Van Staal Reel Servicing Turnaround = 6 Weeks!

[Mike P]

Originally Posted by Mr. Sandman

I could probably use a saltiga for those exteme nights but I would like to hear how diawa handles the service first.

I'm thinking you could probably get it done at any Daiwa warranty center. Is Bucko's a Daiwa service center?

Dunno how Daiwa's factory parts/service folks are--I've only used them to get a spare spool and some bearings for my old Sealine Slosh-30. They shipped the parts fairly quickly and billed me later.

And I don't think you'd void any warranty by doing self-service. Altho I don't know whether I'd like tackling a 15 bearing gizmo.

[fishweewee]

I recall reading a thread (somewhere) where a U.S. Saltiga owner tried to get Daiwa USA (located in California) to service it.

Daiwa USA service department punted to Daiwa Japan.

...

[BCY]

I got my Saltiga from a tackle shop in NJ that will service the reel for free. Just pay for shipping to the shop. I would expect that parts would be extras.

[Mr. Sandman]

Originally Posted by fishweewee

Daiwa USA service department punted to Daiwa Japan.

...

If this is indeed the case, this would be my main concern...

As for "fixing it yourself"...sure you can pump some lube in it but I have reels I thought were fine and worked well, when I send them back, lots of parts got replaced (at no or little charge to me) that I would have not considered replacing. In some cases entire reels were replaced with new. Also, these new bearings are pretty high tech. Each has a version number. When you send the reel in for service they replace the bearings with the current state of the are version (again , no or little charge). (these are not cheap to buy off the shelf either) So I think it really pays to have someone who really knows what he is doing and knows where the key wear points and typical trouble spots are. This is why service is so important to me. I don't want to become a reel mechanic and I don't want to stock lots of parts....I have enough problems with plugs and jigs as it stands.

[fishweewee]

Well, for what it's worth, I called up the Daiwa service center in California.

Service for the Saltigas is not an issue - since they're being sold here (albeit on a limited basis - whaddya expect with an $800 reel!) ...

...they will be serviced here.

-WW

[spence]

Anyone know why the 4500 weighs less than the 4000???

-specne

[Mike P]

Originally Posted by spence

Anyone know why the 4500 weighs less than the 4000???

-specne

Funny, I was just looking at the specs you sent me and that jumped right out

According to Hatteras Outfitters and that other website, the 5000 weighs 20.3 too, but Cabelas has it as 29.1

I think Daiwa might have re-badged the whole line when they came out with new models, and Cabelas and BP are still using the 2003 nomenclature

[fishweewee]

Been doing this all day looking up stuff .

Now I am thoroughly confused on the product specs.

What a retarded way to market a product.

[spence]

I sent Daiwa an email asking for clarification. Should have a response in 2-3 weeks

-spence

[BCY]

Here's the weights for the Saltiga models, right off a major japanese vendor website. I understand that the 4500 and 6000 model are lighter because the same spool is used, but the spool is deeper for more line capacity.

Saltiga Z
Model Weight oz
4000 20.5
4000H 20.5
4500 20.3
4500H 20.3 　
5000 29.4
6000 29.4
6000GT 29.1
6500 EXP 29.8

I'll weight in my fully spooled with 65 # whiplash 6000 GT and report back in later.

[Slipknot]

Originally Posted by BCY

I'll weight in my fully spooled with 65 # whiplash 6000 GT and report back in later.

Could you also let me know how many yards of 65 whiplash you fit on that baby?
Thanks

I was reading the specs on sites also and saw that the new models of the reels said that the 5000 weighed the same as the 4000 = 20.3 oz so That is why I thought of getting a 5000 since it would hold the required amount of line I like to have on. I wonder now if it's a typo.

[spence]

Pretty sure the 5000 weighs 29.x ounces...

-spence

[JoeP]

The 4500 weighs .2 ounces less than the 4000 only because of the depth of the spools. The spool on the 4000 holds less line than the 4500 so the decreased depth of the spool causes the slight increase in weight, I guess due to a little more aluminum used in the 4000 spool. I have both reels -- the reels are the EXACT same except only for the spools. Actually, only the spools have the numbers 4000/4500 written on them so the 2 reels are identical. I've weighed my reels and the .2 ounce difference is about accurate.

This same slight weight difference caused by spool depth is also in the Shimano Stella 6000 (23.6 oz.) and 8000 reels (22.8 oz.); the Sustain 6000/8000 reels; etc.

Also, the Saltiga 5000 does weigh 29.1 or so ounces, not 20.1 or so. The websites that list it as 20 ounces are mistaken. The 5000 is the same reel as the 6000 with a smaller spool.

[Mike P]

Joe--are the line capacities for the 4500 and 5000 listed on those sites accurate? If so, would I be correct in assuming that the 4500 holds as much line as the 5000 at a weight savings of more than half a pound?

[iluvspots]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....


Ben

[Slipknot]

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[Tattoo]

I think I fit something like 270 yards of 50lb powerpro with 25yards of 20lb backing on my 4500.

[Slipknot]

Originally Posted by Tattoo

I think I fit something like 270 yards of 50lb powerpro with 25yards of 20lb backing on my 4500.

Mike How do you like that reel in the sand? can it take it?

That capacity may work for me.
I would just need a spare spool, I can imagine how much they cost

[Tattoo]

What the hell is sand? We dont have sand over here.

I used it 50 percent of the fall last year and never had an issue.

It's worth the money, but then again I dont do anything but fish. I can see a guy having multiple hobbies finding it expensive. As you know, good tools are not cheap.

[Tattoo]

Spare Spools - $140 bucks. http://www.japantackle.com/Daiwa_ree...iga_z_spin.htm

I just want a colored one like these. Don't ask why, I just need it.

http://www.plat.co.jp/english/daiwa/ize/saltiga4500.htm

[JoeP]

Mike-

What Tattoo said is about accurate. I think last year I fit almost an entire 300 yard spool of 50 pound Power Pro with 17 pound mono backing. This year I'm using less Power Pro just because it's cheaper and I'll never get into the last 100 yards of the braid anyway.

The 5000 definitely holds more line than the 4500 and is a much bigger reel, but if you're gonna buy a 5000 why not just get the 6000 -- same reel and more capacity.

By the way, the Daiwa website is incorrect when it has the 4500 and 5000 as the same reels.

Joe

[Gloucester2]

For the curious . . . a personalized blinged out 4500 is $825


Just build another cabinet - Ya know ya want one Slip

[JoeP]

Yeah but if you shop around you can get an un-blinged out 4500 for about $200-$250 less. Works just as good.

[bassmaster]

flaptail im going to rip your head off and %$%$%$%$ down your throat

[JohnR]

[bassmaster]

[Flaptail]

[NIB]

So a 5000 goes 795 an a spare gt spool goes 146 for total of 941 plus shipping.I think I'm gonna go back to usin a clorox bottle an a handline.

[BCY]

The weight on my Saltiga 6000 GT fully spooled with 65 # whiplash and 15 # mono backing is 30.4 ounces. I didn't measure the amount of line but I would estimate at least 250 + yards. I'm going to do some test casting so thats the most important result to me. Hopefully I can hit the 130 yard mark with a 5 oz jig. Need to hit that seam out in the middle of that rip.

[Pete_G]

The thing with Van Staal is that THEY hate the service plan too.

I've been to the old Hopedale facility during reel repair season, and it's not pretty. There were hundreds and hundreds of bins on racks with completely dissassembled reels in them and a huge (5ft tall, maybe higher) pile of un-opened cardboard boxes with MORE reels back for service in them. Also, when they tell you they completely disassemble them they're not BS'ing you.

You can take apart a VS quickly, but to thoroughly clean, inspect the parts, reassemble it, and then box and ship the reel takes time. I'm not saying 6+ week turnaround is ok, just that there is a reason.

Also, (not counting 2 specific instances) add me to the list of people who have never actually seen a broken VS. One time a customer came in with a reel he ran over with his truck, and the other was with the Ironman's now 11+ year old VS100. A couple years ago he decided to finally service it so he sent us out to kill the reel on some BFT that showed up off Newport before we sent it back. I tried, and the reel sounded like death when I was done with it. The drag was fried; it had the old Penn drag washers back then. But it still turned and caught fish, even with broken parts inside (a bearing had failed).

I just thought of one more broken VS, Tattoo got pummelled by a wave and totally f'd up the handle on his, but we swapped in a replacement and it was fine. Seeing a reel's handle get that bent and having the rest of the reel suffer no damage from the impact was pretty impressive.

Lastly, VS is aware that people would like to service their own reels. Not only that but they would LOVE to unload that task to consumers since it costs them time and money. So it's possible (maybe even likely) that will happen at some point. The real issue right now is that if you put a VS back together wrong (so I've been told) you need a Dremel tool to get back into it.