Which Bearings Are The Best?

[SirSnookalot]

I just bought a couple of bearings for a spinning over the counter at Boca, Larry came out to help me.  Larry suggested ceramic instead of stainless, only a $2.00 price difference.  He said ss bearings will corrode in saltwater and he sees it all the time, assuming much of their walk in trade is saltwater as they are only a few miles from the ocean.  He also claimed the ceramic would be smoother, on both claims I can agree, not only is my reel very smooth now but I've had corrosion from ss in the past.  Today I will be going back to Boca to replace a corroded line roller bearing on my stradic (2nd time it's happened), I'm going to go with the ceramic and buy 2, one for my other stradic to try and nip a problem in the bud, just a matter of time for that bearing.

[ike8120]

I know this thread is over 7 years old, But has anything changed in the way to clean your spool bearings new safer products etc?

[NOC 1]

48 minutes ago, ike8120 said:

I know this thread is over 7 years old, But has anything changed in the way to clean your spool bearings new safer products etc?

The truth about ABEC ratings ..... for starters it is an American ratings system that requires physical testing of a large sample of actual bearings by the Annular Bearing Engineers Committee. So, when you see this rating on bearings made elsewhere don't believe the hype. German bearings would be rated by the DIN, and the Japanese by JIS, and others by the ISO.

 

Not that it matters much for a fishing reel. The ABEC rating is a rating of average tolerances and nothing else. 3 of 10  ABEC 3 bearings will have tolerances tight enough to hit Maximum testing RPM, whereas 7 of 10 ABEC 7 bearings will. So the rating is more of a rating of the assembly line where the bearing is made than it is an individual bearing. You can get a better bearing in a batch of ABEC 3 than you might get in a batch of ABEC 7, but the odds are that you will get the more accurate bearing in the ABEC 7 batch. The rating is more one of consistency of manufacturing rather than a rating of individual bearings. An ABEC-7 rating means that the bearing that you are buying is made on a line where 7 of 10 bearings meet the ABEC-7 spec....however yours might be one of the other 3.

 

The next thing is that a high ABEC rating is not the same thing as a higher quality bearing. The ABEC standards don't test or measure material quality, quality of the balls, polish, or any other of the many important factors in a bearing.

 

Finally, does it even make a difference for use in a fishing reel. Not much. For example the allowable difference in the OD of the ABEC-3 and the ABEC-7 bearing is 1/10,000". There is no difference between ABEC-5 and ABEC-7. There is no way that any fishing reel is manufactured at a tighter tolerance than that, so it literally doesn't matter which bearing you use. AND...if there were, you wouldn't likely benefit from that improvement until the spool hit 20,000+ RPM anyway.

 

If you are interested enough to want to see the actual ABEC specs...look here.

https://www.engineersedge.com/bearing/ball_bearings_tolerances.htm

 

 

[roadwarrior]

WOW!

Next time I go around I'm going to be an engineer.

 

[Guitarfish]

Ike, Home Depot has Paslode tool cleaner spray.  No crazy odor and won't hurt Plastic.  I spray thru bearings from each side while laying on a paper towel.  Then spritz with TS 321 oil.   Simple and it works.

 

I ruined a brand new vintage reel (appearance) once using carb cleaner.  It softened the side plate, then I mushed it up with a rag.  To say nothing of what it feels like if carb cleaner splashes in your eye.

[NOC 1]

11 minutes ago, Guitarfish said:

Ike, Home Depot has Paslode tool cleaner spray.  No crazy odor and won't hurt Plastic.  I spray thru bearings from each side while laying on a paper towel.  Then spritz with TS 321 oil.   Simple and it works.

 

I ruined a brand new vintage reel (appearance) once using carb cleaner.  It softened the side plate, then I mushed it up with a rag.  To say nothing of what it feels like if carb cleaner splashes in your eye.

I'll 2nd the recommendation for using TS-321. it is not oil though and doesn't really work the same way. It is Tungsten Disulfide in suspension. It is a minimum of 6 times more effective at preventing rust than oil and is virtually the lowest friction material known.

 

The similar TSI-301 is cheaper but be aware that it is a Tungsten Disulfide suspension in a solvent that could attack plastic. it can be used but it is best to leave it dry very completely before installing in the reel. The 321 can be used like oil and simply applied. It does not degrade, and as it is a dry lubricant it will not dry out or collect dirt. One use should last all year probably longer. It might make your bearings a little noisier, but it will free them up like no oil can.

 

When shopping for it try to find an industrial supply place that will sell you a 2 or 4 oz squirt bottle of it. It can be had at those p[laces for like $89 a gallon while the fishing shops will often gouge you $7 per OZ. The last I bought was a 4 oz bottle for $7.95 and at one drop per bearing it should last for my lifetime I think.

[redmeansdistortion]

On 8/8/2013 at 2:40 PM, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

The internet is flooded with those 'watch my reel spin' videos and they mean very little.

If you market to salmon and steelhead fishermen, it can mean very much.  It's a different style of fishing though where free spool is paramount for being able to attain nice long drifts on the river.  The bulk of my business comes from customers and charters that float or drift the rivers for chrome torpedoes.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

2 hours ago, redmeansdistortion said:

If you market to salmon and steelhead fishermen, it can mean very much.  It's a different style of fishing though where free spool is paramount for being able to attain nice long drifts on the river.  The bulk of my business comes from customers and charters that float or drift the rivers for chrome torpedoes.

Yes I’m a steelheader too. Center pin mostly so I get the drift aspect. I was referring to those make absurd claims regarding casting distance based on misleading videos.