Thoughts on mounting a 2500b winch on BX?

[s219]

There was a very similar thread on this recently, and the consensus is that it's a waste of time/money. Between the slow speed and insufficient amperage from the alternator, you'd likely never be able to use it effectively, not even in rare/stuck situations.

It does seem like a cool idea, just not on a tractor where you'd wan't actual usability.

 

[k0ua]

I had thought about getting one to mount on a front boom pole to run a winch line to be able to lift light loads (maybe a couple hundred pounds) up out of a "hole" But I haven't built the boom pole yet, and I am not sure I could not just get by with the rollback/lift function of the loader.

Again I am not totally against the winch idea, but the current requirements for the things, are huge the line speeds are slow, and our smaller tractors seem to have pretty small alternators on them. Mine is only 50 amps, and I bet the one on a BX would be smaller yet. Also those ratings are absolute maximum ratings when the alternator is cold and running at maximum RPM, in some cases the rated RPM is more than the tractor can actually do, as the alternator may fit on more higher revving engines. The alternator ratings really fall off at lower RPM's and higher tempratures. Also you need to understand the ratings of winches are a "best case" scenario with the rating on the first wrap of the spool where line speeds are slowest and pull is the greatest. As the spool starts to wrap up, the speed increases and the pull strength falls off.

On this particular winch the current requirements vary from 10 amps at no load to 132 amps at full load. Just how you are supposed to draw 132 amps through a 10 gauge supply wire is beyond me. I suppose they get away with it by the spec of only using it 45 seconds in any 15 minute period. As the wire starts to melt, you turn it off.

On further examination of the manual it does have a clutch so that you can free spool out the line.

 

[Eldubya]

Power and durability of winches aside, I made up what I've found very useful:
Took my winch and mounted it onto a male, 2" receiver hitch that can slip into the receiver of my truck, (one on the front as well as the back), I also have a receiver mounted to the FEL of the tractor. Have some long leads to reach a battery on whichever vehicle. I can move the winch around as needed and stow it away when not.

 

[dragoneggs]

Thanks for the insightful comments. I guess at this point I'm leaning against the idea.

 

[k0ua]

Power and durability of winches aside, I made up what I've found very useful:
Took my winch and mounted it onto a male, 2" receiver hitch that can slip into the receiver of my truck, (one on the front as well as the back), I also have a receiver mounted to the FEL of the tractor. Have some long leads to reach a battery on whichever vehicle. I can move the winch around as needed and stow it away when not.

Yep, that sounds like a good Idea. Of course your truck likely has a 140 amp alternator or so. A much healthier electrical system than we typically find on small CUT size tractors. Someone the other day posted a link to his alternator on a small Yanmar, and it was 15 amps. Thats pretty darn small.

 

[k0ua]

Thanks for the insightful comments. I guess at this point I'm leaning against the idea.

Well, it is up to you, but a good come-a-long, would be at least as fast, and powerful and probably less trouble.

 

[dragoneggs]

Well, it is up to you, but a good come-a-long, would be at least as fast, and powerful and probably less trouble.

Yeah but not as fun as pulling a log out of a hard to access area using a remote control!

 

[RaydaKub]

K0ua makes some very good points about the electrical system on the tractor. But that then begs the question about how an ATV would make use of it. They can't have much more of an alternator or battery than a tractor, even a little BX, right? How many of them burn out?
2500 lbs will take care of just about any ATV and could lift up vertically any BX that doesn't have a backhoe mounted. Granted that is toward the max load, but capability-wise it is within reason. I just wonder how they use it on the ATV.

 

[dragoneggs]

K0ua makes some very good points about the electrical system on the tractor. But that then begs the question about how an ATV would make use of it. They can't have much more of an alternator or battery than a tractor, even a little BX, right? How many of them burn out? 2500 lbs will take care of just about any ATV and could lift up vertically any BX that doesn't have a backhoe mounted. Granted that is toward the max load, but capability-wise it is within reason. I just wonder how they use it on the ATV.

My question too. I don't really want to have to mess with the alternator or electrical system to integrate.

 

[oosik]

I always had a winch on my Jeep when I lived in Alaska. I used Warn winches exclusively. The amps they draw under full load are massive - 450 to 500 amps is not uncommon. Even the HD wiring used would get very hot & start melting insulation under heavy, extended use. I ran dual 100 amp after market alternators on the Jeep and this only improved the recovery time - it could never keep up with the winch. Since I belonged to a 4WD club we did a lot of off roading and winch use was rather common place. Time repairing, replacing & maintenance of the complete winch system after a run could be a significant portion of the overall maintenance time spent on the 4WD vehicle. The battery(s) in the system suffered terribly, it was not uncommon to have one boil off or even explode.

My point being - if you want a winch - then get something and develop a system that will be reliable when its needed. What you are looking at will overheat and can cause substantial damage to the tractor electrical system in a minuet or less. There was a John Deere UTV down at the dealership last fall that burned to a crisp because the wiring on the winch system overheated and VA-VOOM.

You would be far better off to get a HD double block come-along system. They are slow but only require armstrong power and will pull your tractor out of a tough situation.