft, a worn pawl in the line guide, or the owner of the reel opened it up thinking they could fix/clean it(they usually lost a spring when they took it apart). I have a bunch of citica's and curados that i bought back in '94 to '96 and the drive gear for the worm gear is plastic on every reel i've got or seen, haven't really ever seen one stripped though. Point being, that you're probably not going to find a reel that doesn't at least one or two pieces of plastic, but like I've said, I can't say that I've actually seen any of those plastic parts fail. Maybe the other guys on here have or know of a reel under $400.00 that won't have plastic in it.

Well that's not very hope full, but it's probably true! So yes, thank you very much for help!

I did take it about a lube it/clean it, it fixed the grinding, but still has a lack of smoothness; I dunno, I could be just being to picky!

Raul · 08-03-09, 02:17 PM

All BC reels, even the most expensive ones, have plastic ( Nylon ) parts, and they are there for a reason, specially when it comes to two gears ( iddle gears ) and the yoke, idle gears will break before you can damage the main gearing.

Grinding and loss of smoothness have to do more with not properly maintaining the reel ( cleaning, greasing and oiling ) than with the nylon parts, my Abu XLT Plus series reels have been in use since 1984 and none of them grinds or lacks of smoothness, let alone my newer more recent reels.

zooker · 08-03-09, 04:19 PM

bass tech is right..

kinda why i scarf up some of the older reels.. i use a bunch of quantum "silver" mag gear 1310..some made 25 years ago.. any reel they advertize with a weight-ie the steez-has almost NO metal in the reel.kind of the reason that reel sucks...

remember just cause the reel is 10 years plus old dont mean it aint smooth.. shoot some of the 30 year old lews i have, make a bunch of noise. but still works very smoothly with just 3 ballbearings...think about that for a mintue..

in my opinion i would check craigslist or ebay first....i got several old quantums for $10 each....

zooker

WTL · 08-03-09, 04:23 PM

I agree with Raul and Basstech here, although abundant plastic parts will sometimes indicate a lack of attention to quality.

The BPS reels for instance are known the be very good at first, but they will wear down on you. I recently did break a BPS Extreme, and the part was plastic - a little clip on the inside of the magnetic brake - its a $50 reel so I wont cry about it.

I think you will be happy with the Abu or the Shimano, these companies dont play around, but keep in mind you have to maintain the reels.

Raul · 08-04-09, 11:39 AM

Things you have to lube to keep the reel smooth:

1.- Worm gear: heavy oil ( do not grease it, grease will trap all sorts of dirt and damage the pawl ).

2.- Spool supporting bearings: very light oil ( do not apply heavy oil, it will reduce the speed and easiness of the spool to spin )

3.- Gearing: REEL grease, I do not recommend any other kind of grease.

4.- Handle knobs: very light oil.

5.- Check out the type of drag in your reel, there are two kind of drags, dry & wet, dry drags should not be oiled nor greased ( it causes studdering ), wet drags have to be greased with DRAG grease

If you keep your reel clean and well maintained on a regular basis your reel will last a lifetime and work perfectly and smoothly for years. My oldest reels ( Abus ) are over 25 years old and they work perfectly.

08-03-09, 01:27 PM	#1
Bassboss BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Shawano, WI Posts: 7,761	Plastic reel parts? What are some without? Hey guys! I getting a new reel sometime at the end of this year, and wanna get one WITHOUT plastic parts. I freaking hate these things. All my bait casters to date have had them. For the first 6-7 mouths they work fine, but after, they start having problems, grinding, loss of smoothness, all that bad stuff! This next reel I wanna get a one without plastic parts. Right now I'm looking at the Abu SX, and the Daiwa advantage HSTA. Do these have plastic parts? If so, could you recommend some reels that don't have any and that are moderately priced (150-100) I don't mind plastic parts like this one, it's just the plastic gears and bearing I hate! I would guess that shimano and Daiwa don't have them, but how about Abu's and others? Also while we're at it, wanna recommend a cheep good rod to go with it? I wanna stay under 220 for the whole combo. Thanks a lot! __________________ If you can't fix it with heavy squats or fish oil, you're probably going to die. Last edited by Bassboss; 08-03-09 at 01:34 PM.

08-03-09, 01:56 PM	#2
basstech BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Rockford, Ill Posts: 489	To qualify my comment I'll give you a little back round info. I spent the better part of four years cleaning and repairing reels from around '90 to '94. had gone through hundreds of reels, still do it for myself and a handful of friends. Long story short, don't recall seeing any reel that didn't have a least one or two plastic parts, but generally speaking, they were never the cause or very very rarely the cause for a reel to fail. Most of the time it was just too dirty to work properly. When there was an actuall failure it was ussually a stripped pinion gear, (where the spool mounts into the bottom side of it), a bent crank shaft, a worn pawl in the line guide, or the owner of the reel opened it up thinking they could fix/clean it(they usually lost a spring when they took it apart). I have a bunch of citica's and curados that i bought back in '94 to '96 and the drive gear for the worm gear is plastic on every reel i've got or seen, haven't really ever seen one stripped though. Point being, that you're probably not going to find a reel that doesn't at least one or two pieces of plastic, but like I've said, I can't say that I've actually seen any of those plastic parts fail. Maybe the other guys on here have or know of a reel under $400.00 that won't have plastic in it. __________________ The words just won't come to me!:confused:

08-03-09, 04:19 PM	#5
zooker BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: denton nc Posts: 13,441	bass tech is right.. kinda why i scarf up some of the older reels.. i use a bunch of quantum "silver" mag gear 1310..some made 25 years ago.. any reel they advertize with a weight-ie the steez-has almost NO metal in the reel.kind of the reason that reel sucks... remember just cause the reel is 10 years plus old dont mean it aint smooth.. shoot some of the 30 year old lews i have, make a bunch of noise. but still works very smoothly with just 3 ballbearings...think about that for a mintue.. in my opinion i would check craigslist or ebay first....i got several old quantums for $10 each.... zooker __________________ the godfather.. aml in remission since 7-20-09

08-03-09, 04:23 PM	#6
WTL BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Huntsville, Al Posts: 7,466	I agree with Raul and Basstech here, although abundant plastic parts will sometimes indicate a lack of attention to quality. The BPS reels for instance are known the be very good at first, but they will wear down on you. I recently did break a BPS Extreme, and the part was plastic - a little clip on the inside of the magnetic brake - its a $50 reel so I wont cry about it. I think you will be happy with the Abu or the Shimano, these companies dont play around, but keep in mind you have to maintain the reels. __________________ Selling live waterdogs for less since 2005.

08-03-09, 02:17 PM	#4
Raul BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 1,030	All BC reels, even the most expensive ones, have plastic ( Nylon ) parts, and they are there for a reason, specially when it comes to two gears ( iddle gears ) and the yoke, idle gears will break before you can damage the main gearing. Grinding and loss of smoothness have to do more with not properly maintaining the reel ( cleaning, greasing and oiling ) than with the nylon parts, my Abu XLT Plus series reels have been in use since 1984 and none of them grinds or lacks of smoothness, let alone my newer more recent reels.

08-04-09, 11:39 AM	#7
Raul BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 1,030	Things you have to lube to keep the reel smooth: 1.- Worm gear: heavy oil ( do not grease it, grease will trap all sorts of dirt and damage the pawl ). 2.- Spool supporting bearings: very light oil ( do not apply heavy oil, it will reduce the speed and easiness of the spool to spin ) 3.- Gearing: REEL grease, I do not recommend any other kind of grease. 4.- Handle knobs: very light oil. 5.- Check out the type of drag in your reel, there are two kind of drags, dry & wet, dry drags should not be oiled nor greased ( it causes studdering ), wet drags have to be greased with DRAG grease If you keep your reel clean and well maintained on a regular basis your reel will last a lifetime and work perfectly and smoothly for years. My oldest reels ( Abus ) are over 25 years old and they work perfectly.

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