Broken Penn Surfmaster 850

[mikado]

I have a Penn Surfmaster 850 about three year old, hardly used, that has decided to seize up.
My question is where in Ireland can I get it repaired or do I have to send it all the way to Penn in America. This reel is the bain of my life and would never buy another Penn reel!
I would appreciate any help regarding repair.

[Shambo]

To be honest I wouldn't waste your money repairing it and just invest your money in a new reel, those reels are notoriously problematic and you're as well to get out now when you can.

[sparkey+1]

+1

[Preston]

Open it up an have a look , nothing ventured and all that . fixed spool reels are fairly straight forward . I have a penn reel myself and have no problems but I always give it a good clean down and oil regularly . I use tec7 spray (gt7) which is great for waterproofing

[bazzer74]

The old Penn surfmasters were bomb proof, but the more recent ones (within five yrs old) are made from much cheaper materials/components. My wife managed to wreck the cogs on two of them in the space of three hours winching in small rays last summer. At the time i put it down to her for being too hard on the gear, using the reel and not the rod and reel to land the fish. The following week I done exactly the same to a third reel landing a pollack around 2lb. On speaking with other anglers, I discovered that many had suffered similiar probs. Saying that the surfmaster is the only penn reel I've heard of with having so many probs. I have had 525 and 535 multipliers forever and they are very low maintenance and never given me any bother.

As far as fixed spools I'd reccommend a shimano; they are robust and customer service is excellent. A friend of mine has had the roller replaced twice on a shimano he's been using for pike and beach angling for 5 years, no charge and no questions asked. The only condition for repairs is that when you send them the reel, that you have'nt opened it and tampered with it yersel. Any shimano 7000 or 8000 size is probably twice the price of the surfmaster but you'll probably get ten times as long out of it.

[patk]

They are a disaster of a reel not worth repairing if there is a cost involved put what you were going to afford to pay for repair towards a new reel

[nutsbutz]

Penn Scotland is where i got parts for my brothers surfmaster 850....i must have the only surfmaster 850 that never gave any problems and thats over 5 years old?? (touch wood...lol)

[fisherman59]

bin it

[COYSER]

A HEAP of sh-t bin it is good advice,i had one for all of 20 minutes thats all it lasted,bought it for my son ,on the third retrieve it ffffd up would not buy another,try the shimano 8000 biomaster i have 3 their brill wont let you down good luck,coyser

[mikado]

Thanks for all your replies lads, I now know what to do with it.BIN IT!! I have decided to buy a Shimano Biomaster as they seem to be more reliable. The cost of sending it away and repairing it was silly. This site rocks and as a lad who grew up in the sixties, I know what rocking is!!
Good fishing everybody.