Time to replace winch cable?

[sunburned]

How do you release tension when you are pulling yourself up a steep, muddy hill and you have absolutely no traction? How do you adjust the cable when it's at a 30 degree angle? Yes, you can unspool the cable after the fact and spool it back up nicely, but it's still going to collect on one side and give you some kinks if you're doing anything but a perfectly straight pull.

 

[kastein]

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.

I would agree... this also gives the motor a chance to cool down and the engine a chance to recharge the battery a bit.

Obviously there are times when you can't do this (steep hills, muddy or icy, etc) but otherwise it's a great idea.

 

[EMSJEEP]

Yeah...they lost their Liberyt on the muddy outside slope of a soccer field that dumped into thick brush, straight pull back out but it kept sliding down into the brush...damn college kids and their toys. The transfer case kept slipping into neutral when I attempted to drive it out...road tires and all...

 

[DoctorPhate]

How do you release tension when you are pulling yourself up a steep, muddy hill and you have absolutely no traction? How do you adjust the cable when it's at a 30 degree angle? Yes, you can unspool the cable after the fact and spool it back up nicely, but it's still going to collect on one side and give you some kinks if you're doing anything but a perfectly straight pull.

Obviously thats a case where there isn't much you can do but pull on it. but thats not something that happens on every pull. As long as you inspect your cable after you do that you're fine.

My point is that some people DONT inspect, they assume its fine because people dont tell them you can seriously damage a cable doing that sometimes.

Its not 100% it will damage it but it can happen and thats why I ALWAYS inspect my cable after a pull. To save time I mark on the wire with a marker where it came out to then I begin my winching then after the pull(in the case of a steep hill like you mentioned) I pull it out and go about 3-4 feet past my mark.

I'm not knocking cable, I use it to. But I am saying that I tend to recommend synthetic when I'm not sure about someone's maintenance regime because I know if they dont take care of the synthetic and it breaks it probably wont hurt someone nevermind kill them. Where as if you neglect a cable for long enough and it snaps it can kill someone but at the very least will hurt them badly if hit.

Like I said, I have no problem with people using cable. I just dont stand near by, which you should practice with synthetic anyway.

 

[rocknxj]

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.

Oh...NOW you tell me.