Power winch

[mailman1]

I have an old [20 years] Power winch that someone gave me. It has no number but it has a 2000lb single line and 3500 lb double line pull. I tried using it on my 18 foot center console and the last 5 feet it was really straining. Will the years do this?

 

[dorchard]

Re: Power winch

Useage takes its wear on an electric motor the same as a gasoline one. Although they require less maintenance, things still do wear out.<br /><br />If you can crack the case of the winch unit (and feel comfortable that you can put it back together correctly!), check out the brushes on the motor. Over time, these will wear down and start arcing, causing overheating and reducing the power delivered. You may need to regrind the brushes, or look for replacements. These are designed as "disposable" parts, because the premise of the electric motor has this part contantly wearing on the commutator. Replacement brushes shouldn't be impossible to find.<br /><br />It is also possible that the contact between the brushes and commutator have some sort of gunk/buildup in there, especially if this old unit has been left exposed to the elements for many years. If you can clean out the buildup with a soft lint free cloth, and then use an electric contact cleaner, you may realize greater performance.<br /><br />--Dan

 

[zlrh11]

Re: Power winch

I'm no winch expert, but I do know some basics having used them for years on 4WD vehicles. Your issue may be purely a mechanical funtion of the winch you have.<br /><br />Manufactures use different means to calculate and state the capacity of their product. However, no matter what means they use to calculate the stated capacity, the following is true. Most all capacities are listed at their highest working value, and that value is when the cable is on the FIRST layer on the spool. As you add layers of cable to the spool, you are changing the diameter of the spool, and therefore reducing the capacity of the winch. <br /><br />I don't have any formulas for you to calculate this, but this may be the answer to you question. I'm sure there's an engineer out there that can help educate us all on the principles of a winch.<br /><br />I hope this helps.

 

[zlrh11]

Re: Power winch

OK, I found this quickly on the internet and this is what I was saying.<br /><br />Winch Basics <br />------------<br />Winch Capacity: Winches can lift or pull the highest loads at the first layer, and can lift/pull the least at the top layer. This is due to the “torque arm” effect of the rope spooling on the winch drum. The closer the load is to the drum, the easier it is for the drum to turn and move the load. The further away the load is from the drum, the harder it is for the winch to turn.<br /><br />Winch Speed: Winches generally move the load fastest at the top layer and slowest at the first layer, which is opposite from winch capacity. This is because the outer layer is moving faster than the inner layer. <br /><br /><br />Winch Capacity/Speed Summary:<br />Top-layer – Maximum speed, Minimum pull<br />Mid-layer – Medium speed, Medium pull<br />First-layer – Minimum speed, Maximum pull

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Power winch

If you are using a straight pull, you might try a double line pull. If slows things down but doubles the capacity of the winch and strains it less.

 

[mailman1]

Re: Power winch

A friend of mine gave me 2 motors off a powerwinch 912. The motor off the 912 is the exact same size as my 3500 lb pull. He also gave me a whole winch which was all rusted, that too was a 912. I took every thing apart and the only difference was the manual crank gear. So I put the 912 motor on and it runs, but won't know until I retreive the boat. It should work, I hope

 

[mailman1]

Re: Power winch

Tried the 912 motor and it did the same thing. Looked at the specs between the 912 and the 315 and the gear ratio is 270:1 on the 315 and 475:1 on the 912. Could this make a difference?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Power winch

Absolutely, the 475:1 has nearly double the power of the 270:1 because of the gearing. It all has to do with leverage. While the 475 has more power, its geared lower so it takes longer to do a retrieve (assuming the drums are the same size).

 

[mailman1]

Re: Power winch

I'm going to clean up the old 912. I looked at the smaller ones gears and the 912 does have an extra gear in it. The motors are probably the same, but the gearing is different. I think that was the problem, because when I put the 912 motor in the smaller one, it did the same thing even with the 912 motor. I'll let you know tomorrow. THANKS

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Power winch

Yup. A motor only develops a given amount of power. Adding gears allows it to do more work, but the price for that is it must do it slower. The more reduction, the more power but the longer a retrieve takes.

 

[mailman1]

Re: Power winch

Well, cleaned up the winch and put the motor on, guess what? The motor spins in the wrong direction, will not work. Can I change the wires to reverse the direction?

 

[TwoBallScrewBall]

Re: Power winch

Yes, think it should work fine being a DC motor. If it was broken in and used in the opposite direction that you are going to use it, the brushes may need to reseat a bit but overall you should be fine.