2treeornot2tree
Dont cry, just do it
I was looking at buying a Portable Winch Co. PCW-5000 Portable Capstan Winch and I wanted to see who uses them, and how well. Can you idle up and down to control the speed of the capstan?
Thinking about buying a Portable capstan
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treeman75
Addicted to ArboristSite
I never knew what one was. The bucket truck that im buying has a regular winch and a capstan on the front bumper. I looked them up on youtube and I will be able to use it for alot of different things. Wish I could help you out more.
I own a Simpson, which I see has doubled in price, but it's still a lot less than the unit pictured above. You supply your own powerhead. Most of us have plenty of saws.
Bailey's - Simpson Capstan Rope Winch
Bailey's - Simpson Capstan Rope Winch
2treeornot2tree
Dont cry, just do it
I seen them, but idk if I want to have to keep switching it on and off of one of my saws. I was really curious is anyone uses them to pull trees over instead of a comalong.
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Dutch295
ArboristSite Member
I'd probably be willing to part with mine... bought it about 3 to 5 years ago at the end of the year trying to cut down on what I give to uncle sam; played with it in the back yard a few times with an old husky 36 attached (definitely want more power) and it's been on a shelf somewhere in the garage ever since. I'm sure it's a good tool and has it's place but I feel I got what I need between either a maasdam or pulling with a mini.
2treeornot2tree
Dont cry, just do it
How much do you want for it? Can you take some pics and send them to me?
I have owned the honda powered capstan winch for a few years. It doesn't see a lot of use but it has come in handy pulling logs or large piles of brush up steep hills that are inaccessible to other equipment. If you do buy the winch I would recommend the hard plastic cone that keeps logs from digging in the ground and getting hung up on stumps.
Dutch295
ArboristSite Member
It might be next week but I'll be happy to get some pics to you. How does 5% off what I payed for it or 20% less the current selling price sound (which ever is less). I'll pull the invoice possibly tomorrow once things slow down... I've got young twins.... Merry Christmas all
Koa Man
Kahuna giganticus
I have a Simpson like rbtree, and it is a great winch. I leave it on a Stihl 034 Super. The bigger the saw, the more pull you will get, but the 034 has been more than adequate. Great for skidding logs and brush up hill. I use a 10 cu. ft. plastic wheelbarrow tray as a sled.
rymancm
ArboristSite Operative
Don't bother. They're expensive, slow, awkward things. A buddy of mine uses one for treework and he wanted to show me how it worked for pulling a hemlock log out of the woods. He had to cut the log into three sections and then rig up a 2-1 for each section. We could have bucked up the log and just carried it out ten times faster. Maybe it has other more appropriate uses but that wasn't one of them. I'd recommend a come-a-long for pulling trees over or a real cable winch for pulling logs out of the woods. Just my experience.
limbwalker54
ArboristSite Operative
Mr. Ryan....
Sometimes it's not the speed of a particular operation that causes it to be superior......it's the efficiency.
How many hemlock logs can you carry uphill in a day without being tired?
Sometimes it's not the speed of a particular operation that causes it to be superior......it's the efficiency.
How many hemlock logs can you carry uphill in a day without being tired?
rymancm
ArboristSite Operative
Point taken, and I am certainly no capstan winch expert. The one I used seemed monumentally inefficient (ie: it could only pull very small logs and very slowly). Perhaps other ones are better. What impresses me are cable winches. They'll pull the world, fast! If I had a pile of hemolck logs at the bottom of a hill I would use a cable winch (on a tractor) to yard them out. Now that's efficiency!
As for pulling trees over with a capstan winch, I have never tried. With some mechanical advantage I can pull over most things I need to with a come-a-long. It's cheap, portable, easy to rig, quiet, and highly controllable. A simple solution to a simple problem. Done.
Dutch295
ArboristSite Member
Here are some pics. I couldn't find the receipt but I found where I logged it on an excel spread sheet with some other gear and based on that info I'm certain I have 500 in it. $475 & $15 more for freight and I'll let it go. To be clear this is for the unit only (no powerhead; no rope).
2treeornot2tree
Dont cry, just do it
I am not interested for that price. Its not really the one, I wanted. Thanks though
Dutch295
ArboristSite Member
no worries; good luck with what you're looking for...
I have the Simpson winch, attached to a Shindaiwa 488 chainsaw. Less the bar & chain, of course.
We don't use it often, and you need to know where it is effective, and where it is not. I consider it a very useful tool, and I have no intention of selling it. It enables me to do some jobs at reduced labor expense that I could not do any other way except small logs and loads of labor.
Where it excels: putting more horsepower on a rope than any 4 men can do. If you have a situation where no machinery is available, and you have a big need for relatively rapid pulling on a rope, this is the tool for you. It does not pull harder than a simple little Maasdam rope winch, but it pulls a whole lot faster. With that kind of power on the end of the rope, you can afford to use pulley systems of 2 or 3:1 and really move some sizable logs.
Sure, men can cut up logs into 50lb chunks and crawl up a real steep grade, but they are worn out after one trip. My winch will pull 500lbs all day long and not get tired. Rigging with a pulley to an overhead lift point helps keep the logs from digging in, too.
The capstan is effective while controlling a winch load, but not as good as a port-a-wrap. One of my stories here: http://www.arboristsite.com/commercial-tree-care-climbing/170092.htm
Where it performs poorly:
It is a bit cumbersome and annoying to set up for a simple pull. If all you are doing is pulling
over a tree in some back yard, a few pulleys and a long rope are lighter and faster.
It is NOT as reliable as a hand winch or other proven methods. If you overestimate it's strength, you could put yourself in a heck of a hard spot on a leaning tree. I tend to not rely on it for that purpose very often.
You CANNOT count on lowering a load very far from the capstan winch. Feed it too far and it binds up on itself. It simply isn't designed to provide lowering capacity.
My Simpson winch relies on a chainsaw motor, which requires one man to operate the throttle, while two free hands are needed for pulling in the winch line. Basically, it's a two man operation, or you need a throttle lock of some sort. The model you are looking at probably doesn't have that problem.
It is a bit touchy about twists in a rope. While the capstan style of winches pull more aggressively with 3-strand rope, that type of rope tends to accumulate twists. At the end of a long pull, all the twists tend to get concentrated on the end, and then you have kinks galore when you take the load off the winch. Not a big problem with double braid rope, but that doesn't bind as well on the capstan as 3-strand. Don't try amsteel blue, that stuff is too slick and melts too easy.
Speaking of melting rope; idiots that are not real well trained can melt a rope down by overloading or not releasing a load while the capstan keeps turning. This is not your everyday tree equipment, and some folks don't seem to grasp all the important concepts to using it effectively.
It will never outperform a tractor or truck pulling logs. Those who think that they are too slow were not using it where it is well suited for the job. Use the right machine for each job.
Similar thread to this one:
http://www.arboristsite.com/arborist-101/119462.htm
We don't use it often, and you need to know where it is effective, and where it is not. I consider it a very useful tool, and I have no intention of selling it. It enables me to do some jobs at reduced labor expense that I could not do any other way except small logs and loads of labor.
Where it excels: putting more horsepower on a rope than any 4 men can do. If you have a situation where no machinery is available, and you have a big need for relatively rapid pulling on a rope, this is the tool for you. It does not pull harder than a simple little Maasdam rope winch, but it pulls a whole lot faster. With that kind of power on the end of the rope, you can afford to use pulley systems of 2 or 3:1 and really move some sizable logs.
Sure, men can cut up logs into 50lb chunks and crawl up a real steep grade, but they are worn out after one trip. My winch will pull 500lbs all day long and not get tired. Rigging with a pulley to an overhead lift point helps keep the logs from digging in, too.
The capstan is effective while controlling a winch load, but not as good as a port-a-wrap. One of my stories here: http://www.arboristsite.com/commercial-tree-care-climbing/170092.htm
Where it performs poorly:
It is a bit cumbersome and annoying to set up for a simple pull. If all you are doing is pulling
over a tree in some back yard, a few pulleys and a long rope are lighter and faster.
It is NOT as reliable as a hand winch or other proven methods. If you overestimate it's strength, you could put yourself in a heck of a hard spot on a leaning tree. I tend to not rely on it for that purpose very often.
You CANNOT count on lowering a load very far from the capstan winch. Feed it too far and it binds up on itself. It simply isn't designed to provide lowering capacity.
My Simpson winch relies on a chainsaw motor, which requires one man to operate the throttle, while two free hands are needed for pulling in the winch line. Basically, it's a two man operation, or you need a throttle lock of some sort. The model you are looking at probably doesn't have that problem.
It is a bit touchy about twists in a rope. While the capstan style of winches pull more aggressively with 3-strand rope, that type of rope tends to accumulate twists. At the end of a long pull, all the twists tend to get concentrated on the end, and then you have kinks galore when you take the load off the winch. Not a big problem with double braid rope, but that doesn't bind as well on the capstan as 3-strand. Don't try amsteel blue, that stuff is too slick and melts too easy.
Speaking of melting rope; idiots that are not real well trained can melt a rope down by overloading or not releasing a load while the capstan keeps turning. This is not your everyday tree equipment, and some folks don't seem to grasp all the important concepts to using it effectively.
It will never outperform a tractor or truck pulling logs. Those who think that they are too slow were not using it where it is well suited for the job. Use the right machine for each job.
Similar thread to this one:
http://www.arboristsite.com/arborist-101/119462.htm
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2treeornot2tree
Dont cry, just do it
Thanks for the info. Very informative.
