My ongoing love/hate relationship with Avet reels

Had an avet reel acting up, so decided to tear it down today.  The symptoms were multiple.

1) Rough reeling.  Obviously a bearing needed attention.
2) Clicker not working.

I tore the whole thing down, cleaned and re-lubed everything, then put it back together.  I knew the clicker was still not working as it still was obviously sticking.  The springs on the clicker key were not pulling it back straight.  However, the rough reeling still remained.  Back to the drawing board.

Pulled it apart again and went through it with a little more detail.  One of the spool bearing was rough, the one on the clicker end.  Cleaned it, lubed it, and it was still rough.  Pulled the bearing shields, cleaned it out, lubed it, and it still was rough.  This bearing was toast.  Gave up on it.

Time to look at the clicker assembly.  I figured out that if I removed the spacer washer, the clicker assy worked fine.  But it shouldn't be that way.  Cleaned it real good, re-assembled it with the spacer washer, and it did not work again.  What now?  Well, I finally figured out you could pop the plastic thingy (clicker housing) that held the clicker knob.  It turns out there was some salt buildup under it that was creating extra space.  The plastic thingy was a pretty tight fit, so there was no way I could "wash it out" without removing it.  Cleaned it all up, re-lubed, and replaced.  Bingo, the clicker works.

So best I could tell, I got too much salt water in that side of the real.  It messed up the spool bearing and the clicker assy.  Got a new spool bearing on order, and while I was at it I ordered an extra spool bearing for the other side, an extra brake bearing, and an extra pinion bearing as the customer service person said that one was one that goes out more often (and that's been my experience with other reels).  All of these were bearings on the drive shaft.  Probably didn't need the brake bearing as that one is not load bearing as the breke disk floats on it (I think), but I figured at $5 a bearing, I may as well order them all, lest I put it all back together with only the one new bearing and it still grinded.  I also had to order a couple new spool spring washers as I lost one during this process, and I got an extra one just in case.  They are tiny and easily lost.  I've crawled on hands and knees before looking for one that popped free somehow (found it that time).

Anyways, I love my Avet reels.  And I hate my Avet reels.

-Allen

I've been thinking about getting the MXJ. My buddy has two Avets and loves them. I suppose that any reel will be subject to wear and tear. Does the Avet seem to need attention more often than others?

Does the Avet seem to need attention more often than others?

I think so.  I end up servicing them about twice as often as other reels.  But I've decided it is worth it.

-Allen

Twice as much as star drags? Or twice as much all other reels?

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Twice as much as star drags? Or twice as much all other reels?

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Twice as much as any other reel I own, star drags included.  I think I end up servicing them every 10th use or so, granted most services are just clean and lube.  I'm guessing part of the problem is the tight tolerances they have and any salt buildup whatsoever causes them to not feel right.  This is the first bearing failure I've had on one, but the clickers do cause me regular pains.  There are a couple of cutouts in the clicker housing.  I'm not sure what they are for, but I suspect they let the water in, and are the source of the issues.  But now that I know to pop out the clicker housing and clean that out, I'll be doing that regularly and expect the clicker issues to decrease.

-Allen

I have the MXJ and I like it a lot, but that smooth spin comes from, like PolePole said, tight tolerances and lots of bearing surface area. More surface area gives more room for corrosion.

I have two sx models. One is a two speed. I agree with everything here except I haven't really "serviced" my reels. A good soak in fresh water and it seems ready to go. Smooth spin is definitely not there if I neglect it. But since its usually dealing with big gear, I don't notice it.

But I was thinking about getting it serviced since its my third year. I'd never get it back together again if I tried.  Lol.


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They are actually relatively simple to service.  If you are even somewhat detailed oriented, and don't lose the spring washers, it's not too bad.

-Allen

Not to hijack this thread (as I hijack this thread) but is it possible to adjust the drag using the dial with a fish on? I know you won't know exactly your poundage but, but can it be done if you free spool the reel, set your thumb on it for resistance, adjust the dial up or down slightly, then engage the lever drag again?

Not to hijack this thread (as I hijack this thread) but is it possible to adjust the drag using the dial with a fish on? I know you won't know exactly your poundage but, but can it be done if you free spool the reel, set your thumb on it for resistance, adjust the dial up or down slightly, then engage the lever drag again?

Absolutely, as long as you put the reel in free spool.  But why?  Set your drag at Strike to your desired drag.  It then leaves you plenty of room up and down, just move the lever.

-Allen

Not to hijack this thread (as I hijack this thread) but is it possible to adjust the drag using the dial with a fish on? I know you won't know exactly your poundage but, but can it be done if you free spool the reel, set your thumb on it for resistance, adjust the dial up or down slightly, then engage the lever drag again?

Absolutely, as long as you put the reel in free spool.  But why?  Set your drag at Strike to your desired drag.  It then leaves you plenty of room up and down, just move the lever.

-Allen

The reason I asked us because I was using my SX for sturgeon this past weekend but I forgot to calibrate the drag for sturgeon. It was still set for lings (6 lbs at strike) I would have had it up to 8 lb at strike for sturgeon. Needless to say, my drag on full was a bit low for some of the bigger fish. I would have really liked another 2 or 3 pounds when I had that oversize (that and my beefier rod).

On a slow moving fish like sturgeon just thumb the spool to add a few pounds of drag.

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On a slow moving fish like sturgeon just thumb the spool to add a few pounds of drag.

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That's what I ended up doing. Worked pretty well.
Thanks for the info PP. sorry for the thread jack.

Well I tried two of my buddy's Avet reels out. They are slick. Not just slick looking but operation is very crisp and smooth. I ended up buying the MXL model from Charkbait and they filled it up with braid free and shipped free. They have a great deal on them right now. I understand why people like them.