Reel Maintenance?
 

I usually end up kayak saltwater fishing every 1-2 weeks. I have a shimano Tor30 reel and a cheap Daiwa reel. When I get home and rinse everything out with my garden hose at home I usually fill a 5 gallon bucket and leave my reels soaked in water overnight. I know my 5 gallon soaking method is probably not the ideal way to be cleaning them. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
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My questions are: <o:p></o:p>
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What is the proper method of cleaning the reels after each use?<o:p></o:p>
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How often should I be opening the reels and cleaning them out? <o:p></o:p>

i think alan tani's website is very thorough when it comes how to maintain a reel.
http://alantani.com/

Interesting... would like to know the outcome of the soaking overnite method. Never heard of this method before.

ya same here...from what i remember always being told over the years by multiple diff people is to rinse them after each use with freshwater but to not soak them to heavily. ive always just done a light spray with a hose and quick wipe down with a dry towel.

Well, if i just rinse them out with the hose the next time i take the reels out you can feel the salt in the reel. (barely)


When i soak my reels overnight the next time i take them out i don't feel the salt. it is smooth


What i do: i leave the reels attached to the rod and fill the bucket all the way to the top and put the reels face down in the water (the rods are perpendicular to the bucket), the next morning i just leave them out to dry.

X2

not too sure on the over nighter in a bucket, might be a good idea to open them up and check the bearings and the drags.

been doing this for years.

button down drags. immerse in warm soapy water for about 1/2 hour. drain. rinse well with fresh water. drip dry upside down over a towel. after, loosen drags all the way, put in free spool, tighten spool tensioner, apply clicker if it has it.

now, I grease all my drags but wither way, most drag material (by now at least) is not absorbing.

there's reel cleaning and reel maintenance. that's cleaning. maintenance would be taking it apart, lubing, etc. on star drags it's really easy even a guy like me could do it.

I spray my rods and reels down, then scrub everything...guides and all...with one of these
http://gascoals.com.dnn4less.net/Des...crub-brush.jpg
Then blow everything dry with this
http://www.northerntool.com/images/p...es/1574_lg.jpg
then spray light coating of this on everything
http://image10.bizrate-images.com/re...400&mid=236970
Never have had any problems with salt corrosion

i have been soaking my reels since i was a kid. my granddad lived at the ocean in washington state. we would go surf fishing a lot and each time we would soak the reels to get them clean. while his cars, travel trailer would rust i never saw any corrison with the reels. these were the old garcias and diawa spinning reels.
i still use the diawa reel that he had. had it serviced recently and it is just fine. the exterior condition on the reel is great too.
some have said not to do this and others say it doesn't matter. so to each his own. i also spray wd40 on the outside of the reels and wipe off the excess. i think the wd40 helps keep the salt water off the reels while i use them and keep them looking new.
i personally have not had any issues with my equipment while doing this, my .02

How long do you soak them in water for?

or by soak do you mean rinse?

A local guide told me to spary my reels with windex cus it drys quick unlike water. I then wipe it down with a rag with a lil wd-40 on it. Seems to work well so far.

If you want your reels to work at their peak preformance for as long as possible keep water out of them. I tighten the drag and rinse with a light spray, just enough to cut the salt film and then a wipe down to dry. After the reel has dried for a day losen the drag and turn the handle and make sure its smooth. I check the free spooling next. I store reels with star drags in gear with the drags backed off and reels with lever drags in free spool with the clicker on.

Kayaking is very hard on reels.There is nothing worse than sandy foamy water getting in your reels while launching through the surf. I put small sandwich bags over mine and use a rubberband to keep them on. Keeping water out really helps.

i usually take them off my rods then let them soak in a bucket with water. then i start to clean off the rest of my gear/kayak. the last thing i usually clean are the reels usually take let them soak for an hour. i take them out shake the water our and let it drip dry. them i towel them off and spray some wd40 on them. after that use paper towels and wipe off.
i stand them up so that the rest of the water drips out and i also loosen the drag.

No garden hose at my place so I bring my rods and reels in the shower with me when I get home. I spray down the reels and all my rod guides then put them outside the shower to dry over a towel. Once they dry I'll oil them up before storing. Every couple of months I'll take them apart for cleaning and grease.