Spooling up a Stella 18000SW

[mike burgess]

The screwdriver through spool & rag doesn't seem like it would be possible to exert even, steady pressure??
Is this technique good enough?

[Chuen Fan]

I wind the line onto a game reel (TLD, Tiagra etc) then set the drag, put the game outfit into the boat rod holder nd wind off that.

[Andrew Poulos]

It works and is pretty steady. you just pay the price later when the wife/partner cracks it at the 300m mark, and you still have another 100-200 to go.....

[Luke Wyrsta]

The screwdriver through spool & rag doesn't seem like it would be possible to exert even, steady pressure??
Is this technique good enough?

Pretty easy. Why don't you try it?

Years of using this technique without grief doesn't lie!

[Travis Heaps]

I like Sunny's idea but use the screwdriver one myself.  I also use a bit a cardboard on either side of the spool instead of the rag, it slips easier under pressure and the friction heat buildup isn't too bad. I usually hold the screwdriver between my toes and run the line through the first runner of a rod and wind from there.

Another one I heard the other day was throw the spool of line into a bucket of water, run through the first runner of a rod and use gloved finger to put tension on...the theory being the wet line won't heat up/worry your guide after it's had 300 yards of tensioned braid running over the one spot at top speed.

[Andy Rowe]

I tried last night to spool up my new 18000SW with 80lb Varivas.
Someone suggested never to get this done at a tackle shop as they don't apply enough pressure.

First I wound the entire spool onto a downrigger then by winding with lots of pressure set on the downrigger drag & reel drag, through rod guides & onto the reel.
Only towards the end I discovered the line was not even & tapered towards the top of the reel, ie more line at top of spool than bottom.
I was really annoyed to say the least as this process nearly killed me & I then had to take all the line back off the reel & was left wondering what to do next.

I read in the manual by adding drag washers will correct this type of taper but I thought the reel was supposed to be set correctly in the first place.
I am now wondering if I was applying too much pressure which caused the taper, in which case maybe I should take it to a tackle store??

Any ideas guys? help......

Mike Don't worry I have 2 X 18K's and have had to add 4 extra washers to one and 2 to the other to get the line lay even. Not such an issue with 80lb but bare in mind with thicker braids a bulky spool knot can also exagerate coning if it is in the wrong position on the spool. I have not had the same problem with my SW10K's.

Just as a matter of interest how much varivas 80lb did you get on, from memory i got 420m of Avani PE6 on one of my 18k spools.

[mike burgess]

I guess I'll have to try the screwdriver...
Couldn't say exactly how much I got on but reckon it was closer to 500m, maybe less though.
I wound 1 wrap of insulation tape directly to spool, then uni knot braid over tape, small piece of tape over knot.
I do remember the knot sat pretty close to the bottom of the spool, where should it sit & is the uni knot ok?

[Andy Rowe]

Couldn't say exactly how much I got on but reckon it was closer to 500m, maybe less though.
I wound 1 wrap of insulation tape directly to spool, then uni knot braid over tape, small piece of tape over knot.
I do remember the knot sat pretty close to the bottom of the spool, where should it sit & is the uni knot ok?

500m  , no wonder you were nearly dead..
As I said not such an issue for PE6 but if you have coning issues and your knot is up front of the spool in PE10 or 12 it does tend to make matters worse.
 
I usually do a 4 turn Uni to create a loop, and then a tip I got from Gus, is to twist the loop over the arbor once then snug down.

[mike burgess]

thanks for all the input guys.
Should I try & position knot in the centre of the spool?
I will try again with the downrigger in next few days & add 2 washers & let you know how it goes.

[mike burgess]

FYI
I added the 2 bigger shimano supplied washers (comes with 2 big, 2 small) & to my surprise I got 550m PE6 on & shape is now even.
Thanks for all the help.