KiwiBro
Mill 'em, nails be damned.
Having recently put a new one to work, and being the type to want to experiment a little to gently find the limits of any new gear, here's what I know so far:
1. When they say don't haul at acute angles, they mean it. There's nothin' like a tyre parting company with Mother Earth to sharpen one's awareness and expose one's slow reflexes.
2. Multiple blocks for pulling more than the winch is rated at are all good and well until the log snags, the clutch screams, and you realise the pulley wheel diameters of 3 1/2" are way too small and make a lasting (and unwelcome) impression on the cable.
3. The cord on the manually engaging clutch/brake levers will not, when not stowed properly, survive long dragging along the ground.
4. don't replace the cord with light breaking strain cord because you seem to need all your body weight swinging on said cord to engage the clutch and when the cheap replacement cord lets go, you'll be on the ground before you can even think WTF.
5. Any significant pulling of weight that's above the lower pulley of the winch can and most probably will see your tractor skipping merrily towards the weight.
6. When you can't get lift, skidding cones/tapered bottom plastic drums on the ends of the logs are fantastic.
7. You'll soon be back at the welding/engineering shop working on a portable tower mounted to the winch, lifted with the FEL to get that upper pulley on your winch waaaay up high for the lift you need, and nutting out a plan to anchor that big fulcrum down.
8. If you didn't buy a double drum winch, you'll be rigging blocks and haul back lines and using your truck to get that cable and chokers back to the choker setter, or you'll be cooking up plans to make a small 'lecky powered drum to do likewise rather than pay through the nose for a capstan winch or the like the choker setter can use.
9. Pulling $ up the side of a hill, on a small scale never was so much fun until you bought your PTO winch.
Do tractor PTO winch owners have any other do's and don't's they'd like to share please?
Thanks.
1. When they say don't haul at acute angles, they mean it. There's nothin' like a tyre parting company with Mother Earth to sharpen one's awareness and expose one's slow reflexes.
2. Multiple blocks for pulling more than the winch is rated at are all good and well until the log snags, the clutch screams, and you realise the pulley wheel diameters of 3 1/2" are way too small and make a lasting (and unwelcome) impression on the cable.
3. The cord on the manually engaging clutch/brake levers will not, when not stowed properly, survive long dragging along the ground.
4. don't replace the cord with light breaking strain cord because you seem to need all your body weight swinging on said cord to engage the clutch and when the cheap replacement cord lets go, you'll be on the ground before you can even think WTF.
5. Any significant pulling of weight that's above the lower pulley of the winch can and most probably will see your tractor skipping merrily towards the weight.
6. When you can't get lift, skidding cones/tapered bottom plastic drums on the ends of the logs are fantastic.
7. You'll soon be back at the welding/engineering shop working on a portable tower mounted to the winch, lifted with the FEL to get that upper pulley on your winch waaaay up high for the lift you need, and nutting out a plan to anchor that big fulcrum down.
8. If you didn't buy a double drum winch, you'll be rigging blocks and haul back lines and using your truck to get that cable and chokers back to the choker setter, or you'll be cooking up plans to make a small 'lecky powered drum to do likewise rather than pay through the nose for a capstan winch or the like the choker setter can use.
9. Pulling $ up the side of a hill, on a small scale never was so much fun until you bought your PTO winch.
Do tractor PTO winch owners have any other do's and don't's they'd like to share please?
Thanks.
Last edited:
