Baitcasting reel bearings

[fishing_in_israel]

I'm no expert on fishing reels but I'm learning.
For the past little while I've been a bit disappointed in the casting distances of my Revo Inshore.
I regularly oil the spool bearings to keep them lubricated.

I figured it might be a good idea to upgrade the bearings and started looking around for info.
I found an interesting link: Reel Bearings - 101 Class is in Session on the Tackletour website. I then started to check out Boca bearings and specifically their Ceramic Orange Seal ABEC 7 Fishing Reel Bearings (which I have now ordered).
I even found a YouTube video showing some guy doing a free spool spin test with the Boca bearings:


After reading the first article (first link) I did a little experiment of my own. I went to our outdoor kibbutz swimming pool and made a few casts with a 25g lure (a Patchinko 2) and it was OK but not that far (gentle casts only). I then took the spool out and pushed a piece of paper towel to the spool bearings to absorb the excess oil - I did this a few times until there was no trace of oil anymore on the paper towel. I then made a few more casts and was amazed at the extra distance of my [gentle] casts.
So, too much oil is not a good thing

Now I'm just waiting for the Boca bearings to arrive.......

Nigel

[fishing_in_israel]

I received the Boca bearings, the Ceramic OS#7 (Orange Seal) ones.
So I put a tiny drop of their High Speed Oil LBT Lightning Lube and installed them in my Abu Garcia Revo Inshore. Off to do some testing..... Casting distances were way down I experimented a bit with the centrifugal brakes and eventually got some good casting distances with just one brake in the 'working' position.

In the evening I had a thought - these Boca ceramic bearings spin up to 50% faster than stock stainless steel bearings -- so, the centrifugal brakes are kicking in sooner and for more of the overall cast -- which is why with only one brake working things were sort of normal.
Since I had a spare set of springs I stretched them a bit - not too much - so that they would be harder for the centrifugal forces to overcome them, and then did some more testing. Great long casts again - even better than the stock bearings

The main reason I wanted the Boca bearings is for the low maintenance that they provide - no more having to oil the bearings after every trip and, if they do run dry it's not a problem as they run just fine dry with no damage in the short term ( a bit noisier - but that just reminds you to add another tiny drop pf oil).

The other thing that I noticed is the start up speed of the spool is much faster - if you like pitching and flipping then these bearing are the way to go. Before installing them I couldn't get much distance at all when trying to pitch but now, no problem at all - no lag - the lure just flies out

So if you have a baitcaster, $30 to spare and you want the added benefits of ceramic bearings, then they are definitely worth the investment.

Nigel

[walter]

nice info, i don't have my baitcasting combo here now but i think i'll try something about it.

yes, too much oil can be a problem. grease is even worse - and here in italy many people use grease for inner gears of spinning reels (and sometimes even their bearings too!!!). IMHO, weapon oil, or sewing machine oil or "classic" wd40 are the best choiches. i have never tried graphite powder.