Favorite reel oil

[FordsnFishin]

Going through all my reels right now, you know, since it's 10 degrees out...

 

Wondering what oil you guys are using on your bearings and worm gear. Was using hot sauce,  but felt it was too thin. Found my self reapplying several times through the year. Not to mention the constant red on everything. 

 

Been using shimano oil lately, feels better than hot sauce.  But nearly out of it,  so about to put in a order. 

 

Been using penn blue grease.  Seems to do pretty well.  Maybe a bit dry by the end of the season.  Wondering now if I use it too thin though. 

[A-Jay]

 I like this one a lot.

https://www.zpi-japan.com/products/F-zeroBOPF.html

 

 

Great Price right here too.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ZPI-F-0-BEARING-OIL-for-POWER-FISHING/132917554346?hash=item1ef280ecaa:g:2PcAAOSwWCFbxKi-:rk:1:pf:0

 

A-Jay

[FishTank]

Shimano has been my favorite but I also use Ardent.  I am not a fan of Hot Sauce. 

[diehardbassfishing]

On our forums here:

 

I've found baitcaster bearing oil to "spin-out" and leave a bearing dry no matter the viscosity, in about the same time. So now I go with the light oils. The performance is great, and the maintenance is the same. I use Hedgehog Studio Ultra Light.

 

Karl

 

 

[Happybeerbuzz]

I started using Reel X about a year or so ago, and it does the job well.

[Smelter96]

Just purchased some TSI321 for this coming year. 2 feet of ice, so no testing other than spinning the spool. So far im liking it!

[Oregon Native]

Interesting...have always used the Shimano oil too and also use it to thin there grease a bit.  Hmmmmm

[redmeansdistortion]

TSI-321 is my usual oil for level winds and IAR bearings and for stainless bearings I run Rocket Fuel Yellow.  I run my ceramic hybrids dry.  For grease I use Yamaha blue marine grease.  I find it better than most greases marketed as reel grease.

[NYWayfarer]

Been using Ardent Reel Butter oil. I bought a bottle of Lucas fishing reel oil for when that runs out

[junyer357]

Shimano grease and boca lightning oil for me. 

[FordsnFishin]

Actually came across this last night,  and pulled the trigger.  Seems quite a few others have been using it on reels and guns. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Liberty-Oil-Synthetic-Lubricating-Fishing/dp/B00BEA7ZA8/ref=mp_s_a_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1548337073&sr=8-13&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=reel+oil

[OnthePotomac]

Yellow Rocket Fuel on the SS bearings for 16 years and now use TSI on the pinion, Xship and crank shaft bearings.    ReelX on worm gears (I don't have any bearings on my worm gears) and handle bearings. In the past, I have used Super Lube and Yamaha Blue Marine on my gears with excellent results, but now use only Shimano ACE2, or Cal's (drag grease) on gears.  Yes, I like to tinker.  Everyone will have their favorites. Strangest thing I ever read on a bass site though was a fellow who said, "My granddad dipped his reels in a bucket of kerosene to clean and lube them". I would not recommend that?

[J Francho]

Bantam Oil is a good general use.  My favorite high performance oil is Oust Metol.  TSI 321 is very good, but expensive.  Yellow Rocket Fuel is also very good.  I like ReelX for roller bearings on spinning reels, and any saltwater setups.  Reel Butter and Hot Sauce didn't hold up for me.  Grease, I use Cal's or Cal's Purple.  I've tried a lot of things on roller bearings, including ATF.  TSI 321 or a another light oil seems to work the best.  Grease attracts grime and even traps braid fibers, so that's out.

[basshtx]

Hedgehog Studios Alchemy oil

[jimmyjoe]

5 hours ago, OnthePotomac said:

   Strangest thing I ever read on a bass site though was a fellow who said, "My granddad dipped his reels in a bucket of kerosene to clean and lube them". I would not recommend that?

   When spinning reels were made of nothing but metals, we did exactly that all the time. Kerosene is a great cleaner. It's not a lube, though. We cleaned it out with nail polish remover (acetone). Then we lubed with the old Penn grease and put Ambassadeur oil on the line roller ... if it had a line roller, that is. Once plastic crept into the picture, those tactics disappeared quickly.     jj

[The Bassman]

6 hours ago, J Francho said:

Bantam Oil is a good general use.  My favorite high performance oil is Oust Metol.  TSI 321 is very good, but expensive.  Yellow Rocket Fuel is also very good.  I like ReelX for roller bearings on spinning reels, and any saltwater setups.  Reel Butter and Hot Sauce didn't hold up for me.  Grease, I use Cal's or Cal's Purple.  I've tried a lot of things on roller bearings, including ATF.  TSI 321 or a another light oil seems to work the best.  Grease attracts grime and even traps braid fibers, so that's out.

I've been using TSI 321 for a while now. Seems to last a long time. Bought mine in a 4 oz. bottle for 18.00. I believe I've heard it mentioned cheaper since then. I don't see myself using it up for a long time.

[J Francho]

That isn't too bad.  Last time I bought it, I was doing over 300 reels a year, so 4 oz. isn't to cut it.  I think the 16 oz. tin was around $50.

[Deleted account]

7 hours ago, J Francho said:

Reel Butter and Hot Sauce didn't hold up for me. 

Worst lubricants ever.

[redmeansdistortion]

 

 

2 hours ago, reason said:

Worst lubricants ever.

It's good if you want to dye your bearings red

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

The most important thing is to clean parts and use an appropriate lubricant for the application. There's no magic. Ex:  Boca Lightning Lube, or Tsi on spool bearings, blue marine grease on gears and 80-140 gear oil on frame bearings and levelwind, Cals on wet drags. 

[CrankFate]

I use ReelX. I find I am casting off most of the oil after the first few casts, no matter what kind. Then I’m down to that tiny coating of what’s left. Supposedly ReelX sticks. (supposedly). I run everything with oil, because otherwise after a few casts, I’m fishing ceramic lubed with pond water only. I re oil before almost every outing. For grease, I just use Cals on everything, very thin, except low profile baitcaster plastic parts, because I can hear and feel the grease on the plastic if the reel’s tolerances are tight enough.

[redmeansdistortion]

7 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

The most important thing is to clean parts and use an appropriate lubricant for the application. There's no magic. Ex:  Boca Lightning Lube, or Tsi on spool bearings, blue marine grease on gears and 80-140 gear oil on frame bearings and levelwind, Cals on wet drags. 

I've never tried differential fluid on the worm gear.  How is it compared to a lighter oil like TSI or ReelX.  Does it stick a little better?

[Spankey]

I’ve use Super Lube multi purpose synthetic grease and oil for years on my reels and guns. Good in temps -40 deg. To 400 degrees. 

[RB 77]

Oil - Shimano

Grease - Cal's

[Mobasser]

Years ago, many used 3 in 1 oil. For many years after that, I used ABU oil and grease. Always felt like it worked fine. Now I'm using Ardent, and it's working good too. I had a skilled reel repairman tell me years ago that it wasn't about the brand of oil that you use, but how well you clean the parts first, and how much oil and grease you use. Most times, just a little bit goes a long way