winding winch line

[BurbanAZ]

i cant stand pirate, but if it floats your boat then enjoy

 

[mogwildRW1]

My Werner Hydralic winch has a roller cable tensioner, it works great and keeps the wire nicly spooled. All it does is put pressure on the wire as it comes in, forcing it to fall in line. Warn has a similar product that you may be able to adapt to your winch, or copy the idea and make something similar:

http://www.warn.com/industrial/tension_kit.shtml



They work great to help spool the cable in nice and neat.

 

[Glenn-BJ74]

I think ExpeditionBound might just spring for that mod given the large number of near hopeless recoveries he has achieved.

 

[mogwildRW1]

Here is the Roller version on my Werner mid-mount, you can see the powerful springs that hold the roller onto the cable, and how nice it rolls the cable.

 

[BurbanAZ]

yea that looks good ill probably just build something like that, thanks

 

[Glenn-BJ74]

Regarding the cable tensioner -- from the picture it is not clear how it works. I guess it would only work with wire rope?

 

[mogwildRW1]

As the rope winds inwards, it keeps consistent down-pressure on the rope, keeping it from jumping up on the row prematurely. The rope winds nicely until it reaches the end of the drum, where it overcomes the downward force of the spring and roller, because it can't go anywhere else, and starts a new layer. Works wonderfully.

I **Think** the roller style (vs the pressure flat smooth non-roller style) will work with synthetic. I will find out soon enough, I'm in the middle of swapping from steel to amsteel

 

[Glenn-BJ74]

So the spring loaded bar that pushes down on the wire rope must fit within the drum width?

 

[mogwildRW1]

Yes.

I have the rope off today (preparing for synthetic) I'll go take a picture of the Werner setup, and the Warn Severe duty setup (have both).

 

[mogwildRW1]

Here you are.

The Warn is simply a plate, with rolled edges, the two springs pull on the top of the plate, thus, pulling the bottom of the plate onto the wire, holding it against the drum, preventing the cable from jumping up on itself prematurly.

The Werner is a roller, and has about 5 time the force (I can pull the warn's plate by hand away from the wire, the werner, I need a 4ft long crow bar) but same idea, pressure keeps the wire rope pressed tight against the drum, so it winds nicely.

And just because, bonus video:

 

[Bugspray]

In my opinion, the health of your winchline should be compared to rock climbing.
There is a certain amount of falls that each rope is rated to withstand. Beyond those limits the rope is compromised and should be retired.

The way you put your rope in the closet is irrelevant.

that makes sense to me. so what would be a good estimate for synthetic life span not taking any hard "falls"?

 

[mogwildRW1]

As for wire....

Rewinding wire cable with 2 people? or a tree?

Regardless if this is the "official method"....its rediculous, especially when you have a 4x4 fully loaded for a weeklong trip,
buried in clay to the floorboards on an incline, while winching to the only tree 50ft to the right at 2 oclock.

This isnt going to spool-in anyway how it should and is probably going to stack up on one side of the drum with lots
of boogered criss crosses.

So with that kind of stress on the wire, what is the point in "filing your fingernails" and making sure there isnt ONE
criss cross or hair out of place when respooling.

Unless you are going to a photoshoot, why.
People practically give away wire rope these days, so trying to make the cable last 20 years is extreme.


As for synthetic...

Synthetic rope life is shorter of course. But the performance should obviously outweigh the cons. Weight, safety, grabbing bundles
of rope and not worring about jaggers, etc, blah.

The 10ft rock rash sleeve is signficant enough UV protection for me. When spooled up with the rash guard the sun doesnt shine on
my rope at all.

In my opinion, the health of your winchline should be compared to rock climbing.
There is a certain amount of falls that each rope is rated to withstand. Beyond those limits the rope is compromised and should be retired.

The way you put your rope in the closet is irrelevant.

I disagree. On most counts.

Synthetic generally lasts longer than steel. Ask the guys who use them in the marine industry. All good synthetic is also UV protected, sun doesn't make a difference, except in colour.

As to who cares if it stacks up on one side of the drum? I do. The pulling force is greatly reduced as you increase layers, when your pulling a 13000lb+ Unimog out of mud, that can make a huge difference. And jumping over the drum and pinching the line, steel or synthetic, can be disastrous. It happens. In the case of winch's with crossbars you can bend these quite easy.

Since I store my line on the drum, not in a closet, and my drum holds 55meters (180feet) on the truck, its important to me how its put away. Its not for looks, my winch is mid-mounted, under the truck, you won't see it unless your looking. Its for longevity, pulling performance and safety.

 

[mogwildRW1]

Another option, possably, depending on winch manufacturer and your fabrication skills, is the autowinder. These are available aftermarket, or OEM from some manufacturers (Werner, Rotzler, others)

The device travels back and forth, auto laying the cable where it should go, very slick. note the cut pattern in the lowest bar, the black one, that directs the feeder side-side, at a rate depending on line in speed. I'd love to have one.

Same as a large scale fishing reel I guess

Here is an aftermarket example:

 

[Antichrist]

In my opinion, the health of your winchline should be compared to rock climbing.
There is a certain amount of falls that each rope is rated to withstand. Beyond those limits the rope is compromised and should be retired.

Very true, if you're using incorrect winching technique and are subjecting your winch line to shock loading.

Another option, possably, depending on winch manufacturer and your fabrication skills, is the autowinder. These are available aftermarket, or OEM from some manufacturers (Werner, Rotzler, others)

The device travels back and forth, auto laying the cable where it should go, very slick. note the cut pattern in the lowest bar, the black one, that directs the feeder side-side, at a rate depending on line in speed. I'd love to have one.

Yeah, that's the principle on the Thomas winch DAP Enterprises sold in the 90's. I've heard Thomas still makes them, but I haven't had the patience to try to find them on their web site.

 

[BIGdaddy]

Sorry if I missed it, but is the pressure roller mentioned and illustrated via pics by Mogwild available commercially for a winch like the M8000 or XRC8 non-integrated solonoid-style winches?

Thanks! -B