T3 Balistic Drag Problem

[bclark7b]

I bought a t3 ballistic from TW 2 months ago. I always have the drag tightened all the way down. Yesterday I took it out and now even with the drag tightened all the way the line comes out even with a little weight on the line.... any ideas on what's wrong or what I should do?  Thanks

[webertime]

Clean the drag assembly and give it another shot.

[F14A-B]

Not sure, there's some reel techs on here that will chime in hopefully! Good luck with it.

[Smallmouth Hunter]

Braid?

[FishTank]

I had something like this happen on my Daiwa Zillion.  Someone advised to loosen the drag all the way and let it sit for a few days.  Slowly tighten it down while pulling the line out until you get some feel from the drag.  Hopefully if you keep tightening, you will get a solid feel from the drag.

[OntarioFishingGuy]

Make sure that your line isn't slipping

[rippin-lips]

I had a zillion that did this to me. I took it apart and cleaned the drag assembly and it was fine after that.

[J Francho]

Sounds like braided line spooled with no backer. The line slipping, not the the spool. Prefer easy to figure out. Mark the spool with a non permanant marker and pull the line off. If the mark doesn't move, your line is skipping on the spool. Refill the spool using a few turns or more of mono as a backer. Tie your braid to that and fill the spool up.

[Capt.Bob]

Sounds like braided line spooled with no backer. The line slipping, not the the spool. Prefer easy to figure out. Mark the spool with a non permanant marker and pull the line off. If the mark doesn't move, your line is skipping on the spool. Refill the spool using a few turns or more of mono as a backer. Tie your braid to that and fill the spool up.

This is the very first thing I would check. If it isn't the problem, and it is 2 months old, I would return it for warranty repair. The very next thing I would do is never leave the drag cranked down when not using it. I am not saying in 2 months it ruined the drag, but it sure did it no good. You should always back your drag off when not in use, buy leaving everything under pressure you weakening components prematurely. To keep the drag operating at its optimum for the long haul this is best.

[Smallmouth Hunter]

If not braid, than too much grease.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Sounds like braided line spooled with no backer. The line slipping, not the the spool. Prefer easy to figure out. Mark the spool with a non permanant marker and pull the line off. If the mark doesn't move, your line is skipping on the spool. Refill the spool using a few turns or more of mono as a backer. Tie your braid to that and fill the spool up.

Always the first place to look. I'd run that drag system dry. If grease is used make sure it is a drag specific grease (Cal's, Shimano)

[Capt.Bob]

On all my personal reels I run tuned drags, spinning and casting, w/ carbontex drag washers, and all are ran wet with Cal's light dag grease, after tuning and being greased they are smooth as silk and slightly heavier than factory, max drag on any of my reels are never used as I am usually running lighter rods and line for the species I am perusing. Freshwater reels with Carbon drags are not necessary, I have ran dry but think they are slightly smoother overall ran wet, this is just my personal preference, but  many factory drag washers need grease to operate correctly, and Cal's and Shimano is the best drag grease I have found.

[J Francho]

Bob, you may want to try a dry setup in sub freezing temps.

[Capt.Bob]

Bob, you may want to try a dry setup in sub freezing temps.

 

 

 

I agree J F, why I said my personal reels, I let my customers now the disadvantages, but for me I prefer them wet, and I have to say the difference is marginal with the new carbon drags, but if it aint fair weather, I usually got better things to do!! My main purpose of referencing wet drags is I highly doubt grease suddenly stopped the guy's drag from working??

[J Francho]

I agree. Most likely line slipping on the spool or a defective reel.

[bclark7b]

Thank you everyone for all the great tips. It was just line slipping on the spool. I have never used braid before and didn't know any of the stuff about a backing... thank you!