Cheap logging winch

[magicheater]

Nice job, especially with the low cost of construction.

I agree.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Oops. Today that battery quit. 8/2007 to 3/2010. It failed after serving through three (mild) winters. RIP.

The battery was unused for three weeks and it apparently self-discharged. (tractor has no accessories). It measures 10.6 V. One cell won't float any balls in the simple SG tester, several cells float 2 or three balls, only one cell floats all four. The charger immediately brings it to 13. 6 volts and cuts off, then a moment of cranking empties it.

If I can't find a Group 27 car battery at a reasonable price then I think I will replace this with the same deep cycle battery.

Iv been holding my tongue about the deep cycle used in place of a standard. Iv had bad luck with them -- just like what happened to you. That is a well specd deep cycle and I was tempted. Now Im not. Standards go at least 5yrs for me and I run 1000W inverters on all my tractors.
larry

 

[Mudfarmer]

So Mud,
Even though you're pulling high above the rear axle, that counterweight is keeping you from flipping back, is that right?
How much does your winch setup weigh? I've got a small Kubota as well. I'm wondering how I can do this in a similar manner without hurting myself. The remote switch must make it safer.

Thanks for posting so many detailed pics.

The small winch which (3000 lbs) that i am now using on the B7100 Kubota on top of a 300 pound ballast block with the 2 inch receiver mount weighs about 50 pounds (I can lift it).The 9000 lb pull winch i am using on the the John Deere 3005 on top of a 450 ballast block weighs about 80 pounds (I can barelyt lift it). I doubt i will ever pull much more than two tons with the JD. I brake the tractor, drop the ballast block to full ground contact and drop the front loader with the bucket dug in. So far the logs have moved and the tractor hasn't.

 

[Mudfarmer]

I should probably add that when the ballast block is on the ground the pull appears to be at about the level of the axles.
Mf

 

[Window Geek]

I should probably add that when the ballast block is on the ground the pull appears to be at about the level of the axles.
Mf

Cool! That's what I needed to understand. I like the idea of the seperate battery as my Kubota hampster cage won't keep up with the load on the tractor battery. It would work well with winching and a sprayer, and all kinds of things. It must be spring. The fab in me just needs to get going before the black flies are out!
Thanks Mud.

 

[Carykong]

I have done my share of skidding and I am not convinced that you ballast blox in the rear is really necessary and actually may reduce the overall traction of your tractor my reducing down force on your front wheel drive and actually making your front end very light particulary when skidding a heavy log.

 

[Mudfarmer]

I have done my share of skidding and I am not convinced that you ballast blox in the rear is really necessary and actually may reduce the overall traction of your tractor my reducing down force on your front wheel drive and actually making your front end very light particulary when skidding a heavy log.

I'll post my experience with it as i use it into the spring. Have to wait for the hills to dry a bit more first.
Mf

 

[Mudfarmer]

Well I tried it out today with some bigger trees. Still cleaning up from the big windstorm that knocked over about ten percent of my tree farm in 2007. Built the winch to get the trees off the hillsides. Pictures didn't turn out so well - I apologize for the flash. The winch worked very well. The tractor was solid, the winch didn't budge in its mount. All the logs yarded just fine. Two points to make. First the Harbor Freight Chicago Electric 9000 pound winch worked like a champ - a good buy for $300 on sale. Second, I was concerned that the battery wasn't powerful enough since the winch calls for a 660 CCA and my JD 3005 has a 550 CCA. No problems at all with the smaller battery. I did keep the engine running all the time. I was looking for some heat from the winch since I read about that in another post if the winch were overloaded. Stayed cool the whole time. Pictures attached.
Mf

 

[Travelover]

Mudfarmer, what happened to the 3000# winch? Didn't it work out?

 

[Mudfarmer]

Mudfarmer, what happened to the 3000# winch? Didn't it work out?

Switched it over to the Kubot B7100, smaller tractor, smaller winch. I didn't really try it on this size of logs partly because there was forty feet of cable on it versus 100 feet for the 9000#. I would have had to pack twenty or thirty feet of chain up the hill to get reach. Too heavy

 

[patrick_g]

The trouble with the bigger winch is that the manual says it should be hooked to a battery with 660 CCA and the JD comes with a 550 CCA battery as does my kubota. Not sure I want to spring for a bigger battery so will just have to see how it works. I would appreciate any comments of experience re this. In the future If i move up to a hydraulic winch i will have to get all the hydraulic hoses and valves to hook to my power beyond.

Mf

You could just add a small battery in parallel with your tractor battery to easily exceed the minimum suggested capacity. This will help protect your tractor battery from overload and make the winch work better. If you starve the winch for current you risk smoking the motor. I'd recommend heavier than #4 wire from your battery to the winch. By all means have the tractor running when you use the winch.

I like your ingenuity. I don't quite understand the box full of concrete. Google on Danforth anchor and put a piece of steel in that general shape on the bottom of your implement so that if the tractor tries to back up the fluke will dig in and provide lots of holding force. Egon was close with his suggestion but instead of several small ones you want one big one so it will go deeper and get below the soft surface of the ground or mud or ...

With respect to welding. Don't get a brand X POS. Old Lincoln tombstone buzz boxes are cheap and just about indestructible. Miller and Hobart are very good too, just pick the color you like. I suggest you read the book before you learn bad habits, not after. Get some steel scraps and some 6011 and 6013 rod and try welding. Weld a couple pieces of scrap together and then but in a HD vise and beat the dickens out of it with a sledge hammer. If it is easy to break the pieces apart that is bad. If it is hard or impossible that is good welding. What looks nice may be a good weld and what looks uglier may be strong. Ideally you will try for strong AND cosmetically pleasing welds. Automatic darkening welding helmet is a very very nice thing to get. I have used several, including a couple from Harbor Freight which work quite well for way less $. A class would be nice but yoiu can do it yourself. An intermediate solution is to pay a welder to help get you started and critique your welding. Won't cost much and you will be glad you did as it will jump start your acquisition of usable skill level. Maybe someone at a welding supply store will help you get started or recommend a welder to mentor you.

Pat

 

[tree grower]

Great winch !! For Brad Blazer-- " dredging stuff out of dumpsters, lusting after machinery, ....". That's what makes life worth living !! A good trip to the dump is one in which you bring home more than you took. And for the non-welders out there, the smell of rod flux wafting in the air is one of life's finer pleasures.

 

[Baby Grand]

Get some steel scraps and some 6011 and 6013 rod and try welding. Weld a couple pieces of scrap together and then but in a HD vise and beat the dickens out of it with a sledge hammer. If it is easy to break the pieces apart that is bad. If it is hard or impossible that is good welding. What looks nice may be a good weld and what looks uglier may be strong. Ideally you will try for strong AND cosmetically pleasing welds.

That is simplest and most useful welding advice I have read in a long time.
Aye - aye!

-Jim

 

[Mudfarmer]

I have done my share of skidding and I am not convinced that you ballast blox in the rear is really necessary and actually may reduce the overall traction of your tractor my reducing down force on your front wheel drive and actually making your front end very light particulary when skidding a heavy log.

When i am skidding a big log (> 18 inches) I hook it to the draw bar with a chain and drag it out. A little harder on the ground, but the tractor doesn't seem to mind at all. I tend to drag more than one pole (the smaller stuff, <12 inches) at a time and lifting them with the chain hooks imbedded in the block minimizes the ground mess and again the tractor doesn't mind at all.
Mf