what's different about this picture?

[alantani]

guys, do you see it?





how about a close up picture?



well, this one has drag grease on it already, but that's not it.






yeah, there you go! there is no retaining ring.

i opened up this avet a couple of weeks ago and got a little surprise. the drag washer was glued in. there was no retaining ring. i had to order up some parts and i asked the lady at avet about the change. she told me they started gluing the drag washers to the spool about 6 months ago because of problems they've been seeing with salt deposits under the drag washer. i think she was probably referring to something like this....



and this....



a full coat of glue should eliminate the risk of salt growing under the drag washer. unless they miss a spot. then the drag washer may develop high spots from corrosion underneath. it would be the same problem that is seen with some of the badly corroded drag washers from the penn internationals. if this glued in avet drag washer becomes sticky and can't be cleaned, it will have to be shipped back to avet for a new drag washer. i did not ask about the cost of this service for reels that are out of warranty. old finnor reels also had a cork drag washer that was glued to the spool. i can imagine that it would have created problems if a finnor reel with a drag problem could ONLY be returned to the manufacturer for this service. i hope avet fares better with this decision.

[ron m]

OK, we (or at least I) would like more info.

It seems clear you don't think the route they chose is the best solution to the problem. Did she say when they started gluing in the drag washer?

I'm not completely clear why the reels would need to be returned if problems develop. Is it because of the difficulty in getting out he gluded in drag washer? If so, would they have to "machine" it out?

Clearly I'm not knowledgable about reel maintenance.
thanks
ron m

[alantani]

Originally Posted by ron m

OK, we (or at least I) would like more info. It seems clear you don't think the route they chose is the best solution to the problem. Did she say when they started gluing in the drag washer? I'm not completely clear why the reels would need to be returned if problems develop. Is it because of the difficulty in getting out he gluded in drag washer? If so, would they have to "machine" it out? Clearly I'm not knowledgable about reel maintenance. thanks, ron m

this apparently started doing this 6 months ago. most adhesives will "pop" off of an anodized aluminum surface. that would probably be the case here. removing the washer would then just become a matter of digging underneath it and chiselling it out.

as far as having to return a reel to avet for drag service, the problem is the adhesive used to glue the drag washer back in. i've found that many adhesives fail if you try to glue something on to an anodized surface. if i were to glue it back in, i would use loctite depend 330. it's very tough stuff. as a matter of fact, if you're looking for an adhesive to mag a reel, this is the one.

honestly, this could work out. penn internationals and the larger avets all have drag washers that are glued to pressure plates. the adhesive could provide a complete and very effective barrier to salt water and eliminate the gap between the spool and drag washer. what worries me is a reel with a drag washer that actually DOES fail. such a reel would have to be shipped back to avet, the old washer would have to be chiselled off and a new washer glued on. they could have taken the same intermediate step that accurate did. accurate decided to grease the spool and the back of the drag washer and leave the working surface of the drag washer dry. only later did accurate decide to grease both sides of the washer.

i guess this is one can of worms that avet is trying very hard not to open.

[Trex]

Alan,

In your second picture your caption says the drag had already been greased. Who greased it? Is Avet changing their tune?

T-rex

[alantani]

sorry for the confusion. i was the one that grease the drag washer, not avet.