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Penn Slammer 3: Might want to check your seals....and Odd design causing damage to a brand new reel.

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scoobydoo

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Just want to start this off by thanking HKJonathan for sending me his Slammer, BG and Shield to futz around with.

I fished the slammer twice since I got it.  Just to get a feel for it.  Ended up with a 24 and 29" bass....and caught the skunk the second time out.

I know that's not nearly enough time to put on a reel to pass judgement.  But these two short vids show 2 concerns having nothing to do with time put in.

The two vids were not really intended to be put out publicly.  I sent them to HKJonathan to let him know since it is his reel.  And Alan Hawk to see if he's come across this issue in the larger reels.  Long story short.  Alan said if i post em publicly he'd pop em on his news feed as a way to get additional feedback, and they offer a good point of discussion.   So....here we are.  Two simple clips.

 

I also now understand the IPX6 rating vs the torque's non rating....Or at least I think I do.

So about that.....The slammer 3 as far as I can tell.  Has a full perimeter gasket sealing the body and sideplate from external spray.

It has a simple flat rubber seal at the main shaft at the rotor's retaining nut.   BUT...under the rotor.  Above the ar clutch.  it relies on a seald bearing to keep water out.  Even though there is an o ring seal compressed under the ar clutch top cap.  So submerging the reel will allow water to get under the rotor where it sits on the ar clutch sleave.  And get in through the sealed bearing...potentially where clutch sleeve is keyed to the pinon as well (not 100% sure)

So I can see that as a reason not to give it an 8 rating.  But since it's sunken below the rubber rotor brake.  Hi pressure spray most likely will never get over up and around unless aimed from under the rotor at the gap between the body.

 

The two vids show

1)

The  destroyed O ring seal under the rotor retaining nut  (which isn't the end of the world but worth checking and if you service your own reels.  Keep  few on hand as I can see it happening even if you are careful with the reinstall)

2)

Internally the gearing  is damn near bomb proof.  Brass and stainless main gear, Brass pinoin....and even a brass oscillation gear..

But unfortunately the pinion likes to chew up the hard coat on the lower support block..unevenly right through to bare metal.

 

Edited by scoobydoo

"Panacheless is no way to go through life"

Tims

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52 mins ago, Beastly Backlash said:

I will have to take apart my Slammers and see what they look like around the pinion support when I service them this winter.

 

They have seen some pretty heavy use under high drag pressures.

When you get inside.  Do me a flavor if you don't mind.  Take some well lit pics and post em up so we can keep tabs if for some reason down the road it becomes a pain point.

"Panacheless is no way to go through life"

Tims

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12 hours ago, scoobydoo said:

 

 

Just want to start this off by thanking HKJonathan for sending me his Slammer, BG and Shield to futz around with.

I fished the slammer twice since I got it.  Just to get a feel for it.  Ended up with a 24 and 29" bass....and caught the skunk the second time out.

I know that's not nearly enough time to put on a reel to pass judgement.  But these two short vids show 2 concerns having nothing to do with time put in.

The two vids were not really intended to be put out publicly.  But Alan Hawk said I should and he'd share em on his end.  As they offer a good point of discussion.

 

I also now understand the IPX6 rating vs the torque's non rating....Or at least I think I do.

So about that.....The slammer 3 as far as I can tell.  Has a full perimeter gasket sealing the body and sideplate from external spray.

It has a simple flat rubber seal at the main shaft at the rotor's retaining nut.   BUT...under the rotor.  Above the ar clutch.  it relies on a seald bearing to keep water out.  Even though there is an o ring seal compressed under the ar clutch top cap.  So submerging the reel will allow water to get under the rotor where it sits on the ar clutch sleave.  And get in through the sealed bearing...potentially where clutch sleeve is keyed to the pinon as well (not 100% sure)

So I can see that as a reason not to give it an 8 rating.  But since it's sunken below the rubber rotor brake.  Hi pressure spray most likely will never get over up and around unless aimed from under the rotor at the gap between the body.

 

The two vids show

1)

The  destroyed O ring seal under the rotor retaining nut  (which isn't the end of the world but worth checking and if you service your own reels.  Keep  few on hand as I can see it happening even if you are careful with the reinstall)

2)

Internally the gearing  is damn near bomb proof.  Brass and stainless main gear, Brass pinoin....and even a brass oscillation gear..

But unfortunately the pinion likes to chew up the hard coat on the lower support block..unevenly right through to bare metal.

 

 

The two posted vids are the same vid. 

 

Is it possible that there is a missing thin shim between the pinion and frame?

Edited by scoobydoo
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34 mins ago, pd07 said:

Will you be doing a breakdown of the Sheild? Tried to find some vids the other day with no luck.

Yeah, I'm gonna play with her earlier in the week then tear it down.

So far not impressed with the reel HKJonathan submitted.  Very geary....but the poor gear mesh kind of geary not the stainless on stainless type of geary

"Panacheless is no way to go through life"

Tims

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Happy to contribute to the cause.  You produce the best videos Scoob.

 

The design of the pinion and the support block is one of those weird, poor design choices by Penn that makes you scratch your head. I have the original Torque and one of the really irritating things for me is that the spindle on which the handle fits is aluminum and is one piece with the arm.  There is no shim or bearing on the handle.  Inevitably grit and or sand ends up between the handle and the spindle and wears down the spindle. Eventually play develops in the handle and the only solution is to the replace the entire arm.  Not a very good design in my mind

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18 mins ago, Jim McFeeley said:

sounds like you could almost call the reel a lemon at this point,  i should have waited for the flaws to show up

This is his third reel.  He sent back the others.  I think his friend had an issue as well if I recall correctly.

"Panacheless is no way to go through life"

Tims

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1 hour ago, scoobydoo said:

This is his third reel.  He sent back the others.  I think his friend had an issue as well if I recall correctly.

That's correct.  My friend had the same clunk while retrieving.  He sent it back to Penn and was told they just lubed it more thoroughly.  He actually thinks he got a new reel but can't be sure.  

 

I really, really wanted to like this reel but it is disappointing once again.  I'm no Shimano/Daiwa fan boy.  In fact, if anything I had a bias against at least Shimano.  Back when I was in high school and college, I was a bicycle mechanic for several years.  Shimano came to dominate the market for bicycle parts during that time.  I hated them because while they have some good technology, they often cut corners with cheap materials, cheap finishing quality and most importantly for a mechanic, annual updates to many of their components (built in obsolescence) with little/no availability of replacement parts.  Given this bias, until very recently, every reel I had was either VS or Penn other than an Abu and Maxel conventional.  I own the full range of Penn reels: 2 Pursuits, 2 Conflicts, Torque 5 and now the Slammer.  Unfortunately, each has been disappointing in some way for its price range.

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