From: movnmanj1@aol.com
Date: Wed Aug 10 2005 - 19:09:13 PDT
Hello list,
I normally sit on the sidelines and just read all of the
contributions of knowledge that appears on this forum, and have learned
a lot and solved some problems. Thanks to Bjorn, Kenny and John Tennis
and others that I can't recall at the moment. But, what brings me out
is this "winch line" discussion. First of all, the Warn winch test
involved a "recreational" winch, not an "industrial" winch. I have a
fair amount of experience with electric winches, used them in moving
portable buildings, for quite a few years. And no, the "recreational"
winches will not hold up to prolonged use, but an "industrial" winch
can be run under a load for a lot longer than 3 minutes. As to this
synthetic rope/winch line, I am reasonably certain that it is one of
those "new age wonders" that works well as long as it is used in a
"perfect" situation. What works in ALL cases is a "hemp center" wire
rope. The rope center absorbs oil, and as the line tightens, you can't
see it, but the INDIVIDUAL wires move INDEPENDENTLY in a longitudinal
direction and tighten up against the rope center, thereby squeezing the
oil out which lubricates the wires. The drawback to this wire rope is
maintenance ---- cleaning and llubrication. As to the Warn test, I
rather imagine that the winch came with "aircraft cable" which has NO
lubrication or rope center, but stays pretty clean. (For those guys
that don't want to get their hands dirty, I guess). If you watch your
winch line, the majority of the time, you will get a warning in the
form of one strand will pop, with sparks and begin to curl up off of
the line. Back off then, and you will probably save a mishap. But,
the best way is figure your load, resistance and use the proper number
of blocks ---- and some good ones. Proper shear pins, as it has been
pointed out can save you, your winch and your line. Kenny mentioned
that he might just put 5/8's line on his winch, but the drawback is
that the larger cable will give LESS line pull than the 1/2" and have
less footage on the drum. While the larger line does give an added
safety factor, it reduces the effectiveness of the winch. Alright, I
believe I'm through ! Now, Bjorn is fixing to come out and give us ALL
of the specs on EVERYTHING (lol)! Seriously, he can really get to the
bottom of how things work. He has my respect for sure.
Thanks,
John E. McKinnon
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