Oil or Grease?
I went to the tackle shop yesterday to get some grease/oil for all 16 of my reels. (Yes, its that time of year.)

Anyways, on the shelf was "Reel Grease" and "Reel Oil". The oil looked much lighter, so I bought it.

Whats the difference and did I make the right choice?

Robert the best thing to do is give Mike at Mike's Reel Repair a call at 604 -855-1119.Mike would be the one to ask whats better oil or grease.

it's gonna depend on the reel. I'd think grease on the spindle of a flyreel, oil for most other reels,grease on most gear wheels etc, oil for handles and cranks.

BTW I've never counted all my reels, some of which just lay around my work bench in component parts!

Funny Ralph.... but how true ~~S~~... I too have donor reels that never get re-assembled...always in bits for cannibalization purposes... Mike @ Mike's Reel will oil the bits needing oiling, and grease the bits needing grease, pretty much the way you posted.

There are so many high quality petroleum products out there, it is hard to pick out a *few*.

White grease is good for reels, and automatic transmission fluid is as good as any for an oil.
I can't say what Mike is using these days, but before the move to the new digs, he was using white grease.

I tend to stay away from silicone based products, like silicote oil, and superlube grease....their solvents are rough on the atmosphere. Petro products go away with common varsol. Chlorinated solvents make silicone products go away. And they just banned trichloroethane. That leaves "perc", or perchloroethane (dry cleaning fluid) and that's hard to get in consumer quantities.

Thursday, January 17, - 11:50 am <16995>
One of the tricks the pro bass fishermen use is to clean their reels of all the grease/oil that is in them and use Slick 50. Apply with a Q-tip. Considering they make umpteen more casts then any of us probably do I suspect they have this sussed out pretty good.
Take care.

Thursday, January 17, - 06:48 pm <16997>
Transmission oil has a lot of anti wear additives that may not be compatible with some reel parts. There are many types of white grease from precision grease to extreme pressure grease. Check manufacturers specs before diving in with any old grease or oil.

Thursday, January 17, - 10:29 pm <17000>
I had absolutely no idea that this issue was this complicated.

Thanks anyways guys.

Friday, January 18, - 11:35 am <17002>
use AGS LINE driples oil and AGS line lith-ease
white lithium greese.both say they are for reels
and both are at LORDCO auto parts.I use the greese for gears and oil every place else.

Friday, January 18, - 02:41 pm <17003>
Bass pros, unlike the rest of us, don't pay for their gear, sponsors take care of that.

Narturally enough as long it spins good for a while they don't care what happens down the road.

My $0.02 anyway.

Friday, January 18, - 05:06 pm <17006>
Terry above makes a good point...my reels live very well on a diet of atf for fords, and white low pressure grease. Meaning, I've determined that both live with each other, and don't hurt any reel's bits. Your mileage may vary. ATF is especially good for ball bearings. For the 7000 red set, the bushings don't mind it either.

Friday, January 18, - 05:08 pm <17007>
Mickey Fin's also got a good point... the fastest ball bearing is a dry ball bearing. but how long do they live? :-)

Friday, January 18, - 08:01 pm <17009>
Ken; I beg to differ. A dry ball bearing does not spin as well a lubricated one. If you want more info email me and I'll explain asperities and viscosities and anything else you would like to know about lubrication.

Saturday, January 19, - 12:51 am <17012>
Go to your local shop and pick up some Reel oil, and Reel Lube (should cost you about 8-10 bucks for both) by Abu Garcia. I run my reels under water, dry them, and then oil and lube them (ask the shop where to oil/lube them, Kelly @ Babcocks would be a good guy to talk to about this) and I haven't had any problems with my reels.

Saturday, January 19, - 06:31 pm <17015>
Yo, Terry.. Thanks, but I have all the details I need on lubrication, and viscosity. So I need not disturb you with an e-mail. Here is what I base my opinion on..and I invite you to do the steps and draw your own concusions RE, a dry ball bearing and a lubricated one.

Step one. Obtain some ether, in spray form. Ergo: starting fluid.
Step two. Obtain a miniature ball bearing, preferably one the same a reel would use, an ABEC 3, or 5 (7 if you have lots of money)
Step three. Remove one of the metal shields on the bearing. Most of the minis have a removeable system with the spring clip.
Step four. Spray some ether in a vessel, and swish the bearing round and round to begin removal of residual oil and grease.
Step five. using tweezers or hemostats, hold the bearing and liberally spray with ether. Both sides.
Step six. Allow the bearing to dry, and give it a spin.
Step seven. Lube the bearing with oil of choice, and spin again.
Like I said: the fastest ball bearing is a dry ball bearing.

Saturday, January 19, - 06:48 pm <17016>
OOPS..... FORGOT TO QUALIFY: My opinion on bearing speeds is based on clean, dry, and a *no-load* scenario....not under operating conditions.

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