Tuning a Penn 525 Mag

[BlackBeard]

Tuning the Penn 525 Mag - Neil

The spool runs on a pair of bearings contained within the ends of the spool. These bearings run on a separate shaft which is in turn supported by a pair of bearings in the end plates. With the spool under load the shaft does turn in the outboard bearings, but during the cast shaft rotation is minimal so direct attention to the bearings in the spool for tuning purposes.

The spool is designed so the bearings are a snug fit, trying to remove them with a hook is likely to damage the inner dust shield. Use an proper extractor, or the shaft itself can be useful. Once removed from the spool soak the bearings in clean lighter petrol for 10 minutes or so to ensure all oil and grease is dissolved.

Leave to dry on kitchen towel for a few minutes and re-lube with oil, use Red Rocket fuel or an EP80 light gear oil. This, in conjunction with a line level 2 to 3mm below the inner spool lip allows for safe casting. To the inner lip the spool is around 2mm larger in diameter than a 6500 spool so with the line level with this inner lip you are running the equivalent of an overloaded tournament reel. This will require considerable braking to control so unless you really do need the extra capacity keep the level down to 2mm to 3mm below the inner spool flange.

The four rare earth magnets move in a series of equal steps - 1 to 8 - that bring the magnet holder closer – setting 8 - to the spool for increased braking or further away – setting 1 - for decreased spool braking. The braking effect is caused by the magnets working against the eddy current produced by the revolving metal spool. In theory, the faster the spool revolves the greater the eddy current produced becomes and the greater the effect of the magnets. I generally run my reels from between maximum mag setting 8 down to 6 or sometimes, if conditions are good 5. More often I will cast on 8 or 7.

End tension on separate spool/spindle designs has little effect other than wrecking the bearings. Set the tension with the silver knob under the star drag so there is a tiny amount of lateral free play. This knob may be stiff, which is caused by a rubber O ring, dribbling a little thin oil will make it easier to adjust the knob.

However, if you have problems with thick oil, an appropriate line level and full mags there is a tweak available to you. You can double up on the two magnets in the centre by ‘piggy backing’ similar sized magnet on their backs. The extra mags will stay in place on the back of the plastic carrier purely by the magnetic attraction.

[Fishing Forum Admin]

Lovely read and thanks - Right thats it Im going to set aside a whole day to do my Penn and my other boat reel ( they have never seen service in at least 10 yrs )

How often do you recommend servicing your reel ? i.e ever 10 trips

[pingu]

cheers nielwill atempt properly soon

[BlackBeard]

I line to rinse, dry and store in the airing cupboard overnight after a session, but unless it gets dunked I would probablty only service twice a year and re-tune when it stops behaving how I want it too - Neil

[upnorth1]

Great advice Neil, I ALWAYS, after a session, rinse my reels under LUKE warm water, cleaning excess crap off where necessary with an old toothbrush, then loosen the clutch right off (i've done this for as long as I can remember!), pop in the airing cupboard over night. Also by loosening the clutch off, next time I go out, I prefer this to putting the line through the rings, rather than knocking the reel outa gear (and having an overrun before you even start!!!!!!! )

[Ben]

thanks, i now know how to tune my new reel properly