Is it necessary to take the shields off when flushing them in acetone and using an ultra sonic? What's the best method to take shields off? How long do you US clean them for with shields on and without?

I will soak in acetone for 8 hours, doing it at work. And will US clean them for 1 hour.

Anyone has any input let me know.

After soaking the bearings in a solvent, clean them in your ultra-sonic cleaner, changing the solvent every 5 minutes or so until the solvent remains clear.  8 hours or soaking and 1 hour in the UC is probably over-kill.

 

 

oe

Yesterday I US cleaned them for 4 minutes and I felt it didn't do enough as the bearings only felt a little smoother.

BTW I'm flushing basically brand new bearings from a Chronarch Ci4+,and Daiwa T3. I just want to see how better they are flushing stock bearings feel. The Ci4+ seems heavily packed and my brand new reel seems a bit stiff. I already got hedgehogs but I wanted to experiment stock ones. So I won't be getting much dirt out but getting grease out. Will reoil with Alchemy oil.

Soaking more that 10 minutes or so at between a time won't help much if any. Repeated short treatments until the solvent stays clear works best. US cleaning won't hurt but isn't critical either. Some shields can be removed and some can't. The removable ones are help on with a wire clip. A dental pick etc. can be used to pry them off. The bearings can be cleaned sufficiently leaving them on. An open bearing will run a little faster. A properly cleaned bearing in good shape will spin silently and easily for several seconds. You won't see much if any difference between the shimano bearings and the Hedgehogs unless the new ones are Ceramic and run dry.

Thanks for the reply. Well I basically soaked the spool and side plate bearing for 7 hours while I was at work in acetone. Maybe it was too long but I don't think it would hurt since there is no plastic. I ultra sonic cleaned them for only 25 minutes because I didn't have enough time at work since I was so busy. I blew them dry with an air hose. I used a Qtip like thing we had and spun them. They spun for an average of 25 seconds with the best being at 45 seconds. One of them was only at 7 seconds and it felt rough. I'm not sure if these bearings are from my Ch51e or my T3 side plate bearing. I will add oil and see what happens otherwise I can clean them again.

 

BTW I will only put the hedgehogs in my Steez and T3 which I am using to cast lighter lures. I guess that is the reason I wanted to try the hedgehogs. The 51e and ci4+ will just get flushed bearings with Alchemy oil.

Shielded bearings aren't sealed. You didn't spin them with an air hose did you?

No I just blew them dry with an air hose. I spun them by finger using a Qtip like thing to hold the inner part of the bearing.

Wow without grease even stock bearings are loud! Just going to mess around with them dry and get a few cast in my back yard. Then later I'll add oil.

As stated before, not all bearings have the removable shield. I've found the best way to remove the c-clip on the bearings was using either a)new exact o-knife blade or lightwire trokar hook. the first bearing is always the worst trying to figure it out but after that they get easy to take off. I've never felt the need to remove the shields in shimanos bearings. I can get those things super clean. daiwa stock bearings however, i remove the shields on all of them because they seem to be more troublesome...especially the drive shaft bearing. it always takes multiple cleanings during the initial cleaning to get the daiwas clean but after that they are flat out just awesome. I switched from acetone to (per franchos advice) 50/50 mix of Perfect Solution and hot water. I let them sit the same as you, while i'm at work, and then (this step i've found is a must) rinse them /w boiling hot water, spin test, dry. it's spooky how well this product cleans bearings. 

Unless you have an attachment on your compressor that filters out moisture and debris, I would not use an air hose. I would use the little cans of compressed air that are used for cleaning keyboards instead.

I put mine on a dremel attachment and spin them at warp speed in a small jar of degreaser. They're completely free of whatever oil or grease in about a minute. Take them put of the jar, spin in the air for a minute to dry. They spin freely in just a few minutes. Simple.

I put mine on a dremel attachment and spin them at warp speed in a small jar of degreaser. They're completely free of whatever oil or grease in about a minute. Take them put of the jar, spin in the air for a minute to dry. They spin freely in just a few minutes. Simple.

Curious as to what dremel attachment you use? This idea has intrigued me.

Pick up a nylon bolt and nut and just chuck the end into the Dremel. I've done this for really stubborn ones but 90% of the time a simple soak and rinse is all it takes. Good bearings are not loud when cleaned. 

When I said its loud I meant after I stalled them dry in my reel and turn the handle. It's not very loud but you can hear some rattles or something like that. When I put line on and cast and retrieve I don't hear anything anymore. Handle spins more freely now too.

What is the purpose to spinning the bearings after cleaning? I thought when people was talking about that it was to test if the bearings spun freely and quietly.

Spinning helps dry them out I suppose but I don't like the idea spinning a dry bearing at high speed. I spin them with a flick of a finger and then lay them out on a paper towel. That will draw the moisture right out of them. I spin again by hand like you said to see if they run quiet and freely.  I doubt what you hear is the bearings. If you cleaned the whole reel it's probably just freed up a bit.

Well it has to be the bearings. These are basically brand new reels. I flushed 3 reels. I wanted to do this because of reading that flushing stock bearings are needed rather than upgrading to after markets. The reels I have should have nice quality bearings. Chronarch ci4+, Daiwa T3 1016, Chronarch 51e. I just wanted to see how much nicer it makes it flushing them.

Although I do believe you guys saying upgrades bearings are not needed unless they go bad I have gotten hedgehog bearings for another T3 and a Steez. Which I plan to get a SV spool so I'm on the bandwagon of less resistance on light lures.

Please be careful I've seen bearings that are spun at high speeds explode and I'm talking larger bearings. I don't want to see little bearings come apart. There is a RPM limitation.

I don't see the need to spin them by machine. It seems like there is many ways to clean bearings and everyone has their methods. I'll just stick to what I have access to since it's at work. I can't bring I'm other chemicals and tools. We have plenty of acetone and a lot of ultra sonic cleaners. So that's what I'll use.

I use brake cleaner from the parts store. It sprays with some force and also dries in seconds with no residue. Then spun by hand to make sure there are no rough spots. Add oil and reinstall.

Curious as to what dremel attachment you use? This idea has intrigued me.

For handle and spool bearings, with a small inside diameter, I use a cutting wheel attachment. I take off the sanding disc and center the bearing. Just screw it in and you're good to go. For me, it cleans bearings much faster, so I can save time, since I have about 30 reels.

referred to as mandrels.  The same mandrels with bearings attached can be spun more safely with a variable speed drill achieving far fewer RPMs.

 

 

 

oe

If there's a lot of grease , and you're using a solvent, you're basically soaking them in shellack. Keep changing the solvent every ten minutes or so, or use a degreaser.

Please be careful I've seen bearings that are spun at high speeds explode and I'm talking larger bearings. I don't want to see little bearings come apart. There is a RPM limitation.

On my attachment, you're spinning the entire bearing. The bearings themselves are spinning a minimal amount.

An abec1 stainless ball bearing is typically rated for a max of 60,000-70,000 rpms; far faster than my dremel.