Jack wrote...
>I can think of twenty ways to overpower the rope on ANY winch with the motor.
> As for the rest, solenoids do stick, and switches fail. There is NO SUCH
> THING as a safe winch, or safe winching, as any logger or farmer will tell
> you.
Checks out with the loggers and farmers I know. Also add to that towing
outfits. My mechanic was telling me a lovely story about winching a
guy's truck out and watching the cable go sailing through both sides of a
Freightliner's cab. And unlike most of us on this list, this guy winches
all sorts of very interesting (like the M29c Weasels I find <g>) and
heavy (15k lb skidders) things in really "ideal" conditions (say a trail
groomer broken through the ice on a pond 20 miles from the nearest town).
So if this guy says that winching is the most dangerous part of his
generally hazardous job... you bet your butt I make a few mental notes to
be careful :-)
That having been said... if you gotta winch, you gotta winch. And I
gotta, so I am going to make sure I take all the precautions. Number one
is to purchase a brand new (or hardly ever used) name brand winch which
is backed up by strong customer loyalty. Two is to make sure it is rated
for WAY more than I think I will ever need (2x or greater). Three is to
to have it mounted by professionals who are also going to rig up certain
safety features (ugly as they might be). Fourth is to learn tips from
the pros the best ways to avoid getting myself or anybody else hurt.
Fifth is to periodically replace the cable, even if I really don't think
it needs it.
I generally try to cut fiscal corners wherever possible, but this is not
one of those times. My life is certainly worth more than the cost of a
good installation or replacement cable every so often. Hell, my health
insurance deductable alone is more than either of these two things
combined!
Steve
Pound wise, Penny foolish (except when it comes to Weasels)
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jul 05 2001 - 00:40:34 PDT