logging winch

[rd_macgregor]

Also have to weld on an anchor foot. Something to dig in when pulling. This will be the last thing. Also a bar with slots to hook chains in to drag with and last someeking of box for chain saw etc. Cannot decide whether or not to cut off the carry all arms that go back. Think I will wait and see how it works.

I don't know how many remotes you have, but if you had an hydraulic top link, you might be able to use the bottom arms of the carry-all as a brace by tilting the platform down a bit when pulling. Then, you could also pull the load all the way up close, tilt up a bit, raise the 3PH and drag winched logs away supported on the carry-all arms. The possible flaw that I see in this idea is the 1000# rated capacity of the carry-all...
BOB

 

[6sunset6]

I don't know how many remotes you have, but if you had an hydraulic top link, you might be able to use the bottom arms of the carry-all as a brace by tilting the platform down a bit when pulling. Then, you could also pull the load all the way up close, tilt up a bit, raise the 3PH and drag winched logs away supported on the carry-all arms. The possible flaw that I see in this idea is the 1000# rated capacity of the carry-all...
BOB

I actually have 4 , one is on a 3 way diverter valve top, tilt and whatever. These are restricted flow . Works well with 1/4 hoses.
A second is full flow. This is the one I will use for the winch. I plan on winching in and then chaining up to the top of the carry all for skidding. As you say lifting a bit for the drag.
I do not think the carry all will be the limiting factor. By the time I get done working on it it could probably handle 5 tons at least. The three pins would probably shear ( I will take a look at that) I think the tires will slip before anything else lets go.
Yeah well 3 3/4 pins ( with out looking it up) for mild steel 20.000 psi in shear allowable ( I bet pins are 4140 and higher) 26,000 #. Since the tractor weighs maybe 3500 or 4000 with attachments Tires slipping would be it , I think. I did break a pin once in tension ,back blading backwards , hit an immovable object. That was pretty scary, bent the lower arm as well.

 

[8404]

Any more updates for this winch project?? Im realy wanting to see some upclose pictures of the hydraulic hookups and what they do. what parts did you use to lower the PSI of you system.?

 

[Dead Horse]

I also have a small Farmi. I like the fact that it pulls from the top. It really helps when the tractor is backed to a rut or ditch or on a bank to have that upward pull when the log gets in close.
You will not pull the tractor over if you have the upper link adjusted so that the force is directed at the rear axel or below ( which means use the lowest
hole on the tractor end of the upper link).
The Farmi unit will definately not dissapoint you.

My old Farmi 601 (600KG pull) has a movable snatch block that adjusts (and pins) up and down the center spine of the winch dozer blade. (you can see it in the picky just below the FARMI lable on the winch) This allows moving the "pull point" from the top pully to a position as low as a foot off the ground, depending on how deep the dozer blade is dug in.

It may well be that smaller farmi's don't have this feature but I was under the impression that even the 5,000 # model had it.

 

[6sunset6]

Any more updates for this winch project?? Im realy wanting to see some upclose pictures of the hydraulic hookups and what they do. what parts did you use to lower the PSI of you system.?

I had to wait for fittings , And of course one they had on backorder, then of course I needed some different ones. So I worked on the safety guard. 1" EMT tube. $6.00 for 10ft. I have a bender and could have done it all with one joint but the preformed 90d are a little easier to work with. I will gas weld the joints with a high temp fillet forming alloy , great stuff, used for racing car tube frames. The bracket that holds the gate receiver has a slot to hang the 2 button transmitter. I used a Prince 1500-3000 psi cross over relief valve just before the motor. You can see it with a flow control plumbed in. Two more fittings on that valve and I am ready to start hoses. I think I will have to have loops in the hoses 3/8 R1 , the spaces are too tight. The winch is off center by 1.5" I was trying to protect the winch motor from getting banged around , also was trying to tuck the winch in as close as possible to the frame. The winch shift handles stick out a little bit on the other side , I will attach a guard to the frame in front of it. The safety guard I will weld some kind of heavy fence wire to, I have some 1 x 2 12 g around.
There is a plate bolted high on the pull side. This is for a pull chain hook bar. It is too high I will have to lower it so the pull point is closer to the center line of the tractor axle. The plates are all 1/2 steel. I have a lot of it around and I used it for everything. I will have to take every thing apart to paint and I still have to add something on the bottom to dig in when pulling. I have two suitcase weights and will probably attach a point to hang them from. The real reason everything is going slowly is that while I was visiting some friends on a dairy farm up north a couple of weeks ago I slipped on a patch of ice and cracked 2 bones in my wrist when I went down. Healing well , brace on it all the time, Doc says don't use it for 4 more weeks. I think the DR and xrays will cost more that the parts for the logging winch. Bummer

 

[8404]

Sorry about the wrist im sure it hurts plenty with all the cold weather.
I was wondering which one of the parts is the cross over releif valve and which is the flow controler. and of course what is the aluminum colored box on the right side of the picture. Im going to get a mile marker winch for my tractor too but to be used for self recovery while brush cutting and i want to learn from your project the parts needed for use on a tractor because Mile Marker winches where ment to be used with powersteering pumps not tractor pumps pushing 2500psi.

 

[6sunset6]

Sorry about the wrist im sure it hurts plenty with all the cold weather.
I was wondering which one of the parts is the cross over releif valve and which is the flow controler. and of course what is the aluminum colored box on the right side of the picture. Im going to get a mile marker winch for my tractor too but to be used for self recovery while brush cutting and i want to learn from your project the parts needed for use on a tractor because Mile Marker winches where ment to be used with powersteering pumps not tractor pumps pushing 2500psi.

Look a the second picture . The black thing on the left is the cross over valve.
It has one fitting on top on the left. Just below that is an other valve with a round handle . That is a flow control valve. There is no check valve in it so it will restrict flow in both directions. I figured I would spool out some cable , put a drag weight on it and time the spool in. Adjust the flow valve to what ever the winch specs are. The cross over valve is factory set at 1500 psi. I have a gage 0-3000 that I will attach at some point to check the 1500 psi.
The aluminum square on the right side is the manifold mount for the Vickers Solenoid valve. Tape comes off and the valve bolts right onto the block. The idea is if solenoid coils have to be changed no oil is exposed. If the valve itself has to be rebuilt or swapped out no plumbing connections are disturbed.
I will attach some info on those parts.

 

[6sunset6]

Sorry about the wrist im sure it hurts plenty with all the cold weather.
I was wondering which one of the parts is the cross over releif valve and which is the flow controler. and of course what is the aluminum colored box on the right side of the picture. Im going to get a mile marker winch for my tractor too but to be used for self recovery while brush cutting and i want to learn from your project the parts needed for use on a tractor because Mile Marker winches where ment to be used with powersteering pumps not tractor pumps pushing 2500psi.

How big is your tractor? If you have a brush hog on the back you will not have a winch back there when you need it. You could put it on the front.
The hydraulic hook up will cost as much as the winch and that assumes the tractor has hydraulics available. For just recovery you may want to consider an electric winch and stash a battery someplace. You will need a lot of amps but a deep draw marine bat would do it $ 120 charge it up when you get back to the barn. The tractor alternator will not like the load. The winches are cheaper as well. Double the winch line throu a snatch block on the anchor and a 4000# winch will pull out a pretty big tractor with the brush hog still on it. In any case for recovery don't forget to carry some stuff for anchoring the cable.

 

[8404]

My tractor is just a 40hp. it came with one rear remote i wanted to use to supply the winch power. and run lines up to the front to a front mount winch.
I mow for extra money durring the summers and i work alone and i need a reliable way of getting out of trouble in the fields i mow. sometimes ill be stuck 100 yards from a road and i want to use a hydraulic winch because of the long durration winching pulls i might run into to get free.

thanks for taking time to explane your set up I think i can get the same parts and use them. except the solinoid valve, i want to use my rear remote to control in and out of the winch from the tractors seat.

 

[rdbrumfield]

8404, You will never regret putting a winch up front. I too do a lot of mowing and I have a hyd unit permanently installed in my loader frame, running hoses from the rear remotes up front.
You will find that you use it a lot more for just picking and moving things than you ever will pulling yourself out.
With the winch in the loader instead of the tractor frame I find it much more useful.

I would like to ask to those that use the milemarker winch, what kind of line speed to you get with the tractor hyd. As they are designed for power steering pumps, most tractors beat that gpm. Was thinking of going to them as my winch supplier is no more.

 

[8404]

As they are designed for power steering pumps, most tractors beat that gpm.

I was also wondering if the mile marker winch was supplied more GPM. what would happen. if you keep the pressure under 1500psi maby just the speed would be faster with more GPM.???Im not saying 18GPM but maby just 8GPM more. As far as finding more way to use a winch other than self recovery, you are right ill find new ways to use it and ill also put my tractor into more places that i might get stuck since ill have a way to get out. I seen something like a auger thing you can twist into the ground and use as an anchor to pull out with.

can you show pictures on how your winch is set up and what brand of winch you have?

 

[6sunset6]

My tractor is just a 40hp. it came with one rear remote i wanted to use to supply the winch power. and run lines up to the front to a front mount winch.
I mow for extra money durring the summers and i work alone and i need a reliable way of getting out of trouble in the fields i mow. sometimes ill be stuck 100 yards from a road and i want to use a hydraulic winch because of the long durration winching pulls i might run into to get free.

thanks for taking time to explane your set up I think i can get the same parts and use them. except the solinoid valve, i want to use my rear remote to control in and out of the winch from the tractors seat.

Yup that would work. The mile marker two speed has a neutral position which will allow you to pull the cable out by hand. Power unspooling from the seat will not help if the tractor is stuck. More than likely you will have a birds nest on the spool. Sometimes the cable is stuck on the drum, particularly after winching in a load. To free it you have to attach it to an anchor and back down, also hard to do if you are stuck. So make sure after you unstick yourself the cable is free for next time. The only other concern I have is running the winch from the seat. If something snaps the line of flight is right at the seat. That's why logging winches have those shields and are operated from the side. You will have to decide how you want to handle this risk.
1. not at all
2. cage or guard
3. operate from the side of behind . You could put a line on the valve handle and stand behind he tractor. make sure pull back spools in.

 

[rdbrumfield]

I have built 3pt winches in the past using koenig units. Another company took them over and I have tried to contact them without results. I come across a couple of hyd units and picked them up. When I was in production, I used pto units.

Here is a pic of my installation up front and the one for the rear, both being hyd. The rear unit I just put together this last fall. I have it on most of the time as it is handy with the hitch system built in. I generally leave the upper arm on, but can use the normal toplink if needed.

As you can see the front winch is well used. I took the rollers off the front and use a small pulley if I have to pull sideways on the eye on the bucket. Only had to do that once as I was stuck against a fence and had to be pulled sideways. Other than that, it is an easy matter to turn a bit this way and that to spool the cable in evenly.

What is so nice about having the winch up front in my apps, is that when cleaning up brush and such, taking the cable and lying it on the ground, throwing the limbs, brush, whatever onto it, hooking, and winching it into a bundle to be packed or loaded. Stuff that you cannot keep in the bucket. I picked up a grapple bucket from a bobcat that I am converting to a quick release like my bucket and the hoses for the winch will quick disconnect to run the grapple. In the meantime, the winch works great for all around needs.

Normally when picking to load I use a tripod on the loader with the bucket off.

Was in a hurry to load this and wasn't spooling so didn't put the block on the shackle. this weighs 1250

 

[8404]

Yup that would work. The mile marker two speed has a neutral position which will allow you to pull the cable out by hand. Power unspooling from the seat will not help if the tractor is stuck. More than likely you will have a birds nest on the spool. Sometimes the cable is stuck on the drum, particularly after winching in a load. To free it you have to attach it to an anchor and back down, also hard to do if you are stuck. So make sure after you unstick yourself the cable is free for next time. The only other concern I have is running the winch from the seat. If something snaps the line of flight is right at the seat. That's why logging winches have those shields and are operated from the side. You will have to decide how you want to handle this risk.
1. not at all
2. cage or guard
3. operate from the side of behind . You could put a line on the valve handle and stand behind he tractor. make sure pull back spools in.

this is a good point about cable breaking, i guess i could order the MIle marker winch that includes the control solinoid that is located on the top of the winch it cost about 100.00 more and already has a flow controler built in so ill save on not buying a seperat flow controler. but this would mean haveing the original rear remote in the on position supplying the front electric control solinoid with pressure then controling it with the hand held remote.


rkbrumfield, thanks for the pictures those winches appear to have much larger hydro motors than the mile marker one does. they probley can handle much higher pressurs too.

 

[6sunset6]

It has been a while. broke my wrist, that really slows things down. Cold in the unheated shop. Then my wife and I went to a place where when we looked south we would see Antarctica. If we could see it. A really long way from home.
Then we went further from home. Cape Horn and Easter Island. Saw a lot of Massey Ferguson tractors.
Now back to work on the winch. It fits on the tractor. I think before I do anymore steel work I will hook up 2 more hoses and wire the valve up and see if it works.

 

[6sunset6]

I wired up all the electrical stuff, including a back up alarm on the spool in command. It all seems to work. hyd solenoid picks one side and then the other.
The wireless transmit/receive seemed to pick and hold better when the tractor was running. Little higher voltage I guess. Remember this is a gate opener system , transmit/receive only. I have to hold the button down for continuous operation. It's a good dead man that way, let go of the button and it stops. It looks like it will pick out to 20ft reliably , I was hoping for a lot more. There are longer range ones available or I could abandon wireless and use a switch on a cord. The winch will free spool out so a switch on a cord would work. No worse than the rope on the commercial units. No clutch, but that is what the cross over relief is for. I guess if I was not going to go wireless from the start I would have used a mechanical valve , spring centered , and pulled it from the side.
I am trying to decide what to do next. Put oil in it and then have to take it all a part for some welding and painting or take it apart now ( assuming it will work) and finish the structural stuff. I am leaning toward putting oil in it now.

 

[easygo]

I would put the oil to it and let it turn over a few times just for testing. No so much as I would not trust it to work but for me it is always a morale booster just to see the equipment work as intended (if possible) before putting in the final push.


Just a few weeks ago I bought a #9000 Mile Marker that is about 10 years old and never has been installed or used. It looks a bit weathered having lived in an unheated shed all that time. I will try to start my own project sometime in the Summer. Your thread is very informative and most helpful.

 

[Chilly807]

I think I'll keep my eye open for a hydraulic winch too... speed isn't much of a concern for me, and I have to add a rear remote to the tractor anyway. I think I'll go for the spring return valve with a rope, I don't like electronics under the conditions this will run in over the years. I have to walk back to the tractor anyway to unhook the log.

How much cable are you able to put on the winch?

Chilly

 

[6sunset6]

The Mile Marker comes with 100 ft of 3/8 aircraft cable rated at 14,400 # working load I would think. I think it will take 150ft of 5/16 Amstel blue. 13,700# average working.

 

[6sunset6]

I am almost finished with construction. Now I know why the commercial units bend then the shield back at the top. I thought it had something to do with deflecting flying objects . I started to do the bends but it was looking not so good so I abandoned it. As it turns out if the 3 point is up and the top link retracted ( assuming one has a hydraulic top link) then there is interference between the safety shield and the Rops. The solution would be to bend the shield. I think I could still do that. Or cut off the Rops, right. Or be careful . or put a sleeve stop on the top link. Or put the fixed top link back on , right.
I think I will leave it for a while and see if I can be careful.
The last thing I was going to do was cut off the carry all carrier legs but then I thought , what a good way to carry 7' logs out instead of dragging them all the way out. So head out with forks on front and carry all sort of forks on the back, winch out the logs, cut into 7' lengths , roll onto the forks and take it away. I can see I need some sort of spring loaded keepers at the end of the arms to keep the first row of logs in place.
All I have left to do is attach a tool box for chain saw etc and wire up the valve. I am going to get a cover plate for the D03 manifold so I can flush the system with out the valve in place. Also take the winch motor out of the circuit when flushing. I will just connect the pump lines with a fitting.
I probably have 100 hours in this thing. Oh yeah I am not fussy about paint colors, I want it not to rust so it's Rustoleum primer and some color that was close to the carry all, but after that it's what ever is around.