Time to replace winch cable?

[joe_peters]

x2...on that, you shouldn't listen to everything you hear on these forums 100%. If everyone did, we would all have Rubicon express lifts with 33's and a pre 2000 model cherokee with nothing less than full widths since anything less will break first day out.

Or fold like a TACO! :cheers:

 

[tigerchief]

And what, pray tell us mighty great one upon the mount of absolute wisdom, was used on recovery winches for all the decades prior to synthetic rope?

Oh, yeah, that's right--every body that ever used cable died, and they killed everybody in a 1 mile radius around them.

Not all "pearls of wisdom" found upon the internet are real "pearls", some of them are BS.

:worship:


:laugh:

Of course, you're right. Cars came without seat belts before too. Maybe the ones that come with cars now are unnecessary?

Seriously, though, if there's a safer alternative in any equipment class available (that isn't 10 times the price), why would you not employ it?

 

[DoctorPhate]

And what, pray tell us mighty great one upon the mount of absolute wisdom, was used on recovery winches for all the decades prior to synthetic rope?

Oh, yeah, that's right--every body that ever used cable died, and they killed everybody in a 1 mile radius around them.

Not all "pearls of wisdom" found upon the internet are real "pearls", some of them are BS.

That's a little ridiculous. The two of us were just pointing out that a synthetic line is vastly superior in both safety and quality.

No need to go about insulting people just because we have differing opinions.

 

[EMSJEEP]

x2...on that, you shouldn't listen to everything you hear on these forums 100%. If everyone did, we would all have Rubicon express lifts with 33's and a pre 2000 model cherokee with nothing less than full widths since anything less will break first day out.

<4.5" RE lift on 33's :twak:

 

[joe_peters]

I run cable because my FIL/BIL buy it by the spool for their business.

If I had to buy my own, I would probably order synthetic from Master Pull.

Lots of people run cable because they have used it for their entire lives, their fathers used it, and their fathers fathers. Lots of loggers around here that won't use anything BUT cable--they work with everyday, and you don't work in the woods without seeing accidents.

New isn't always better for all applications. In my FIL/BIL case they operate custom slaughter trucks. Three 8274-50 Warn winchs on each truck, and those cables are run through the muck and the gore everyday--not a job for synthetic rope.

My only gripe is "absolutes" like avoiding people that run cable. To tell the truth, if you were stuck bad, alternator puked, battery dead, and a good ol' boy with a winch loaded with cable stopped and offered to winch you out, would you really scream "No, don't kill me!" while you ran off into the wilderness?

Anyway, yes, safer is always better, no doubt about it. :cheers:

 

[4.3LXJ]

I,m one of those old loggers. Cables just require some common sense when in use. In the woods, accidents are rarely caused by broken cables. Most of them are caused from a whistle punk that has a fast thumb.

If you use cable, and at this time I am, there are a couple of things to do. One is wind that cable up with 500#pressure on it nice and evenly with no gaps. Second, instead of paying out 100" of cable and trying to wind it up all at once, stop if possible mid pull, and pull the cable out and wind it up evenly and then continue the pull. This situation would probably have been prevented if that had been done. And last, when the pull is done, pull it out and rewind evenly again. These practices will make your cable last many times longer than if you abuse it by just keeping your finger on the wind button.

 

[DoctorPhate]

I obviously would take the help and have. However every time I stand well back. Theres a big difference between a consumer product and an industrial product. I have an old CN rail truck with a 25 000 lbs winch that runs cable and have no problem running it.

Cable is an excellent solution when it is properly taken care of. We use our winches so rarely(if we are any kind of real driver) that there may be issues with the cable that could be missed. Many people don't perform the proper maintenance on the cables or the winches themselves thus creating the possibility for an unsafe pull.

Synthetic is vulnerable to fraying more than a steel cable but is stronger pound for pound and safer.

Both have advantages and disadvantages but for consumer applications I'll always use Synthetic but for industrial uses it will be steel cable. Hence my railway truck still using steel cabling.

 

[joe_peters]

No need to go about insulting people just because we have differing opinions.

Hm, Tigerchief didn't mention that he was insulted by my satirical reply to his post, in fact in his subsequent reply to me he seemed to be in good spirits.

I did, however, notice you are in Canada and as I did see the movie "Canadian Bacon" I can certainly understand a person living in such a polite and sensitive society not being able to handle satirical humor.

Unfortunately, I never apologize--its a Marine thing--so hopefully you haven't been to damaged by my remarks and we can still all get along in the future. :cheers:

 

[EMSJEEP]

Hm, Tigerchief didn't mention that he was insulted by my satirical reply to his post, in fact in his subsequent reply to me he seemed to be in good spirits.

I did, however, notice you are in Canada and as I did see the movie "Canadian Bacon" I can certainly understand a person living in such a polite and sensitive society not being able to handle satirical humor.

Unfortunately, I never apologize--its a Marine thing--so hopefully you haven't been to damaged by my remarks and we can still all get along in the future. :cheers:

mmmmmmmmm....bacon....

 

[tbburg]

Cable is an excellent solution when it is properly taken care of. We use our winches so rarely(if we are any kind of real driver) that there may be issues with the cable that could be missed. Many people don't perform the proper maintenance on the cables or the winches themselves thus creating the possibility for an unsafe pull.

Here's the root of the problem I have with synthetics:
"Used so rarely" and "Properly maintained"

Most winches on 4x4s get bolted to a bumper and rolled out a couple times a year. Even properly maintained, what is the life span of synthetic line left out on the weather/sun? On several occasions, I've used winches that were 5- or 10 years old, steel cable in perfect condition In one case, it was the first time the winch was used after about 6 years. What would a synthetic look like after 6 years?
Synthetic line is safer then steel when it breaks, but steel line doesn't break unless it is abused. Synthetics won't take the abuse that steel will.

Does a synthetic line makes sense on a street rig? It would require more maintenance and inspection, not less. Is the argument to use synthetic because you don't take care of the equipment?

Edit: To the OP, if money's an issue and the kink is within a few feet of the end, I'd have it cut and re-terminated just behind the kink.

 

[The Hard Struggler]

That cable is fine if that is the worst spot.


The synth cable is cool and very light for its strenght, but has very little abrasion resistance for rocky pulls. It is MUCH easier on the ungloved hands of the person pulling, but also tends to 'bury down' more in the spool than steel cable making it harder to freespool.

I think the safety factor over steel cable is a bit over hyped, if you use your brain steel cable is plenty safe.



I for my part will stick with cheaper steel cable.

 

[tigerchief]

My only gripe is "absolutes" like avoiding people that run cable. To tell the truth, if you were stuck bad, alternator puked, battery dead, and a good ol' boy with a winch loaded with cable stopped and offered to winch you out, would you really scream "No, don't kill me!" while you ran off into the wilderness?

Anyway, yes, safer is always better, no doubt about it. :cheers:

Yeah, sure enough I overstated the case there. What I had in mind when I said that, is the yahoo wheelers with mall crawlers that I've had the misfortune of sharing a few runs with.

Competency is the issue here, not the cable. You obviously know a little more than the average occasional wheeler, which really was my point. A lot of "wheelers" don't do their homework. That's what is on my mind when I think of the huge potential fail in steel cabling.


Our club is stocked with very competent people that have been wheeling for decades, so they look out for things like this, and educate people.

Problem comes in when you end up on informal runs with some of these could-care-less-I'm-here-to-have-fun types.

As far as your scenario above goes, I'd take that tug with much appreciation, with the needed added precautions in place.

 

[tigerchief]

Hm, Tigerchief didn't mention that he was insulted by my satirical reply to his post, in fact in his subsequent reply to me he seemed to be in good spirits.

That I am. In good spirits, that is.

If I get butt-hurt, it'll be much more obvious. :bawl:

Someone else getting butt-hurt on my account is pretty funny, though.

lastara











Oh, and don't EVER, I mean EVER, make me choose between bacon and beer. Separating those two will create a dimensional vortex window that would suck in all of the anti-matter in the Universe, annihilating existence as we know it. And that'll make me mad. Because there'll be no bacon OR beer.

 

[94xjstud]

Not saying replace it but be careful, becuase I had the same thing and I put a heavy weight on the cable before I pulled and it snapped in the "weaker" spot, slid through the weight and put a small dent in my Warn bumper.

I had two buddies with me who agreed that the weight was in a good place so it may have been a freak accident, no one got hert, but very scary

 

[DoctorPhate]

That cable is fine if that is the worst spot.


The synth cable is cool and very light for its strenght, but has very little abrasion resistance for rocky pulls. It is MUCH easier on the ungloved hands of the person pulling, but also tends to 'bury down' more in the spool than steel cable making it harder to freespool.

I think the safety factor over steel cable is a bit over hyped, if you use your brain steel cable is plenty safe.



I for my part will stick with cheaper steel cable.

I do agree if you use your brain the steel cable is fine and as I said I use a steel cable in my CN truck. Why? Because I use my brain when using it.

Is the argument to use synthetic because you don't take care of the equipment?

I take very good care of my equipment, I take pulls from guys with steel cable winches cautiously because I know many people dont take care of their rigs.

If I had a dollar for the amount of times I showed up to a trail run and theres a guy thats been sitting there 5 minutes and already has a oil spot under his rig that couldn't be covered by a legal sheet of paper I'd be a very rich man.

For my personal equipment it doesnt make much of a difference what I use because I'm out almost every weekend working on the rig keeping it leak free, maintaining it, installing something or just general inspection before a train ride. However, I'd say I'm the 1% that actually does the pre-trail run inspection list that is recommended by TreadLightly(I think its them anyway) which is why I'm hesitant to suggest steel to people that will in all probability not do the inspection.

Its not that Synthetic is 100% better(As I said in a previous post) its that I don't know what the guys maintenence habits are like and if he takes synthetic and doesnt take care of it and it breaks then the worst thing will happen to the guy who gets hit by it is he will need a new pair of boxers. Steel on the other hand, if you dont take care of it will snap and could take off someones foot or arm(Cable snapped in our club and damaged his foot enough they had to remove it)

I'm just pointing out that as far as consumers go(much less anal about maintenance) I tend to recommend Synthetic. If I know the person personally and I know they atleast use do the pre-trail run inspection before heading out I suggest steel because of its longevity and resistance to abrasion(as I myself pointed out along with a couple others)

(For Joe_Peters) And I know what satire is, however your post was argumentative and insulting to both of us. I'm not all that sensative but it gets on my nerves on these large boards when people act like that. I'm sure you wouldn't have said something like that without it being obviously in good humour if we were on a local forum.

Anyway I don't really care as we are both arguing essentially the same side but with different perspectives.

 

[sunburned]

Cable looks fine to me, none of the fibers are bend badly or broken. That kind of kink happens a lot when you spool the cable up really tight.

If you guys are seriously paranoid about steel cable, just walk away when someone is using it. It sounds really whiny when you're saying "I won't take a pull from someone with cable because I think someone might get hurt". Guess you can just stay stuck and they'll go help someone else. I'll spend my $250 elsewhere for now until my cable is really screwed. I'm all for rope, but it's pricey and my cable works just as well.

As far as taking care of cable, there isn't really much you can do to hurt the stuff unless you pour salt on it everyday and leave it out in the elements for years on end.

 

[DoctorPhate]

Cable looks fine to me, none of the fibers are bend badly or broken. That kind of kink happens a lot when you spool the cable up really tight.

If you guys are seriously paranoid about steel cable, just walk away when someone is using it. It sounds really whiny when you're saying "I won't take a pull from someone with cable because I think someone might get hurt". Guess you can just stay stuck and they'll go help someone else. I'll spend my $250 elsewhere for now until my cable is really screwed. I'm all for rope, but it's pricey and my cable works just as well.

As far as taking care of cable, there isn't really much you can do to hurt the stuff unless you pour salt on it everyday and leave it out in the elements for years on end.

Nobody said they wouldnt take a pull from someone with cable. And theres plenty that can go wrong with cable, such as pulling it in too tight as you said yourself.

 

[sunburned]

And theres plenty that can go wrong with cable, such as pulling it in too tight as you said yourself.

I mean, it's kinda hard to prevent that if you actually use the winch.

 

[DoctorPhate]

Not really. After about 20 feet release tension, adjust the cable so it winds correctly and continue. That will keep it from kinking and damaging itself.

 

[4.3LXJ]

I agree