Abu Garcia Silvermax

[dinneronastring]

I received one of the reels I wanted for Christmas a couple days early. I checked out a Silvermax while at Dicks Sporting goods. It seemed to have what I wanted in a reel

for my purposes. However, it was in gator packaging so couldn't play with it much. At the time it seemed as though the spindle had very minor drag on it when it should have been spinning freely in the cast mode. I was hoping it was my imagination because it was difficult to evaluate in the packaging.

 

The one I received for Christmas is the same. This limits how far I can cast a light weight lure, plastics, etc. when this was why I chose this style of reel from what I have

been using. Has anyone else experienced this with a Blackmax or Silvermax?

 

I believe I will remove the crank, attach a hose, put a headless nail in the other end of the hose and attach a drill and run it to break it in. Very few people have heard of

this trick. As far as I know, I invented it. Should work.

 

I set up the magnetic break so that can't be the problem.

 

Any thoughts?

 

 

Larry

[roadwarrior]

I believe I will remove the crank, attach a hose, put a headless nail in the other end of the hose and attach a drill and run it to break it in. Very few people have heard of

this trick. As far as I know, I invented it. Should work.

 

_{Should work for what?}

[Jolly Green]

Don't know anything about the guts of that reel, but generally speaking, breaking it down, cleaning everything, and re-lubing it properly should work.

 

Recently posted demo of the concept:

 

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/128193-stock-vs-clean-reel-video/

[Ima Bass Ninja]

I had a black max for a long time and it was a decent reel. I do not believe it is intended for light weights though. Anything under 3/8oz was difficult to cast. But that's about the same with most baitcast reel unless you get Into the finesse class reels. Rods also have a lot to do with how light of weight you can throw.

I have never heard of "breaking in" a reel. Other than a cleaning their should be no breaking in. Nothing should flex and tolerances are not menant to be changed.

Also might want to change your font as it's difficult to read. Just a thought.

[ZB85]

I have a silvermax its a decent reel. The one gripe I have with mine is that the thumb bar tends to stick and it really drives me nuts. i mainly use the reel as a back up now.

[daleste11]

I have both a SilverMax and BlackMax and have not had any major issues with them. I have found that just breaking them down and giving them a good cleaning, using Reel Butter and Abu Reel Oil should solve any problems.  Remember its a $50 baitcaster, so don't expect $300 performance.  

[mjseverson24]

I agree with what the other guys have said I have used black/silver max reels in the past and they do not handle lighter baits as well as they handle the ones in the 1/2 to 3/4 oz range, that being said if you have a rod with a soft tip this can help compensate for the slow spool on these reels and cast these lighter baits. for the money they are a fantastic reel if you get the cast control knob and magnetic settings right it should work well for you... the only thing you might want to do is break it down and clean it, or at a minimum flush and re-lube the spool bearings...

 

Mitch 

[iabass8]

I received one of the reels I wanted for Christmas a couple days early. I checked out a Silvermax while at Dicks Sporting goods. It seemed to have what I wanted in a reel

for my purposes. However, it was in gator packaging so couldn't play with it much. At the time it seemed as though the spindle had very minor drag on it when it should have been spinning freely in the cast mode. I was hoping it was my imagination because it was difficult to evaluate in the packaging.

 

The one I received for Christmas is the same. This limits how far I can cast a light weight lure, plastics, etc. when this was why I chose this style of reel from what I have

been using. Has anyone else experienced this with a Blackmax or Silvermax?

 

I believe I will remove the crank, attach a hose, put a headless nail in the other end of the hose and attach a drill and run it to break it in. Very few people have heard of

this trick. As far as I know, I invented it. Should work.

 

I set up the magnetic break so that can't be the problem.

 

Any thoughts?

 

 

Larry

don't do that...

 

just flush the bearings and clean the reel out. the reel isn't intended to cast lightweight lures. should be fine for 3/8+

[wnybassman]

My entire arsenal of casting reels consists a half dozen Pro-Max's, 1 Silver Max, a few Black Max's and a whole bunch of older generation Back Max 1600 round reels.   They ar eall decent for what they cost, I think.   My single Silver Max has been my frog reel for a couple years and I beat the crap out of it.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

To get the most out of any reel fish it hard while new to rule out any warranty covered issues. Next flush and lightly oil stock spool bearings. During the off season have a deep cleaning performed and repeat as usage and conditions dictate. There is nothing to be gained by over working parts like the crank that are not designed to spin fast or continuously.

[dinneronastring]

Worked it all out. The lure I was using was too light. I was basing my expectations of spindle free spin upon a real of less quality that I checked out at Dick's Sporting Goods that had no braking system. When you

spun the empty spool with your thumb it continued to spin for a long time before it stopped. I am assuming it was the lack of braking system. Maybe tight tolerances play a part in the Silvermax. Still uncertain at this point.

[Loop_Dad]

Larry, you maybe comparing a reel with spool tension applied and a reel without. The tensioner is the one next to the handle. Besides free spin is just one part of the equation.

 

I have one Silvermax that I won from some other website. It performed pretty well right out of the box. I quite frankly thought the it is built 'tighter' than Citica and it is a $50 reel. After flushing and oiling the bearings, it even worked a bit better. Casting performance wise, I didn't see any major negative compared with Citica. I agree with others it is a decent reel for the cost.

 

One disclaimer is that I do not generally throw light stuff, so your mileage might differ if you are throwing lighter stuff.

 

That reel is now sitting on top of my frogging rod, which get used occasionally.

[KC5TTC]

I have 2 Black Max reels, 1 silver Max reel, 1 pro max reel and a Revo STX. I have had no issues with any of them. Just periodic maintenance and the keep going and going.

[tholmes]

I have a Black Max that I bought as a "truck reel". I've used it pretty hard for three years now and it's held up pretty well. I spooled it with 8 lb/ mono and, after a clean and lube plus a little tuning, have no problem casting 1/4 oz. crankbaits with it. It's on the bench now waiting for a new pawl to be installed. 

 

Tom

[new2BC4bass]

Worked it all out. The lure I was using was too light. I was basing my expectations of spindle free spin upon a real of less quality that I checked out at Dick's Sporting Goods that had no braking system. When you

spun the empty spool with your thumb it continued to spin for a long time before it stopped. I am assuming it was the lack of braking system. Maybe tight tolerances play a part in the Silvermax. Still uncertain at this point.

 

 

All of today's reels have at least one brake system.  I doubt brakes have very much affect on spool speed from spinning with your thumb or finger.  Spool speed would be too low.  As Loop_Dad said, it would be from one reel having little, if any, spool tension while the other had plenty of spool tension.

 

Also not all reels are capable of throwing light lures well.  I have no experience with the Silver of Black Max, but recent threads the past day or two suggest they don't do well below 3/8 oz. just as iabass has already mentioned in this thread.

 

I have to agree with Mike of DVT (Post #10).  I see absolutely no reason for your hose trick.  I have to assume from your wording in the first paragraph that what you called "spindle" is really a reference to the spool.  If you don't want any drag on the spool, then loosen spool tension.  Just be prepared for some nasty backlashes unless you have a very well trained thumb. 

[ksboy]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Just be prepared for some nasty backlashes unless you have a very well trained thumb

 

This is the important part of using a baitcaster.