Posted by John Eickhof [208.98.157.8] on Friday, September 25, 2015 at 19:05:53 :
In Reply to: My New Winch Cable and Hook on the Drum posted by Willy-N [72.171.192.119] on Thursday, September 24, 2015 at 21:22:27 :
That looks nice however you are in for a lot of grief! The drum should never have over 75% of the diameter full of cable. Typically most of your use of the winch will be with the first 50 ft or less of the cable, thus with the number of layers, your winch capacity is greatly reduced!! Plus the chance of nesting and kinks and other problems is greater. I use 125 feet of 3/8 on my dodges and carry several 50ft extension cables with swagged thimbled ends for the long pulls, thus I am always starting my pull on the first or second layer on the drum thus having the highest pulling strength of the winch. I forget the ratio per layer, but if you have four or more layers of rope on the drum your pulling capacity of the winch is almost half of the first layer rating. Remember, when doing recovery of stuck vehicles, (including self recovery) the first pull is the hardest to get the vehicle unmired and rollng! So, starting with less than full pulling strength of your winch puts an undue strain on all components as well marginal safety. Also, NEVER use the stuck vehicles own power to assist in the pull!!! Always anchor the pulling truck and let the winch do ALL the work!! Many a cable has failed, poor drum wraps, and injuries have resulted when having someone try and assist by driving out while you are winching them! Same thing goes for self recovery!! Never engage the transmission in gear hoping to help your winch pull!! It the pull feels too tough, use snatchblock(s) to increase capacity for the pull.
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