torium 14 bearings

[bri1960]

Just wondering if any lads have replaced the torium bearings with a good ceramic pair? I replaced them earlier in the year with ceramics from Blakdog and they are rusting already-crap.Appreciate any help.

[wallsendfisherman]

i have this reel also but sorry neva changed bearings what did you change them 4 knowlage not to gd about stuff like this eager to learn tho ?

[g-force]

I got some from Northumbrian Bearings in Cramlington - I just took the standard ones in and they measured them for me and told me what was available. I ordered up some dry-running ceramics (cost about £6 ea. I think - I bought about half a dozen including some for my 7ht Mags and total cost was about £35 cash). They were in for a couple of years before I sold the reel on and were still fine - I've still got the bearings in the 7ht's which I bought at the same time and they must be at least 4 years old now, still as good as the day I got them (with cleaning 2 or 3 times a year).

Gary

[wallsendfisherman]

so is this like a upgrade on bearings wudnt mind trying it on my reel

[bri1960]

changing bearings

i have this reel also but sorry neva changed bearings what did you change them 4 knowlage not to gd about stuff like this eager to learn tho ?

Toriums are not the best casting reels so i changed the bearings to ceramic ones and they cast a lot better,until in my case the casings started rusting

[bri1960]

Bearings

I got some from Northumbrian Bearings in Cramlington - I just took the standard ones in and they measured them for me and told me what was available. I ordered up some dry-running ceramics (cost about £6 ea. I think - I bought about half a dozen including some for my 7ht Mags and total cost was about £35 cash). They were in for a couple of years before I sold the reel on and were still fine - I've still got the bearings in the 7ht's which I bought at the same time and they must be at least 4 years old now, still as good as the day I got them (with cleaning 2 or 3 times a year).

Gary

Thanks Gary i ll look them up

[tonybax]

bri im sure your paul will fix it for ya.

[clarky]

Got mine from reelbearings.co.uk
I've had them for a good while now n their spot on.
One problem with ceramics, if they get wet they're uncontrollable
I personally prefer abec5 rated bearings, a drop of yellow rocket oil or tournament oil n you've got yourself a fast reel

[wallsendfisherman]

Toriums are not the best casting reels so i changed the bearings to ceramic ones and they cast a lot better,until in my case the casings started rusting

sounds like am going to change then wats people think abec 5 or ceramic ???

[Ant]

I got some from Northumbrian Bearings in Cramlington - I just took the standard ones in and they measured them for me and told me what was available. I ordered up some dry-running ceramics (cost about £6 ea. I think - I bought about half a dozen including some for my 7ht Mags and total cost was about £35 cash). They were in for a couple of years before I sold the reel on and were still fine - I've still got the bearings in the 7ht's which I bought at the same time and they must be at least 4 years old now, still as good as the day I got them (with cleaning 2 or 3 times a year).

Gary

Spot on Gary! Chris Emmerson there is a top bloke and we use them at work.

Don't forget Gateshead bearings for those south of the Tyne. Same company as the one at Crammy....

[g-force]

For me, changing my bearings over to ceramics wasn't all about gang distance or making a faster reel, although this was the case with the Torium & 7HTs. Even after changing the bearings in the Torium I still found it a bit sluggish for my liking - it wasn't bad but definitely lagged behind the nearest equivalent I had which was the Saltist 20. I think it was down to the heavier spool & multi-brake block assembly, or perhaps it just needed more "running in". With my 7HT mags, fitting the dry ceramics pretty much doubled the spin time from around 50 secs to around 1 min 45secs - without any other tinkering and helped stop the cast "dying" in mid air after coming past the top of the arc, as the spool starts to accelerate again. Dry bearings are also not affected as much by external temperature, where on a freezing winter's night oils can get cold & sluggish - or maybe a bit leery on a hot summer's day. That's the theory anyway, although I think more of a concern to the tournament boys than being really relevant in a fishing situation where wind, size & number of baits and "numb-thumbs" probably affect your casting a lot more.

The thing with ceramics is that they're supposed to be a lot harder-wearing and that was why I chose to fit some ABEC 7 ceramics to my Saltists as they're used over mixed and heavy ground and put through a lot more punishment. I oil these the same as the old stainless steel ones (a speck of yellow rocket fuel) and they spin for only a few seconds longer than the old ones, not a massive difference. They seem a lot smoother though, especially under load and combined with upgrading the drags to the Carbontex washers they're running great so far. They're only halfway through their second winter (as well as a summer season in the kelp up the coast) so I guess time will tell if they really are more durable.

Gary

[g-force]

Spot on Gary! Chris Emmerson there is a top bloke and we use them at work.

Don't forget Gateshead bearings for those south of the Tyne. Same company as the one at Crammy....

Yes, I do remember now somebody mentioning a company down Gateshead way as well - I didn't realise they were part of the same set-up. I think they're quite used to people coming in for reel-bearings these days; as soon as you produce any for measurement they go "ah, for fishing reels is it…?" Very helpful and if what you want isn't in stock they can generally get them within 24 hours, as they did in my case.

Gary

[bri1960]

Bearings

Thanks for the info lads

[bri1960]

Leepys reel cleaning

bri im sure your paul will fix it for ya.

Leepy uses a sand/salt mixture as a lubricant in his bearings Tony.Then leave reels un rinsed in the garage till next winter.......

[tonybax]

Still gets a few fish out though; i will have to try it bri.