Using a Winch

[Dpown]

Hey guys, I was thinking of purchasing a winch to help with my arborist activities. Does anyone use a winch and would recommend it or not? If so, which did you use? A friend suggested the Portable Winch. Anyone used one of these before? What did you think?

 

[Guido Salvage]

What do you plan to use it for?

 

[Dpown]

What do you plan to use it for?

Moving bigger logs that would be far to big of a hassle to move by hand.

 

[Dpown]

What do you plan to use it for?

Moving bigger logs that would be far to big of a hassle to move by hand.

 

[Pelorus]

I own the Honda powered Portable Winch.
I'd recommend you also purchase the optional (and spendy) tree mount attachment.
I also bought the large drum (higher line speed but significantly less power), but prefer the smaller standard drum.

 

[Dpown]

So the Portable Winch is the way to go? I think that's what I will do then.
I will get the tree attachment for sure. I'll keep shopping around on that site, it looks like they have lots of good stuff I could use. Thanks!!

 

[Pelorus]

I would certainly recommend the Portable Power winch over both the Simpson Winch and Lewis winch alternatives. Don't know if you have seen them or not?
I have two or three chainsaw power head- powered Simpson capstan winches. All are broken. Both worked a long time before busting, but they do not hold up to heavy continual usage as well as the Portable Power unit.
A buddy owns a chainsaw powered Lewis winch. Complete PITA. He hadn't used it for many years. Really heavy, (038 power head) and the steel cable it is equipped with isn't nearly as nice as the unlimited rope travel a capstan offers.
One little thing to be mindful of re. the Portable Power winch is that it doesn't have a clutch (unless you purchase the considerably more expensive rescue model) So.......if you or whoever is using it inadvertently lets a bight of rope get crossed over the drum (easy enough to happen if the line gets momentarily slack or jerked) and doesn't immediately hit the on/off switch, you will end up with considerable sadness as the rope binds up on the drum. You gotta be vigilant!

 

[Dpown]

I have seen the Lewis. I think that you have convinced me that the Portable Winch is the best option though, Thank you!

Well that is no good, having those other winches break on you. It's good to hear that the Capstan Portable Winch is more durable than the others. Do you recommend the PCW-3000 or the PCW-5000?

 

[Pelorus]

I often (need to) set up a 2:1 or 3:1 MA when pulling with my 5000, so I'd recommend you go with that model.
Unless you are gonna be humping that winch up and down mountainsides, you won't mind that extra 15lb weight difference, esp. when you need that extra pulling power.

 

[Guido Salvage]

Would pulling them by machine or with a log arch be a possibility? Dragging a good size log with the butt end digging in the ground takes power and gives you a dirty log. An arch will keep it up and make dragging easier, depending on the log size and pulling device you can often move multiple logs simultaneously.

 

[Pelorus]

Plastic skidding cone is helpful and fairly inexpensive. You still end up with somewhat dirty logs.

 

[imagineero]

I hire one sometimes. It just doesn't seem like the kind of thing I'd use regularly, though once or twice a year I get a **** awful job that I could really use it on. When I get a job like that, I just price it into the job same as i would any other piece of specialized equipment needed for an unusual job. If you buy a specialized bit of gear that you rarely use I find you end up just wearing the cost of it, thinking "well, i already own it" and not actually factoring in the real price into the job.

 

[Pelorus]

It will sometimes sit in the truck for weeks at a time (like the power pole saw), and then get used two days in a row.
Much of the work in my area is "rural" with poor vehicle / equipment access. Island jobs, etc.
Wouldn't want to go back to doing treework without it. Invaluable.
Have used it to unstuck a truck a couple of times, as well as pull a chipper back up a steep backyard grade. (Castor wheel on front jack of chipper).

 

[Dpown]

I hire one sometimes. It just doesn't seem like the kind of thing I'd use regularly, though once or twice a year I get a **** awful job that I could really use it on. When I get a job like that, I just price it into the job same as i would any other piece of specialized equipment needed for an unusual job. If you buy a specialized bit of gear that you rarely use I find you end up just wearing the cost of it, thinking "well, i already own it" and not actually factoring in the real price into the job.

The friend I have who uses the Portable Winch says it was totally worth the money and not just something he uses just because he bought it. He bought it from Westcoast Winch (link) and says their accessories and unit cost are completely reasonable. I think that's where i'll purchase this one, after doing more research it looks like a pretty useful product.

 

[Dpown]

Hey guys. Just regarding some closure, I went ahead and purchased the Portable Winch from the West Coast Winch vendor. Haven't used it yet, but it looks great and I'm excited so far!! I've attached some pictures in case anyone is curious. Thanks for all the feedback!

 

[Vegas Runner]

Congratulations!

The Portable Winch Company gasoline capstan winch gets great reviews.

There is also another company called Speedwinch that is making a 12V electric capstan rope winch that mounts in a receiver hitch.

 

[Dpown]

I think that is the one I got. It's the portable winch even though i bought it from West Coast Winch, and it runs on gas.

 

[sam-tip]

Skidding arch would be nice but I pull through brush and the skiding cone does a great job of going through brush and bouncing off stumps/roots. You will need a few pullies to increase pulling power and redirect pull. The tree mount is nice. I had a welder make mine for less $.

Trick is to get the rope high with first pulley so it lifts the log a little while pulling.

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[Dpown]

Where did you get the skidding cone? WestCoast doesn't seem to have it available on their site.

Making your own tree mount was smart!

 

[sam-tip]

It was Baileys or northern tool. They both drop ship from portable winch.

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