Worm Burn? 2024

J Francho reply :

Take a look at this customer reel. Its less than one season old.

Never seen salt, no fancy line additives, spooled with 50# Suffix braid, fished from a kayak... All I can think of is worm burn. Reel sent to Quantum under warranty.

ChrisAW reply :

I dunno if its just me or not, but I can't see any pictures.

Raul reply :

Man, it must be a pretty darn caustic worm to do that kind of damage.

J Francho reply :

I don't know if it was a worm, or that quality Quantum is so well known for. Either way, my customer is pretty disappointed. He usually fishes Shimanos, and his exact quote was, "I could have bought two Citicas for what I paid for this junk."

CFFF 1.5 reply :

Still no pic

Siebert Outdoors reply :

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Still no pic

ditto

J Francho reply :

They should be fine. You guys browsing from work? Maybe they have a block on my photo hosting site.

J Francho reply :

Nevermind....had embedding blocked on the gallery. Should work fine with a reload. Sorry about that.

ChrisAW reply :

Yep, working now.

Wow, thats a horror show!

Hooked_On_Bass reply :

That looks awful! :-?

hmongkidBee reply :

man is it me or does quantum reels really "SUCK"? No wonder guys go with shimano or abu garcia. How much is that reel? $200?

J Francho reply :

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No wonder guys go with shimano or abu garcia Daiwa. How much is that reel? $200?

They go for about $190.

CFFF 1.5 reply :

What do you mean by worm burn, looks to me like he actually burned it, with fire.

Raul reply :

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What do you mean by worm burn, looks to me like he actually burned it, with fire.

The sideplate yes, it can look like burned with fire, but the spool ? doesn 't look like fire damage, looks more like if something corroded the metal away.

.ghoti. reply :

That's not worm burn. Neither is it the idea that Quantums suck.

That is acid or caustic damage.

How the hell is that Quantum's fault.

Big Bait Fishing reply :

i bet the person had it in the garage leaning up against a leaky car battery , no worm or bait of any kind would do that , it is a shame people try to make a manufacturer swallow the cost for that , no wonder they get finicky with warranty service : , that's MY opinion ........

.ghoti. reply :

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i bet the person had it in the garage leaning up against a leaky car battery , no worm or bait of any kind would do that , it is a shame people try to make a manufacturer swallow the cost for that , no wonder they get finicky with warranty service : , that's MY opinion ........

Amen, brother.

RichF reply :

I have 2 of those reels and another older energy and tour and I think they're great reels. That looks like neglect.

A-Jay reply :

Although the reel was not used in salt water, many plastic baits do have salt added but I question if salt alone could do that kind of damage in such a short period of time. Really does look like an acid / corrosive issue though.

What did the rod it came off look like ?

A-Jay

J Francho reply :

If I didn't personally know the guy, and fish with him frequently enough to know how he takes care of his gear, I'd be skeptical. All of his other reels are pristine. Just this one had issues. The reel works flawlessly, only the exterior finish is damaged, along with some missing "flesh" on the spool itself. I've seen these deposition finishes peel, but nothing like this. It does look like something got on it or touched it in this one spot. Nasty.

J Francho reply :

Oh, and the rod was fine. I'll ask him where it was stored for the winter. And salt shouldn't be an issue with these, its rated safe for saltwater. I've had Senkos and other salty baits literally melt onto rods and reels, and never had any issue. Worm burn was just a guess on my part, hence the punctuation used.

tradequities reply :

highly doubt that is due to poor manufacturing or low quality parts.. id take an energy over 2 citicas any day.. now energy vs curado is a different story

ChrisAW reply :

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Oh, and the rod was fine. I'll ask him where it was stored for the winter. And salt shouldn't be an issue with these, its rated safe for saltwater. I've had Senkos and other salty baits literally melt onto rods and reels, and never had any issue. Worm burn was just a guess on my part, hence the punctuation used.

Well that made me take a quick glance to check if I left any plastics on the hook holders.

A-Jay reply :

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If I didn't personally know the guy, and fish with him frequently enough to know how he takes care of his gear, I'd be skeptical. All of his other reels are pristine. Just this one had issues. The reel works flawlessly, only the exterior finish is damaged, along with some missing "flesh" on the spool itself. I've seen these deposition finishes peel, but nothing like this. It does look like something got on it or touched it in this one spot. Nasty.

I didn't realize you were friends with the owner. We may never know. I love those reel and would be bummin' if it were one of mine.

A-Jay

J Francho reply :

He is a scientist - studies turtles - maybe its turtle crap.

Maico1 reply :

JF you have a way of making me laugh.....

sundog49 reply :

Do all of the Quantum spools have that coloration on them? It looks like exposure to extreme heat to me.

J Francho reply :

Its the only Quantum he owns.

fishfordollars reply :

Looks like neglect to me. Something got on that reel. Not the manufacturers fault.

Maybe he tried to wipe it down with Acetone...LOL

J Francho reply :

Neglect? Then why weren't all the other Shimanos and Daiwas that were stored with this reel end up like that?

I actually have a new theory, and it might sound off the wall, but it might be right on. Cat urine. I'd think the braid and reel would stink, though.

ChrisAW reply :

I wouldn't call it neglect, but I wouldn't call it a bad item from Quantum either. If it were a manufacturing defect, its unlikely you would see the frame, cover and spool all flake and corrode in the same fashion, being that they don't likely coat all three of those objects in the same area.

Something got on it, but you'll probably never know what it was.

Hook Set reply :

I have seen first hand where a plastic worm has laid on a piece of plastic trim on a boat. It didn't stay there too long and ate down into the plastic and discolored it.

Big Bait Fishing reply :

like i said on the top of page 2 of this topic , i would almost bet money that it was stored next to a leaky car battery , i hope Jfrancho will check into it and report back

Maico1 reply :

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Neglect? Then why weren't all the other Shimanos and Daiwas that were stored with this reel end up like that?
I actually have a new theory, and it might sound off the wall, but it might be right on. Cat urine. I'd think the braid and reel would stink, though.

John,

That is exactly what I was going to suggest.

burleytog reply :

I've seen something similar on another Quantum spool.

lightsout reply :

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Neglect? Then why weren't all the other Shimanos and Daiwas that were stored with this reel end up like that?
I actually have a new theory, and it might sound off the wall, but it might be right on. Cat urine. I'd think the braid and reel would stink, though.

Very possible, pee is some corrosive stuff.

I used to do a lot of metal detecting, and when digging metals out of areas that were once pastures it was unbelievable how corroded stuff got.

Guys were supposedly putting urine on reproduction belt buckels to make them look 150 years old!

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

I have seen almost identical blistering of the finish on a Quantum reel, but the spool thing has me scratching my head too.

KYntucky Warmouth reply :

The cat must be Shimano/Daiwa guy

bear7625 reply :

I got this strange feeling the customer isn't telling the whole story!

J Francho reply :

He's telling the whole story as he knows it. Whether something got on it, which is probable, we'll never know.

Hooligan reply :

Any chance he fishes Gulp Alive? I've seen similar results when another piece of plastic gets laid together with it.

BassThumb reply :

That's nut. I have a small Quantum Catalyst that is blistering a little on the body, but it's not nearly as bad as that and the the reel has been used a ton. There isn't any white residue or damage to any metal, either.

I'm thinking that's battery acid corrosion, but who lets battery acid drip on their expensive fishing equipment? I once had a salted plastic tube melt onto a reel in storage. The hook hanger was broken so I would hook the tubejig onto the reel, and I forgot about it during the offseason. Zero damage, and that a much cheaper reel. Cat pee was a good guess, but that would stink like crazy and would likely seep into the reel where you could easily smell it once it was opened up.

mctech reply :

i have quantums 6-7 yrs old that look like new and have never had a problem with them. its all how you take care of them.

247bassin reply :

I have a Quantum Bill Dance Combo that was cheap. It was like $60 for the combo (I think). I would say that it is in the top of their cheap reels, and I put my equipment through he!! and mine still works fine. If the fish are hitting good and my line breaks, I have been known to throw my rods and reels down on rocks and pick another up. The Quantum does not even have a nick in it. I would say something like battery acid or the such got on it and did that. Maybe even some kind of caustic cleaner like carb cleaner or break cleaner got on it. I would have him check out everything that his reels were laying next to and see if there is anything that is leaking.

I don't know though...just my 2 cents.

J Francho reply :

Guys, I don't think he did anything differently that you or I would do to this reel. Normal use...

Something may have spilled or leaked on it. I had three older Quantums, with a similar finish and all three eventually bubbled up, peeled, and flaked off. But nothing like this. The thing that gets me wondering is why, if all the rods and reels were stored in the same place, only this one has the issue.

Gulp! Alive, sure, we ARE on the Great Lakes. I've never had that do anything to any of my gear except make it stink.

J Francho reply :

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Maybe even some kind of caustic cleaner like carb cleaner or break cleaner got on it.

You mean like the stuff commonly used to clean reels? Nope, that wouldn't do this.

.ghoti. reply :

John, I would say that you have a finish problem, were it not for the spool. That is not a finish problem.

Something on the outside ends of the PH scale got on there.

247bassin reply :

You mean like the stuff commonly used to clean reels? Nope, that wouldn't do this.

ChrisAW reply :

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No, I mean like a brake cleaner for a vehicle...I have never heard of anyone using break cleaner to clean reels????

Maybe it leaked from a shelf, maybe he was cleaning a rotor or something. Maybe it was gasoline, I don't know, but it looks like the stuff on the reel is built up to me, not pitting it. That is why I thought it might be something that was spilled, leaked, or sprayed on it on a accident.

Maybe his wife got mad at him and poured acid on it, I wouldn't put that past a scorned women!

Brake cleaner is non-corrosive. It's used to clean a lot more than just car parts. Many even use clean drying brake clean to clean electronics, which is much more susceptible to corrosion than these finished fishing reels.

I really doubt any self respecting fisherman keeps his very expensive fishing gear stuffed in the garage.

dodgeguy reply :

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You mean like the stuff commonly used to clean reels? Nope, that wouldn't do this.

No, I mean like a brake cleaner for a vehicle...I have never heard of anyone using break cleaner to clean reels????

Maybe it leaked from a shelf, maybe he was cleaning a rotor or something. Maybe it was gasoline, I don't know, but it looks like the stuff on the reel is built up to me, not pitting it. That is why I thought it might be something that was spilled, leaked, or sprayed on it on a accident.

Maybe his wife got mad at him and poured acid on it, I wouldn't put that past a scorned women!

J Francho reply :

Just got off the phone with ghoti, and he gave some VERY good ideas of what to look for that might do this. Thanks man!

I didn't send the reel to anyone, I gave it back to its owner, along with the pics I took. The rest is up to him. I assume he's sending the pics to Quantum. I've sent reels in to other companies where the damage was obviously self inflicted, along with a note explaining what happened, and they've fixed the reel for no charge. Pinnacle recently provided me with parts free of charge without me even asking for it. Technically, the reel isn't broken, and in fact works just fine. If they don't fix it, so what. I'll clean it for him,and we'll still try and figure out what did this.

LilJakeC1 reply :

I wonder if he had something on his hands when he went to use it. It seems like it is all on that one side where he would palm it and it got onto the reel. That is my best guess to what happened.

bilgerat reply :

Send it to the crew from CSI. Those guys are great. They solve crimes in under an hour, this should be cake for them.....

BassThumb reply :

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Send it to the crew from CSI. Those guys are great. They solve crimes in under an hour, this should be cake for them.....

;D LOL

Forget all that BS... Back to the topic.

I wish we could definitively figure out what happened. What did ghoti suggest, Francho? I don't want to be the next guy...

ToledoEF reply :

JF, my friend has similar stuff happen to him. Although non -fishing related. He has a problem with his hands where he sweats more than normal and its slightly more corrosive. We do sheetmetal/hvac and you should see his tools. I replace my stuff every couple of years and his tools are corroded/rusted in 6 months if he doesnt wear gloves. It is one of the craziest things ive seen.

BassThumb reply :

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JF, my friend has similar stuff happen to him. Although non -fishing related. He has a problem with his hands where he sweats more than normal and its slightly more corrosive. We do sheetmetal/hvac and you should see his tools. I replace my stuff every couple of years and his tools are corroded/rusted in 6 months if he doesnt wear gloves. It is one of the craziest things ive seen.

That wouldn't explain the severe damage to the spool. Furthermore, it's just one spot on the spool.

ToledoEF reply :

Ya, just throwing out ideas. It also looks like drain-o could have touched it. Possibly muriatic acid.

RedhookRR reply :

What metal is the spool made of?

Catt reply :

It appears to be a combination of Intergranular corrosion (side plate) and Galvanic corrosion (spool).

Intergranular corrosion: This situation can happen in otherwise corrosion-resistant alloys, when the grain boundaries are depleted of the corrosion-inhibiting compound by some mechanism

Galvanic corrosion: When two or more different sorts of metal come into contact in the presence of an electrolyte a galvanic couple is set up as different metals have different electrode potentials.

J Francho reply :

Looking back, the reel was last fished mid December, and came back out about three weeks ago, so it had to be pretty fast acting. Been racking my brain thinking of what would commonly be found around the back door.

I have another theory, and this one makes more sense. Ice melter. Not rock salt, but the nasty stuff that melts ice in sub 20° temps. One little chip in the paint, mixed with a clump of snow from your boots, splashes on the reel... Anyone think that stuff could be caustic enough to do this?

I know it could easily happen in my mud room. Rods are on racks along the back wall, waders, rain gear on hooks next to them. It could easily happen to me, though I have neoprene covers on my reels.

Anyway, I am still looking at what could have happened. obviously, it was an accident. When I ran my custom aquarium business, I ate customer mistakes occasionally, and I still do this with my reel maintenance business. The good faith is sometimes worth more than any advertising you can buy.

No one is looking for handouts, but if it turned out to be a flaw, then the manufacturer should know. Heck, I complain when I get a poor meal, or shoddy service at my family's restaurant, and its FREE! Management needs to know.

Maybe its not a flaw, maybe it isn't anyone's fault. Like I said, despite the missing metal on the spool, the reels works fine. i simply decided not to do anything to it, get some pics, and leave it to the owner to figure out what to do.

J Francho reply :

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It appears to be a combination of Intergranular corrosion (side plate) and Galvanic corrosion (spool).
Intergranular corrosion: This situation can happen in otherwise corrosion-resistant alloys, when the grain boundaries are depleted of the corrosion-inhibiting compound by some mechanism

Galvanic corrosion: When two or more different sorts of metal come into contact in the presence of an electrolyte a galvanic couple is set up as different metals have different electrode potentials.

Well, the side plate is graphite. The spool is aluminum, but who knows what, if any, alloy it is. Galvaninc corrosion makes sense...deposition finish and base material. Still doesn't answer the question of what caused this. in your location, I bet you don't have any clue what "ice melter" is, LOL. Thanks for the info.

roadwarrior reply :

Whiskey?

:-?

Catt reply :

Corrosion is the disintegration of an engineered material into its constituent atoms due to chemical reactions with its surroundings.

Corrosion can also refer to other materials than metals, such as ceramics or polymers, although in this context, the term degradation is more common.

In other words, corrosion is the wearing away of materials due to a chemical reaction.

ksbasser reply :

J, I have not been cleaning reels as a side business as long as you have. But during the time that I have, I've seen a lot of corroded reels. I've seen some that looked fine on the outside and was full of corrosion on the inside, and I've also seen some that had just a random spot like this reel. In one of my background professions, I ran an auto paint /resto shop. I'm also a certified welder, machinist. My day job is now a materials inspection engineer. I have seen and dealt with a lot of corrosion in my time. Most reel manufacturers have tried to make their reels resistant to corrosion, but all aluminum alloys are very susceptible to corrosion. All it takes is a small break in the plating to allow any corrosive material to attack the base. If that starts, it can crawl under and though the surrounding areas. You have suggested several possibilities. Unless you set up a test situation where you scratch and expose similar reels to each possibility, you will never know for sure what caused this. I think your first guess may have been very close. Not so much from worm burn but maybe from heavy salt content in a plastic bait. Salt is still one of the most corrosive elements there is. If there was a scratch trough the protective plating, and it was stored with a salted bait hooked to the reel, then that could have easily started the corrosion. It could also be several other common household items that got splashed on to the reel in storage. Ice melt could do it, so could a splash of lemon juice or even catsup. Anything with a pH level above zero is capable of causing it to start. I understand the frustration that some have shown about sending the reel in under warranty. If it's the owners fault, then the owner should suck it up. But, how could any of us know that it's the owners fault. Shouldn't a new reel be able to resist corrosion from such simple possibilities? I see no problem with sending it in. If they say they are not responsible and it's not covered, then suck it up. It could also be that they would like to look at it to try and learn how to improve the corrosion protection. It could also be that they will see that their plating failed somehow and was the path that allowed this to start. Unprotected aluminum alloys can have serious corrosion from almost anything. If the plating failed then that did in fact allow it to start, then the corrosion itself becomes the caustic agent that will eat at surrounding coatings.

247bassin reply :

Sorry...I guess brake cleaner and carburetor cleaner was a stupid idea. I was just hoping I could be helpful, guess not

I hope you find out what it was so it don't happen again to anything else he owns.

The ice melter is a good idea...like ammonia nitrate? I have a friend that uses that on his driveway. Is that stuff corrosive?

Hope that isn't another stupid idea guys, I swear I am just trying to be helpful!

Raul reply :

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Whiskey?
:-?

I hope NOT !

In my experience in multpile encounters with the spiritous beverage whiskey don 't corrode nuthin in my entrails, mushes my brains but that 's about it. ;D

Catt reply :

With 15 yrs experence with dealing with all types of corrosion on all type of materials my accesament is that of a weak protective coating as being the why and what appears to be where somethng lay against the reel.

With "Dissimilar Materials" Galvanic corrosion is caused by the presence of an electrolyte (a nonmetallic electric conductor in which current is carried by the movement of ions), the graphite making the aluminum corrode faster by being cathodic to it. If the protective coatings were weak this allowed the Galvanic corrosion.

roadwarrior reply :

Ice melter...

8-)

Raul reply :

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Ice melter...
8-)

Whiskey on the rocks.

A chair

A good cuban cigar

and let them reels corrode, who cares ?

KSRonH reply :

A good way to end, sip, a corrosive, puff, thread. Puff, sip, ahhh!!!!

NewAngler reply :

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That's not worm burn. Neither is it the idea that Quantums suck.
That is acid or caustic damage.

How the hell is that Quantum's fault.

Agreed.

0119 reply :

A friend of mine had the same thing happen to an Ardent C400. Looked exactly like that to both graphite plate, aluminum frame, and a portion of the spool. It was from his overly liberal use of sun screen lotion. He thought he cleaned his hands well enough just wiping them dry, but that isnt good enough. By the way, Ardent replaced the entire reel no charge.

Boogey Man reply :

Was line still on the reel when he brought it to you? The reason I'm asking is because whatever damaged the spool would have to have damaged his line first. Which to me rules out "worm burn" (which I think has already been ruled out), unless he was fishing with only about half a spool of line and then hooked his lure on his reel.

J Francho reply :

Good point about the line - hadn't thought about it, but it might help. The line was on it, and no, it didn't damage the line, other than some powdery substance probably left behind from the corrosion. When I transferred the line to another reel, the stuff just came off, leaving behind unharmed line.

cart7t reply :

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I have seen almost identical blistering of the finish on a Quantum reel, but the spool thing has me scratching my head too.

Also had a similar but not identical issue with Quantum finishes. The spool thing has me puzzled. Seems as though something got on that reel to cause that damage

Rich Tehan reply :

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Was line still on the reel when he brought it to you? The reason I'm asking is because whatever damaged the spool would have to have damaged his line first.

No, not if the substance that corroded the reel wasn't corrosive to the line.

Catt reply :

With "Dissimilar Materials" Galvanic corrosion does not require any moisture, salt, or corrosive substance to be present; all that is required is for "Dissimilar Materials" to touch. The galvanic corrosion is where it started, corrosion will always take the path of least resistance so the galvanic corrosion spread intergranular which means it separated the grains of the graphite which is why it was not noticed until a year later. The exterior plating/coating/finish held the graphite separation in check until the pressure of the separating graphite finally blistered the exterior finish and it cracked.

The path of least resistance on the spool was the surface of the spool which is why you see two different types of damage.

This does not rule out outside materials (worm salt) compounding the problem

Luke at Gouldsboro reply :

whatever the cause, its the operators fault. Reels just don't do that by themselves...

tyrius. reply :

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whatever the cause, its the operators fault. Reels just don't do that by themselves...

And what do you have to back up this statement?

J Francho reply :

Fault? So if a tree falls on your car, its your fault for parking there? Not interested in finding fault, just cause. :

Catt reply :

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Fault? So if a tree falls on your car, its your fault for parking there? Not interested in finding fault, just cause. :

I gave you the cause

J Francho reply :

Yes, and thanks very much for all your helpful info, Catt.

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