ABEC 7 bearings

[bitesize]

I got this from another forum. Pretty much says that ABEC7 bearings
are great new, and as long as you keep them clean because since they
have little tolerant, if you get anything in there, it will be hard to clean
and feel like a meat grinder. ABEC5 has a gap and easier to clean.
you can read it yourself.

"Bearings and bearing quality are the biggest differences in todays baitcasters and the main thing that sets the price.The Abec 7 bearing is an upgrade at the point of instalition but can be a deterant down the road. The tolarence of the 7 does not allow for any era.When you get any particle of trash into the bearing it will under most cases call for the replacment of that bearing,where if it were the Abec 5 it could be flushed and returned to service.This is like the rod market if you go for the most sensitive blank you will give up strength on the other end.
Yes you can get a few more feet of casting distance by upgrading but now you have to be more carful of the conditions you fish or you must be willing to service these bearings and reels much more often.What it boils down to is this,you can buy good quality equiptment and enjoy it and fishing or you can become a mechanic and spend the extra time you have working on reels rather than fishing.Now you say well I will do this in the winter when I can't fish but how many reels tear up in the winter? The real point is if you are going to spend the money to do the upgrades why not just buy a better grade reel and fish and enjoy it.One other point is if you fish any saltwater and use the Abec 7 bearings they will fail much quicker.
I'm not trying to change anyones mind,if you are convinced to upgrade,only to tell you there are downsides to it as well.As a matter of fact I would love to do your upgrades if that is what you are looking for.There is an old saying that there is no free lunch and you are going to pay one way or the other,sometimes money,sometimes time itself and in this case it could cost you the fish of your lifetime.
"

[conniek]

I've been doing reels for a long long time. I've never had any ABEC 7's require more servicing. The ABEC=Annual Bearing Engineering Committee. that is the specification that bearing companies design and manufacture their bearings to. The numbers ABEC 3-5-7 are the rating, the higher the number, the tighter the tolerance. That spec is available on the internet for reading also. The bearings installed by manufacturers are generally a ABEC 3. Should those bearings be changed out? nope! They are fine, however, some anglers like to and that is fine. The most important thing is the care and maintainence of any and all bearings. Some anglers are not aware of how to clean thier bearings and oil them . Does it have to constantly be done.? No again., The ABEC's are closed shield and should be purchased dry so you can apply a good oil like Rocket Fuel. Or request your repair shop to order them dry or clean they ones thy have. Howver, the bearings purchased oiled may have somestuff in them and that will not come out. Trust me, I got into a big mess with that so now, dry, dry brngs.Too much oil will make the balls in the stainless steel raceway become sluggish and they won't run as free. I've never had any conplaints. The new bearings Shimano have come out with are ABEC5 and the shield has been removed, meaning that the balls in raceway are exposed and not covered. The new ceramics are coming on strong and anglers can immediately tell the difference. I have an article in this month's issue of GYCBInside LIne and address the ceramic bearings. There are some things anglers should do to take care of their reels, just general maintainence goes along way and a have your repair shop do a annual complete tear down and cleaning is always good also
If you have any questions, please fee free to e mail.conniek

[Jinz000]

How does the ABEC 7's compare with the Ceramic. I've heard from some angulars that high quality picked Abec 7's are much better than the pricey Ceramic's.

[bitesize]

conniek, what do you think about quantum's ceramic bearings?

[conniek]

The ABEC 7's are fine fine bearings. The difference between the stainless steel ball bearings is that the ceramics have ceramic balls in raceway and the others have stainless steel balls in raceway.I have customers that want the ceramic in all their reels. However, my hubby took them out of a calcutta, the reel was just too fast for him and he had brakes set.
The raceway will wear out on the ceramics before the ceramics crash. I purchase my bearings from England. the ceramics will have CB on side. conniek

[Reno Reeler]

Connie,

A little off topic but I was wondering if you service the Japanese Shimano reels? A lot of people are buying the Antares, and Scorpion reels because they seem to have a few extras. I'm sure it is difficult to order parts unless you speak Japanese.

[conniek]

you know that is a good question. No,I don't work on them too much, but have seen somecome thru that we have cleaned. Some of the Japan scorpions have parts that are the same as the American Shimano reels.
Shimano american repair has told me the same I've told you and if they have to order parts, it may take up to three weeks. If you work on your own reels, you might contact Jun@Japantackle.com. He is a great guy and
will send you parts directly. If I need parts for Japan shimano, I would order from him also. ON Jun's site, he has one or two shps here in the USA, I'd probably try to use them as they would have first shot at having inventory. IMHO! conniek

[Reno Reeler]

Connie,

Thanks for the information. I don't own a Japanese Shimano but was wondering about service.

On a side note: Are you going to have to go to electronics school for the new Digital Controlled Calcuttas? The repair is most likely a complete board swap.

[dazzle]

Say, how do you know what size your bearings are to order
replacements?

--Daz

[conniek]

Well, ususally if the reel model is known, then the schematic will give a part number for bearings and in my shop, we have a cross reference, for instance, in a Calcutta 200, the bearing p/n is BNT0194 and that cross references to a 3X10X4. The ABEC's and Ceramics are in millimeters.
Hope this explains it. conniek