Skidding winch sizing? and Pat's Easy Change

[ericm979]

It's a cap.

 

[arrow]

From these caps I see at work, they're there I feel to protect against rust and abrasion.
If the equipment is not sold and I'm simply doing a set-up, I leave them on. If the unit is sold and about to be picked up, I pull them off.

I see a lot of these on wood splitter axles as well during assembly.

 

[TWD]

Curious... if this is for home use why do you need a full-on skidding winch\system?

I've been felling on my extremely over grown and dense 20 acres for 10+ years, 5 of them much more than the past.... 100s and 100s of trees 8" to 38" that I cut into 10, 12, 14 pieces but have also moved some 20'... I use my grapple, and at times it does take a couple minutes of back\forth to make turns on my narrow single track trails, or cut some paths through the woods. I've always thought of adding a hydraulic winch to the front and then dragging them behind home... or on <24" I grab them with the backhoe\thumb and put them parrel to the tractor to fit better.

Aside from if I was doing 1000s of trees \ for a living, what benefit would I see from the 3pt\skidding winch have over hydraulic winch?

 

[houska]

Curious... if this is for home use why do you need a full-on skidding winch\system?

I've been felling on my extremely over grown and dense 20 acres for 10+ years, 5 of them much more than the past.... 100s and 100s of trees 8" to 38" that I cut into 10, 12, 14 pieces but have also moved some 20'... I use my grapple, and at times it does take a couple minutes of back\forth to make turns on my narrow single track trails, or cut some paths through the woods. I've always thought of adding a hydraulic winch to the front and then dragging them behind home... or on <24" I grab them with the backhoe\thumb and put them parrel to the tractor to fit better.

Aside from if I was doing 1000s of trees \ for a living, what benefit would I see from the 3pt\skidding winch have over hydraulic winch?

In my instance, this is hobby use but I have 700+ of wooded, moderately hilly acres. I will not ever manage all of it unless science figures out human cloning, and I'm not logging "for a living".

However, along my ~3 miles of 15'-wide cleared private forest road are a) several hundred good-quality sawlogs, primarily oak and white pine, within sight but not necessarily right by the road; b) several regions where the logs aren't great but the forest needs thinning (generating firewood poles) for long-term sustainability; c) a number of poor-condition trees right along the road that need felling, otherwise they will fall either on my road, or if I'm unlucky, on me.

I can handle c) with just my grapple and am doing so. I could probably do most of b) with just a grapple, but it would be a bigger hassle (cutting skid trails, edging back & forth). However, given my land (trees in the way, rocks, sideways slopes, ...) I cannot do a) safely without some way to winch trees out 80' or so to my road.

Perhaps a DIY winch just mounted somewhere on my tractor *might* be adequate. (Heck, settlers clear-cut the whole area by hand in the 1890s and occasionally logged it with horses through the 1950s). But lightweight winching with my UTV using its (admittedly much less powerful) front winch has quickly persuaded me that there's real value in the blade on a real skidding winch that braces against the ground, so you winch your logs towards your tractor rather than your vehicle towards the logs, or at least the first rock or bump the log runs up against. Plus I'm off-grid up there with no workshop to speak of, so no easy mechanism to DIY a home-brew attachment. So I'm happy buying the right tool for the job (and selling it when I no longer want to use it, which I have no illusions will be well before I run out of trees to winch.)

Bottom line is that on first day of usage, my wife and I in 2 hours (doubtless faster once we get more experienced) winched out 3 logs cut previously. Of those, 2 we had no effective prospects of getting out otherwise. One is potentially veneer-quality (I'm not experienced enough to be sure). The 3rd we could have gotten out with grapple/chains alone, but it wouldn't have been fun so we probably wouldn't have ever done it. So I'm happy I spent the $ and am convinced I will earn back the money sooner or later.

Finally, it's always more fun to buy and use new attachments (if you can persuade yourself it's not financially a really dumb thing to do...) than to sweat and curse and imagine what it would be like if you had the right gear .

 

[TWD]

In my instance, this is hobby use but I have 700+ of wooded, moderately hilly acres. I will not ever manage all of it unless science figures out human cloning, and I'm not logging "for a living".

However, along my ~3 miles of 15'-wide cleared private forest road are a) several hundred good-quality sawlogs, primarily oak and white pine, within sight but not necessarily right by the road; b) several regions where the logs aren't great but the forest needs thinning (generating firewood poles) for long-term sustainability; c) a number of poor-condition trees right along the road that need felling, otherwise they will fall either on my road, or if I'm unlucky, on me.

I can handle c) with just my grapple and am doing so. I could probably do most of b) with just a grapple, but it would be a bigger hassle (cutting skid trails, edging back & forth). However, given my land (trees in the way, rocks, sideways slopes, ...) I cannot do a) safely without some way to winch trees out 80' or so to my road.

Perhaps a DIY winch just mounted somewhere on my tractor *might* be adequate. (Heck, settlers clear-cut the whole area by hand in the 1890s and occasionally logged it with horses through the 1950s). But lightweight winching with my UTV using its (admittedly much less powerful) front winch has quickly persuaded me that there's real value in the blade on a real skidding winch that braces against the ground, so you winch your logs towards your tractor rather than your vehicle towards the logs, or at least the first rock or bump the log runs up against. Plus I'm off-grid up there with no workshop to speak of, so no easy mechanism to DIY a home-brew attachment. So I'm happy buying the right tool for the job (and selling it when I no longer want to use it, which I have no illusions will be well before I run out of trees to winch.)

Bottom line is that on first day of usage, my wife and I in 2 hours (doubtless faster once we get more experienced) winched out 3 logs cut previously. Of those, 2 we had no effective prospects of getting out otherwise. One is potentially veneer-quality (I'm not experienced enough to be sure). The 3rd we could have gotten out with grapple/chains alone, but it wouldn't have been fun so we probably wouldn't have ever done it. So I'm happy I spent the $ and am convinced I will earn back the money sooner or later.

Finally, it's always more fun to buy and use new attachments (if you can persuade yourself it's not financially a really dumb thing to do...) than to sweat and curse and imagine what it would be like if you had the right gear .

Appreciate the detailed the answer.

My most recent acquisition is a bandsaw mill... so getting more wood in less time & effort is something I'm investigating too and you've painted a picture that's going to keep me going back now to these setups Jealous of your 700+ acres, we're hoping to move somewhere with 100+ at some point and then I will sure justify one

 

[houska]

My most recent acquisition is a bandsaw mill... so getting more wood in less time & effort is something I'm investigating too

I'm contemplating a bandsaw mill too. May pull the trigger once the bank account recovers a bit. However, I first plan to hire in an experienced local sawyer who charges C$55/hr (about U$40/hr) to bring in and operate his own portable mill. My wife and I will be the unpaid hired help and therefore see how we feel about it. Have fun with your forest, logs, and boards!

 

[John_Mc]

I run a Farmi 351P on a quick hitch and used to have it on a Pats easy hitch. Absolutely no issues. But I rarely, if ever, max out the 6800# capacity of the winch.

I think your dealer is upselling you. Bigger is always better until you never use the capability you paid for.

Pretty sure the Farmi 351 is rated at about 8000#
The Farmi 290 is 6500 (or 6800? I forget which)

 

[wisconsitom]

Hello FF friends and all. I am also shopping winches, in my case, scaled down to something for my Bobcat CT2025 HST with beet juice in the rears and FL7. I like all makes I've looked at but would prefer to end up with Farmi's smallest unit, now dubbed W30R I believe. At any rate, these appear to be unobtainium until late summer. So sayeth Northeastern Impl.

I'm keying in on this one thinking it the smallest and therefore best matched to my tractor. Am I missing something comparably sized out there?

I've got enough especially softwood timber growing that at some point, it's going to be skidders and forwarders. This is just for my own use in the meantime. Thanks

 

[John_Mc]

The Farmi W30R is the successor to the Farmi 290. I'm not familiar with their new model designations. (I don't even know if it was just a name change, or if they also changed the designs.) I have seen and used their older models (290, 351, and 501). All of them are VERY well made and reliable.

I own a Uniforest 35E rated for 7700# pull (similar specs to a Farmi 351 or W35R). I run it on a New Holland TC33D (33 HP, with 26.9 at the PTO). It's similar size and weight to your Bobcat CT2025, but with about 5 more HP at the PTO than your Bobcat. I have been happy with the winch, and how it matches my tractor. I do have to say, despite being a satisfied Uniforest owner, I do like the Farmi winches a little better - at least the older models. I have no experience with their new models. The current model is the Uniforest 35M, which incorporates a few improvements over the 35E. List price on the 35M is $3900.

Uniforest also makes a 30M. It's marketed as being "ideal for sub-compact tractors". However, the specs are very similar to the Farmi W30R or the old Farmi 290. Something to consider if you are looking for smaller winches. The list price is $3300.

Other manufacturers also make winches in that size range, For example the Fransgard V-3021. I'm sure there ar eothers, I'm just not remembering them at the moment.

 

[wisconsitom]

Hi John. Just recently learned of the existence of the Uniforest 30M. That's the size class I want to end up with. Gives me another option as the Farmi product is unavailable at present it seems.