Line Counter Reels. Everyone I get they FAIL... Help

No matter what level wind reels I purchase they fail within a year. Just to be clear it is the line counter part that fails. What am I doing wrong. Do you take them apart every couple times when fishing. please let me know what I am doing wrong. When salt fishing I try to hose off the rods but am very careful with the reels as so they do not get very wet. I have bought all the top brands, very maddening. please feel free to help my misery.  Dale

You really need to be rinsing off your reels.

Although I am not a line counter kind of guy, I do a thorough freshwater rinse after EVERY saltwater adventure.
No soap!

Before any of my reels go into service, I completely tear them down and remove all of the factory reel grease from any moving parts and replace with waterproof marine grease.  I then also coat all of the interior metal surface areas with a very light film of the same marine grease. Finally, I soak each of the bearings in isopropyl alcohol to remove the factory oil that may be in them, blow them out with compressed air and replace it with Corrosion-X. 

With that said, and with years of annual servicing I have been able to completely dunk my reels in freshwater or use open garden hose pressure to remove any saltwater intrusion and still be using the same reels after 11 years of ocean kayak fishing.  My reels are on the cheap side, btw.

Again, I don't have any experience with line counters or how possible it would be to saltwater proof the inner workings of that part of the reel, but I would think they would take a good freshwater rinse after saltwater fishing with them, vs leaving any salt deposits in there.

Sounds like a reel problem there!

I’ve dealt with same, a few notes:
- most folks I have talked to just say that’s the way it is with those reels. If you get a more spendy model it typically helps with counter longevity, but they all fail in the end
- I know you can buy replacement counter parts, seem pretty inexpensive. I considered it but just got a new/extra reel last time
- looking at a vid with the Okuma “chief reel technician” or similar he noted that he takes his reels into the shower with him. Says the warm/hot water does a lot better wrt getting the salt out

Reels fail, that's the name of the game unfortunately. It's really just a matter of how long you can keep a reel alive. Saltwater kayak fishing is very hard on reels. If you want your reels to last, you need to get them maintenanced on a regular basis depending on how much use they get.

I've found the way to dramatically improve the lifespan of your reels is to understand how they are put together, what needs to be greased, what needs to be oiled, and what needs to be kept dry and free of salt buildup (line counter assemblies).

In my Lexa Line counters, I found that the line counter would start slipping out of operation after a year of heavy saltwater exposure. So I thought that using a light oil would help. Wrong, it made it worse. So I removed the oil best I could, cleaned and dried them out. This fixed the problem. I try to do it in the winter now along with all the other cleaning, and repairing I do or during the season as needed.

Spend time on Alan Tani's website (forum) - it's a gold mine of information. There are step-by-step diy maintenance tutorials on pretty much every popular reel. This site is where I gained the confidence to do all my own maintenance on my reels. It has saved me a ton of money from not paying someone else for maintenance and not needing to replace reels I was able to bring back from the dead, sometime multiple times.

That's why I use the colored braid - sleeker reel profile and one less thing to break on there! I did the whole breakdown and marine grease setup on my reels last year after reading the Tani board from suggestions on here and they have been running great since then.

+1 on the Alan Tani website. 

He also does a pretty good job of listing various part numbers for reel bits and pieces. 

I rinse off every part of my reels after each use in salt water.  However, do not blast water into the line counter mechanism.  I did that once with a Diawa Sealine and the line counter would not go past 9 feet.  Then, magically - or after two years of no use so it could completely dry out - it  started working again.  I recently dunked by Diawa Lexa LC in the salt water due to an unfortunate incident where mother nature preferred I try to get out of the surf zone upside down (first time ever flipping on a launch, still don't no how it happened other than it was a dumb day for a beach launch).  Upon return home, I rinsed off the outside then flowed - at a low rate - fresh water through the drain slots on the bottom of the real. If the water doesn't taste salty when it drains back out you know you are done.  Still works like a champ. 

I laugh when I see people cast out with line counters. That is a good way to make them fail as the counter mechanisms cannot sync when line is screaming off the reel.

Thanks for everyone's help. Lots of really good advise. I have already starting tearing down my favorite reel  to get is cleaned up. Thanks again. this is why I love this website. again thanks for all the advise to pointing me in the correct direction. Dale

I’ve had the same issue with my Lexa but not my classic Tekota. I switched to the Tekota-A this year (finally a Tekota In a lefty!) and it has performed flawlessly in all regards. I don’t use Okuma reels in the salt after multiple mechanical failures cost me nice fish.

Sciguy what model number did you get. Have you had issues with the line counter quite working

Sciguy what model number did you get. Have you had issues with the line counter quite working

No issues with the line counter or other features/aspects through half a season of hard fishing with my TEK501HGLCA. The link below is an action clip of it in use. I’m pretty sure the line counter on my LEXA was possessed by an evil spirit...

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1spvpjDPhrFj0D75GcfYJyqVMQA39swF-/view?usp=drivesdk