Electric motor to turn a fishing reel

[Ryan davis]

My oldest daughters best friend had an accident and now has no use of his left side. He is or was very outdoorsy and loved to fish. My daughter came to me the other day and said she wants to take him fishing. You can buy electric reels if you want to spend a fortune and I think they are more for deep water stuff to reel in quickly. I want something I can attach the output shaft to the input shaft on a reel then wire a button onto the grip so he could reel in and work the action I am not an electrician. What kind of motor do I need to use?

 

[Minder]

You need a small DC brushed motor, you do not need anything very high powered as it will require extra in the way of battery power, there are PWM controllers on ebay for ~$5.00.
You would need to get creative to incorporate it into or attached to the handle of the rod.
M.

 

[Bluejets]

How you set up (mechanically) the above brushed motor that Minder suggested would largely depend on the type of reel.
Reels I have seen do not have an "input shaft" but rotate on a shaft or spindle.
If you intend to modify and existing reel, I would imagine some type of worm drive gearbox in conjunction with the motor would be required.
This arrangement allows for "quick release" in the design of the worm from the main gear for "freewheeling".
Also some clutch arrangement would be required as a brake.
Easy to say but not so easy to build unless you are familiar with machining etc.

 

[BobK]

Well, what you really need to do is determine what speed (or range of speeds) in RPM that you want and how much torque is needed, what power supply, then buy a geared motor that meets that specification.

Bob

 

[nepow]

Well here's an Idea, there are plenty of scrap printers around and I've made a few projects from them. Dismantling can reveal several useful motors and gears and even toothed racks that drive the scan mechanism. I made our green house luvre vent open and closed from a printer coppiers motor driven rack!

 

[Ryan davis]

I am s millwright by trade and grew up in a machine shop. Connecting the motor to the reel is the easy part for me, just not real familiar with the small motors and operators. I've done some research now and believe I'm going to try a step motor with a speed control I'll let everyone know how it pans out.

 

[Bluejets]

As there is no need for exact positioning I would forget that idea and go with the brushed dc motor originally suggested by Minder.
More torque as well.

 

[BobK]

The stepper motor does allow for accurate speed control as well as positioning. A brushed DC motor would be cheaper, but actual speed control would require feedback.

Bob