Saturday, December 10, 2011

Ball Bearings Maintenance

Through these years, many anglers had been telling me that we need to use specialized oil for bearings in our reels. But why? For bearings in all my reels, I had been using Engine Oil like the following. I never had any issues with them at all. If the oil is recommended for Mercedes Benz engines, VolksWagen engines, BMW engines and even Porsche engines, it must be alright to be used in my few hundred dollar reels. Don't you agree? Car engines from the few mentioned manufacturers have an average engine speed red line of 7000RPM. Is it possible for us to spin the reels with our bare hands at 7000RPM? Are our reels subjected to more pressure/abuse than a Porsche, VW, MB, BMW engine? I guess NO is the answer for both of those questions. Then it is definitely safe to use Engine Oil!

這麼多年來, 有好多釣友都跟我說我的捲線器裡頭用的油要是培翎專用的潤滑油.為甚麼? 到如今我所有的培翎都是用就像一下的引擎潤滑油. 如果這潤滑油是適合用在馬賽第,VW,寶馬和保時捷的引擎上, 那為何不可以用在我的捲線器培翎裡頭呢? 你們同意嗎? 剛才所提到的車子產商引擎的運轉極限都設在7000RPM左右. 我們的捲線器有可能在我們的雙手裡轉出7000RPM嗎?  我們的捲線器可能承受比保時捷引擎裡頭高的磨損嗎? 答案就是不可能. 那培翎裡頭用引擎油根本就沒問題! 海浪費錢用什麼專用油干什麼?



























SAE 5W-40 rated engine oil

The following is how I usually maintain the bearings for my reels. Its simple, quick and you can be sure that its pretty well maintained. The bearings in the photographs are taken out from my Shimano Sephia CI4 C3000S a very simple trusty reel that I had been using since it was launched. I will not go into much details on how to strip the reel in this post, but we will concentrate on the maintenance of the bearings only.

已下是我如何保養培翎的步周,極簡單又方便. 這些培翎是我從CI4 C3000S取出來, 詳細微修CI4我就不說, 我們就關注在培翎保養方面.

STEP 1: SOAKING BEARINGS
第一步: 浸泡培翎

The bearings removed from the reel and soaked in alcohol. In this case, what I had used was rubbing alcohol because that was what I have available. The purpose of alcohol is to dissolve the old grease and to remove some dirt from the bearing. Put it in a container like in the above, pour in the alcohol till bearings are covered, cover the lid of the container and give it a good shake (These are pretty light bearings and it will not dent each other).

先把培翎從捲線器里取出, 再把它們放在一個容器浸泡在酒精裡頭. 我用的是按摩用的酒精, 應為我當時就只有這個. 浸泡在酒精裡頭的用意就是要把培翎裡頭的油跟污垢分解. 我把培翎放進容器後再把酒精倒到酒精蓋過培翎. 過後再把容器的蓋子蓋上, 輕輕的搖搖讓酒精勝投到培翎裡頭.

Leave the bearings to soak for a while before shaking it again. The whole process should take about 15 minutes.

讓培翎浸泡一下子在搖幾下. 整個過程應該是大概15分鐘.

STEP 2: CLEANING UP THE BEARING
第二步: 清理培翎
Bearings placed on a paper towel after soaking and shaking in alcohol.

After removing bearings from the alcohol solution, place the bearings on a clean piece of paper towel. Notice the yellow stain on the towels? Those are the grease within the bearings that had been dissolved by alcohol. Dry the bearings by gently pressing it against the towels. Thereafter leave them to air dry for about 15 minutes before continuing. If you feel that they might need another bath in alcohol, repeat previous steps again.

把培翎在酒精里取出後, 把它們放在乾淨的紙巾上. 有注意到以上的照片紙巾上有黃色的部分嗎? 那就是在培翎里頭被分解的油. 輕輕的在培翎旁邊壓一下弄乾它. 把培翎放著大概15分鐘讓多餘的酒精震發. 若有需要可以在浸泡在酒精里從父同樣的步周.


STEP 3: PREPARING THE CAN
第三步: 準備鐵罐
Prepare a clean empty can and make sure that its completely dry before carrying on to the next step.

把罐子弄乾淨後再弄乾. 準備下個步驟.


STEP 4: DEEP FRYING THE BEARINGS
第四步: 新菜 "油炸培翎"
Bearings in engine oil.


Start by pouring oil into the empty dry can, heat it up over gentle fire till its hot. Immerse the bearings into the hot engine oil and watch air bubbles appear from the bearing gaps. The reason for doing this is to make use of the heat in the engine oil to force the air within the bearings to escape and therefore filling the void completely with the engine oil. You know its ready when no more air bubbles are coming out from the gaps.

先把引擎油倒入鐵罐里, 小火加熱. 再把培翎放入加熱後的引擎油里, 在您眼前您會看見培翎會冒出氣泡. 我們把培翎放入加熱的引擎油的典故就是要利用熱氣把培翎裡頭的空氣逼出來那引擎油就會取代空氣的位子. 當氣泡停止時那也就是說培翎裡頭已經是讓引擎油添滿了.

STEP 5: BEARING MAINTENANCE COMPLETED
第五步: 完成


Take the bearings out of the engine oil and wipe off excessive oil with paper towels. Your reel's bearings are now ready for your next catch again. When assembling, I will usually apply an additional layer of Copper Grease on the sides of the bearing.

讓油冷卻之後將培翎取出. 放在紙巾上讓紙巾吸收表面上的油. 培翎保養就這樣完成了. 我會在安裝培翎時在上一成銅油脂. 銅油脂都是用在高溫用途上.




Additional Information added on 12-December-2011:
There had been questions asked about "deep frying bearings" let me elaborate on this. As a matter of fact, the bearings are not subjected to actual "Deep Frying", the engine lubricant is heated to below flash point with the bearings in there. This method had been widely used in industrial applications, restoration of turntables, restoration of fan bearings, Supertuning of reels and etc. When we are out for field tests, we will usually squid in excess of 15 hours a day and consecutively for 1-2 weeks. Under such circumstances, our tackles are exposed to the harsh elements of nature like sea sprays, rain, dust and etc. During these periods, we expect our tackles to function in its best possible condition. We had brought brand new reels out during our field tests, but had busted bearings and damaged main gear. The reels that we had been using for years and maintained with this manner functioned without a problem. This is the main reason the method is documented here and shared with everyone. This method had been practiced and mentioned in www.fishnet.com.au as well as several other websites.

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