Winches and power drain
- Thread starter DrRod
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4570Man
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I looked through the add for typos and didn’t see any. It’s definitely way more than 5 amps.
John_Mc
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There is a difference, but even a quality winch FAR outstrips the capacity of a typical ATV alternator. Here are two tables pulled from the manuals of a cheap Harbor Freight Winch and a Warn Winch. Same pull rating, but different speeds under load.
HF Badlands 3500# Winch first layer line pull
Warn Axon 3.5 Winch
Yes, the Warn winch draw fewer amps and does so while pulling at a higher speed, but they still draw a LOT of amps, even for a small winch like this. In some cases, it's enough to permanently damage a small ATV battery. Keep your engine revs up, and pull in short bursts, allowing time for both the winch and the battery to cool.
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ovrszd
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Oh yeah, make no mistake, I am not saying an ATV will survive with hard use of any winch, regardless of brand. Maybe someone with an ATV can tell us what their charging amps are?
Sawyer Rob
Super Member
Yeaaa, there's no free lunch, electric winches are power hogs, that's why they invented the pto winch!
NO ATV alternator can keep up with a electric winch, not even a small electric winch... There isn't even enough room inside an ATV's motor/side covers, to put a big enough alternator in, that would even come close to keeping up...
SR
NO ATV alternator can keep up with a electric winch, not even a small electric winch... There isn't even enough room inside an ATV's motor/side covers, to put a big enough alternator in, that would even come close to keeping up...
SR
5030
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Not exactly. I have a Mile Marker hydraulic winch on my F350 and it's not PTO powered. It has a hydraulic pump driven off the serpentine belt that powers the engine accessories. Have a nice Ramsey sitting in the shop as well, but it's PTO driven. 20 ton.
Sawyer Rob
Super Member
I've got AC electric winches, DC electric winches, hydraulic powered winches, PTO powered winches and even a 25K winch that's get's power through the out put shaft on a semi tranny, plus it's own gear box ect…
But, I think you know what I meant with my last post...
SR
LittleBill21
Elite Member
4 pages on a winch lol, 12k winches doing 5 amps.. people must start drinking early in the day, i've actually thrown a meter of most of this stuff. atv amp output is a joke, some atv's can barely add lights without overloading it.
5030
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I certainly do..... People 'think' the power for their electric winch magically appears I guess.