What Grease to Try Next?

[Josh Smith]

Hi Folks,

This past fall I did my reels with Ardent Reel Butter.  I went fishing today in 33°F weather, and I'm pretty sure I lost a lot of it off the gears.  I'm going to therefore redo the two reels I used today.  I want to see, at any rate, if the Reel Butter fell off due to cold.

Since buying the Ardent Reel Butter, I've acquired some Abu Garcia with PTFE, some Berkley Silicote, and some Penn blue stuff.

I really like the Penn stuff, but I've tried it -- it's in a Shimano reel I'm rebuilding.  I'm pretty sure the Abu Garcia grease is different than that I grew up using.  Pretty sure the stuff I used to use did not have PTFE in it.  I'm curious.  I'll leave the Berkley stuff alone for now as I bought it just to get the oil that was with it, as I really like the Berkley oil and couldn't find it separately.

So, what would you try next?  The Penn stuff, or the Abu Garcia stuff?

Regards,

Josh

[mprestonSEK]

I'd recommend Shimano Drag Grease. It does really well staying on the gears and is a good bit thicker in viscosity compared to reel butter or Abu Ptfe. I can't comment on Penn's grease, never tried it.

[Josh Smith]

Thank you, Preston.  I need to order some of that; I've been putting it off.

Out of what I have, I'm leaning toward the Abu Garcia stuff, or maybe use it on one and the Penn on the other then compare.

Regards,

Josh

[smallie.mike]

I'll second the shimano drag grease. I also really like super lube. 

Reel butter sucks imo. 

[FloridaFishinFool]

Shimano teflon drag grease works for gears. Used it for years. But over this past year I have been using an all new to me plant based grease in my reels called UltraLube- and so far so good. The results have been excellent for me. So no more petroleum greases for my reels at this point moving forward...

http://www.ultralube.com/

 The plant-based oil used in UltraLube^® has four times the lubricating qualities of conventional petroleum, which means less heat and less wear. In fact, tests prove that it performs significantly better than the competitors, and creates long-lasting bonds with metal and even plastic surfaces.

More performance advantages of UltraLube:

• Helps parts function better - frees rusted parts, prevents corrosion
• Instantly penetrates and lasts longer, so it can be applied less often
• Reduces heat and friction better than petroleum-based products
• 35% better wear protection in Four-Ball Weld* Test 
• Replaces and mixes readily with petroleum-based products
• Higher flashpoint than petroleum, so it's safer to use 
• Higher viscosity so it's less likely to thin out at higher temperatures
• Higher film strength so it can withstand pressure better

In the following video Super Lube synthetic is one of the lubricants tested...

This company sells a wide variety of lubricants. I use about 6 of them including some of their marine lubricants:

http://www.ultralube.com/ResourceCenter/ProductLiterature/PrintMaterials/MarineLubricants

[ww2farmer]

My suggestion might not be "expert" approved, but I use automotive brake caliper/ high temp wheel bearing grease on my reel gears. Works great, is cheap, plus I use it on dozens of other things.............like M1 garand + M1 carbine bolt lugs/operating rods/receiver rails, 1911 + other pistol slide/frame rails, AR15 bolt carries. A little dab on the gears, and it's good to go for an entire season. I have never seen a decrease in performance. Plus it's CHEAP........$4 for a tube and I haven't had to buy a tube in years. The lubrication business is full of snake oil salesmen, when everything you need can be had at the local hardware store for a fraction of these so called "wonder lubes". 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Cold won't make grease drop off. All grease is, is a vehicle to hold oil in place to libricate the parts. A fishing reel is not a demanding application at all compared to others. Any more than a film does nothing for you. Any of the greases you mention will work. The key is to have a clean part to start with. Drag grease makes a good multipurpose lube but if you don't have any wet drags save that cost too. Super Lube or marine grease work well and are readily available. There's no magic to any of them . 

[BobP]

I've used Super Lube grease for about 10 yrs now and doubt I'll see any reason to change.  It's a white petroleum grease with a PTFE additive. NAPA stores carry it in a tub for axle grease, which is a virtual lifetime supply.  Crack open a reel lubricated with it after a year's use and it looks like it was just lubed.  But if you have a wet drag system like in most Shimanos, use a drag grease like Simano Ace-2 Drag Grease or Penn Muscle Grease.  It's a sticky cosmoline based grease and will make drags work much longer and smoother than typical greases.  You can also use it for general grease purposes in gears, etc but it is heavier and not as slippery as Super Lube   

[Jrob78]

I use Cal's Drag Grease for everything that requires grease.

[THE_Vue's]

7 hours ago, Jrob78 said:

I use Cal's Drag Grease for everything that requires grease.

If you are looking for gear smoothness and quietness this is the grease to get.  I've tried Super Lube/Yamaha blue grease and there just to thin or something but you can really hear the gears and have a geary feel.  Now I just use the other two on moving parts like the worm gear, clutch retainer components etc.

[iabass8]

Penn reel grease is good stuff.

superlube, found at most hardware stores, is good stuff as well.

[PitchinJigz]

Shimano grease is the best IMO.

[Jaheff]

Cal's was the worse grease to clean out of frame bearings. I now just use marine grade, lower unit gear oil (thick) for frame bearings, super lube for gears, cals on drags and TSI on spool bearings.

[Josh Smith]

13 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

Cold won't make grease drop off. All grease is, is a vehicle to hold oil in place to libricate the parts. A fishing reel is not a demanding application at all compared to others. Any more than a film does nothing for you. Any of the greases you mention will work. The key is to have a clean part to start with. Drag grease makes a good multipurpose lube but if you don't have any wet drags save that cost too. Super Lube or marine grease work well and are readily available. There's no magic to any of them . 

Hi DVT,

I have an automotive background that I reference when I talk about greases.  Axle grease -- the stuff that goes in your differential -- can get to viscous in cold weather and not sling onto the gears correctly.

I understand also that it's not a direct apples:apples comparison.  The only place that any heat might build is in the drag, unless I'm missing something.

Probably the better comparison would be how grease works in an unsealed wheel bearing, but still, those get heat that reels do not.  As you said, fishing reels are not demanding applications.

Did some reading last night.  From what I can find, if the blue Penn stuff is used on drags and a fish makes a nice, long, drag-smokin' run (granted, not real likely with bass), the lubricity breaks down and the grease, as it cools, becomes tacky and can glue the drag together somewhat.

Now, I've not confirmed this.  However, this is the type of thing I'm looking for.  I had no idea that Penn blue should not be used on drags, nor did I know that (it is said that) it becomes glue-like when heated and cooled. 

I'll eventually get Shimano and Cal's to try, guys.  I want to try the stuff I already have, first.

Thanks, all!

Regards,

Josh

 

[Jaheff]

Here Josh, Read till you go crazy...alantani.com

[blckshirt98]

Ha, I was just about to post a link from Alan Tani.  He's one of the reel maintenance gurus in the saltwater world and he uses some blue Yamaha grease.  Here's a link to one of his posts where he describes what he uses and why -

http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=50.0

[J Francho]

Shimano Permalub is what came in the reel and is a very good grease.  Cal's Light Grease (purple) is good.