Detach the line from the arrrow and start wrapping it around something anything. I had thought about using a dowel in a drill so that I could take the line off very fast but I didn’t want the small coils that would likely result. So instead I chose a plastic pitcher because of the larger diameter and ease or rotation.
To avoid adding twists to the line, I made sure that I rotated the pitcher rather than wrapping the line around a stationary pitcher.
Holding it like this, I was able to keep a little tension on the line also giving me a little more control to reel it on evenly.
After all of line was removed from the reel, I needed to free the line from the bottle. All I had to do is pull the plastic plug from the bottom of the bottle. The line goes through the plug and has a knot on both sides. The two knots keep the line from coming all out way while shooting and keeps the line from falling out the bottom. The washer helps to distribute the force generated from the arrow hitting the end of the line.
Untie this knot and I could finish removing the old line from the reel.
Here are the parts laid out in order: line, reel, bottle, washer, and plug/stopper.
The new line must be fed through the front of the reel…
and out the back were the bottle screws on.
The line goes from the reel, through the bottle, through the washer, large knot in the line (I tied this), through the plug, and one more large knot tied in. I had to make sure the knot was large enough that the line cannot pull through even with some decent force.
Asssemble the parts back together and I am ready to reel the line in.
I was able to get about thirty yards of line onto the reel but I had to make sure that I kept the bottle upright and shook it slightly at least once to help it settle. I am disappointed that the line capacity is not greater and the thin line tends to shoot out the bottom if I am not careful when reeling.