How to maintain my Alpha Ito?

[Greasemonkey]

Lately I have been fishing more and more often and would like to keep my Alpha Ito in great shape as i use them. I fished with them at least twice a week and all I really do is wash them down with a bottle of water.

What are some of the things i can do to keep my reel in top shape?

What type of lube and grease do you guys use for your reel?

And most importantly what part do you grease up and what part do you lube up?

I am a newbie at fishing, but I like to catch big fish. Any insight you have would be greatly appreciate it.

[D.R.]

Look at the Sol maint thread. The Sol and Alphas are the same animal just colors and part numbers. The Sol thread by Chucke gives you a great breakown of reel maint.

D.R.

[ChuckE]

Here's the link that DR was posting about:
http://www.tackletour.com/articlereelma ... tdsol.html

Rinsing the reel with warm fresh water, shaking it out to remove excess water and wiping the outside is a good practice after use. Make sure to let it dry before storing it in a rod locker.

The spool bearings will likely need to be lubed with a light drop of reel oil, about every 10 to 20 outings or so, dependant on use.

An annual clean, inspect and relube during the off-season is also a good practice, again dependant on use. A touch-up like in the article would only be necessary maybe once during a season of heavy use.

I recommend using a reel grease on the frame components and reel oil on spool bearings, there are many to choose from. Reel lubes are specifically designed to lube reels, and often contain special additives to ensure the reel remains protected, grease doesn't bleed, etc. I use Hot Sauce because it adheres to the metal components and is easy to see what has been lubed because of the red tint. The key to using any reel lube is to ensure that the component(s) you are lubricating are clean beforehand. You can search the archives for several posts that discuss reel lubricants, cleaning reels, etc.

Chuck

[sdfd504]

Does the same apply to a normal Alphas reel? Also who do you guys recommend for cleaning Daiwa Japan and US reels?

[Cal]

Does the same apply to a normal Alphas reel? Also who do you guys recommend for cleaning Daiwa Japan and US reels?

Title of ChuckE's maintenance article:

Daiwa Sol - Mini-Lube and Inspection (Also applies to Daiwa Alphas reels – all variations)

[sdfd504]

I was just making sure about the washing them with water after every trip part.

[ChuckE]

It's not necessary to rinse your reel off after every use in freshwater, but is in saltwater or brackish water. There's nothing wrong with doing that, especially if the reel has been lubed with a good reel lube. Just use a gentle spray/stream of warm fresh water, shake it out, and let it dry.

Even if you have the original alphas, I still recommended that you rinse the reel after every use in saltwater/brackish water.

Chuck

[sdfd504]

Oh ok..Saltwater won't be a problem for me since there isn't any around here for a few hundred miles.

[Greasemonkey]

Thanks for the reply Chuck. The time you put into each reply is greatly appreciated. I always learn something from reading your reply. I just read your articles on the Sol. That's a good one.


Chuck... do you offer reel maintanence service?

[ChuckE]

gm,
Sorry, I don't offer any reel maintenance service. I just work on my own personal reels.

Chuck