Never grease a small reels ball bearings, oil only. Grease can harden with
age and it can hold dirt, mud and sand to destroy the bearing surfaces. You
can use a silicone based grease to pack the anti-reverse roller bearing in a
reel.

I agree that the above CAN occur when grease is used in any ball bearing when
improperly applied, usually in excess. Improper ball bearing maintainence due
to excessive lubrication, oil or grease, is the cause of most bearing
lubrication/contamination failures. The excess, which is either on the outside
of the shields or inner and outer races will attract dust and dirt which can
migrate inside of the bearing and cause damage. However, damage is less likely
to occur on a quality ball bearing with dual shields or seals.

The majority of reel manufacturers use grease, not oil, in most of their reel
bearings. This is done for several reasons, from noise reduction to corrosion
prevention, but the main reason is that they plan on the average Joe not
maintaining his reels properly. The intention is that that grease will last the
lifetime of the reel. In addition, oil does not always have the ability to have
corrosion inhibitors added, while it is a common practice with grease.

I believe this is a fine notion of lower end reels, but I think the
manufacturers should go with a different approach on their higher end models
and oil the majority of the bearings they install. Most people buying a high
end reel are going to maintain them on a regular basis in which case the reason
behind using grease over oil is a mute point.

As far as oiling vs. greasing for reel ball bearings, the general rule or thumb
for any ball bearing is that you use oil in applications that have low torque
or high speed, obviously these are relative terms. The only bearings on a reel
that you NEED to oil, and this is solely for the purpose of improving casting
performance, are the spool bearings of a casting reel. These are truely the
only 'high speed' bearings in any reel, regardless of retrieve ratio.

The thing you want to avoid all together, and many of us are guilty of this
including me, is simply adding oil to a bearing without completely flushing the
bearing with cleaner first. This is assuming that you haven't already cleaned
the bearing, installed your choice of lubricants, and are now just adding a
little lubricant as routine upkeep in between major maintainence. Because most
reel bearings come with grease installed, you want to completely clean that
grease, or oil for that matter, out before you apply any additional lubricant.
Not all greases and oils are compatable with each other. Oils can react with
other oils just as vinegar and water react to each other. However, this is more
common with the interaction of oil and grease. Grease, in most cases, is simply
an oil and base agent used to thicken the lubricant. Any foreign lubricant
could cause the oil and base of a grease to seperate, harden, or thicken. The
results are unpredictable. Adding oil to a bearing that already contains
another lubricant will not always help lubrication, in most cases, it will
eventually cause problems, but your results may vary.
-Jim Jr.
www.teamhornerfishing.com