TractorNH
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Looking at PTO skidding winches and wondering if anyone has ever broken a cable on thiers.
Tractor PTO Skidding Winch - Anyone broken a cable?
- Thread starter TractorNH
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CobyRupert
Super Member
Not yet.
.....but then again I only have a 6500lb rated winch. I've got the clutch cranked down a little beyond factory, so maybe I get 7000lbs max. pull?
This is the same 3/8" cable they use on their 8500lb winch, so unless I "lock" the winch and pull with the tractor I doubt I'll ever get close to the ~12,000lb breaking limit.
That being said there's the remnants of a former kink (or something) when wound out to about 150'. I don't see it often, but it's probably a weak spot. I'm not that worried about it ("Go 'till she blows!")
.....but then again I only have a 6500lb rated winch. I've got the clutch cranked down a little beyond factory, so maybe I get 7000lbs max. pull?
This is the same 3/8" cable they use on their 8500lb winch, so unless I "lock" the winch and pull with the tractor I doubt I'll ever get close to the ~12,000lb breaking limit.
That being said there's the remnants of a former kink (or something) when wound out to about 150'. I don't see it often, but it's probably a weak spot. I'm not that worried about it ("Go 'till she blows!")
Yes, I broke mine with an angle grinder. Totally my fault. The reel drag was not set properly and I was trying to get some snapped tree tops to come loose. I would pull and release, pull and release... I didn't realize I was birdnesting the cable until it was too late. It took an angle grinder to cure the mess. The good news was I only lost about 5' of cable. The bad news was it was in the exact middle of the cable.
I have a Farmi winch on a Kubota BX24 so I am not too worried about snapping the cable under normal use. It will pull the front end of my tractor up if I get hung up too bad. That's a big incentive to stop.
Doug in SW IA
I have a Farmi winch on a Kubota BX24 so I am not too worried about snapping the cable under normal use. It will pull the front end of my tractor up if I get hung up too bad. That's a big incentive to stop.
Doug in SW IA
oosik
Epic Contributor
Never owned nor used a skidding winch. Owned many Warn recovery winches. Had one cable snap - seen several others snap. ALWAYS the result of a kink or compromise in the cable and on a hard pull. NEVER seen an unkinked cable snap.
A 3/8" or 1/2" cable are so far above most pulling situations. It's only the kinked or compromised cable that even has a chance of snapping.
The name of the game here is - - litigation. During all my time in AK and all the winching I did - I ALWAYS used a 5/16" cable on the winch. I could get 165' on the drum as opposed to around 90' to 120'. Many times that extra 45' made the difference.
We did some really HARD pulls with the 5/16" cable and only once did it snap. A kink in the cable.
Always would tap on the cable with a stick to hear the resulting sound. When I would "sing" with a high pitched note - you knew you were getting near max.
Always threw an old wool Army blanket over the cable while under pull. If the cable DID snap - the resulting backlash would be absorbed by the blanket.
A 3/8" or 1/2" cable are so far above most pulling situations. It's only the kinked or compromised cable that even has a chance of snapping.
The name of the game here is - - litigation. During all my time in AK and all the winching I did - I ALWAYS used a 5/16" cable on the winch. I could get 165' on the drum as opposed to around 90' to 120'. Many times that extra 45' made the difference.
We did some really HARD pulls with the 5/16" cable and only once did it snap. A kink in the cable.
Always would tap on the cable with a stick to hear the resulting sound. When I would "sing" with a high pitched note - you knew you were getting near max.
Always threw an old wool Army blanket over the cable while under pull. If the cable DID snap - the resulting backlash would be absorbed by the blanket.
Citydude
Elite Member
No, not yet. My my brand new cable was kinked and compressed in 3 or 4 spots by me when I got it. I bought my winch new and the first thing I did was hook up to a stump I wanted to drag out of a draw about 50 feet down. Started winching and heard a crunching and jerking sound once I got the stump pulling up the hill. Yep, I didn't pull out the full length of the cable first and tension pull to feed the cable on correctly as stated in the operators manual. Its been that way for a couple of years however I don't use it much after I got my clearing project done.
Gordon Gould
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I have not broken one. But they fray and wear above the hook where all the sliders do their pulling and I pay attention to that. When it looks iffy just cut off a few feet and redo the hook. The clutch should slip before a good cable will break. But maintenance is required to keep them good.
Every once in a while I stretch the entire cable out with tension on it and run a gloved hand along it's length. If a find a place with lots of whiskers I cut it off because that place will break. You can get those places by making a hard pull with a loosely wound drum making the cable jam down into a lower wraps, or running the cable thru to sharp an angle on a slider or around something, or going over rocks etc., or as said above tightening up on a loop/kink.
I made this by getting the cable jammed between the sheave and body of a snatch block. They don't have to be this bad before I cut them out.
The angle on this slider is to sharp for the weight it had to pull and I ruined this cable too. Just happened to take a picture first.
gg
Every once in a while I stretch the entire cable out with tension on it and run a gloved hand along it's length. If a find a place with lots of whiskers I cut it off because that place will break. You can get those places by making a hard pull with a loosely wound drum making the cable jam down into a lower wraps, or running the cable thru to sharp an angle on a slider or around something, or going over rocks etc., or as said above tightening up on a loop/kink.
I made this by getting the cable jammed between the sheave and body of a snatch block. They don't have to be this bad before I cut them out.
The angle on this slider is to sharp for the weight it had to pull and I ruined this cable too. Just happened to take a picture first.
gg
CobyRupert
Super Member
I'm surprised you ruined the cable.
The few times I've seen a "friend" in a hurry improperly used a slider (or a tree) as a poor substituted for a snatch block; I, err.... I mean "they", always figured the slider or the tree would get damaged, as that's where the heat is concentrating. Isn't any spot on the cable only getting "rubbed" for a brief moment?
The few times I've seen a "friend" in a hurry improperly used a slider (or a tree) as a poor substituted for a snatch block; I, err.... I mean "they", always figured the slider or the tree would get damaged, as that's where the heat is concentrating. Isn't any spot on the cable only getting "rubbed" for a brief moment?
Gordon Gould
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It's not the rub creating friction and heat that does the cable in - it is drawing the cable around a sever bend with high tension in it. The outside of the curve is really stretched and the inside wants to crumple. The wires cannot take that much tension w/o deforming/stretching or breaking and the hard abrasion. Think about how we used to put curly-ques in a Christmas ribbon by pulling it hard around a scissors edge. Stretch one side of the ribbon to deformation so it is longer that the other side and it curls up.
gg
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CobyRupert
Super Member
Interesting. Good to know.
