Wallenstein FX35 skid winch

[tacomatrd98]

Anybody have one? I like the idea of it but can not find anybody who has actually used one. I'd like to hear some opinions on one before I drop 2500 plus on one. I'm also considering the fx85 bug it is really too large for my tractor. I like the idea of hydraulic over the pto driven models from a user standpoint. The biggest concern I have is it's only rated at 3500lb pull. In real world terms, what size of tree does that equate to? Any help is appreciated.

 

[agvg]

What do you gain over a pto winch? Exept higher cost, a lot more complex design and a shorter lifetime on the winch?

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[morewood]

Seems like a lighter weight winch that doesn't/can't pull out of a tight spot. @Sawyer Rob bought the Fx90, loves it. Not knowing your tractor size I would still go bigger. When I was asking about everyone reminded me that the winch would only pull with the horsepower it was given. When you factor in the weight of the wood, it's drag on the ground, possible limb hang-ups, and doing all that uphill at times you could be up against the weight limit for that winch. I say all of this because the winch I bought, with a 7700lb rating, can stall the tractor if the log gets hung up at all. Concerning the hydro, I agree with agvg, an extra system to deal with. Stick with simple.

Shea

 

[tacomatrd98]

How do you back off a PTO winch if you get hung up? Do they have a powered line out function? I'm accustomed to electric winches which function much like a hydraulic winch. Free spool clutch and forward and reverse. I know if something gets hung up with those, simply reverse the feed to take tension off, remove obstruction and try again. You have to reverse the drum though As you cannot disengage the free spool lever with tension on the line. With a mechanical winch how is this done? Keep in mind I have never laid hands on any of these 3pt winches.

The cost is actually less than a pto winch as this is the smallest unit wallenstein makes. My theory was the hydraulic unit would be more useful as a general winch other than just skidding logs. I have thought about building one but most home built units I had seen are painfully slow. If they made a. 6000 lb hydraulic unit my mind would already be made up.

 

[tacomatrd98]

What do you gain over a pto winch? Exept higher cost, a lot more complex design and a shorter lifetime on the winch?

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The main advantage I see is the ability to change winch direction easily with a spool valve. Power in and out. Could bd useful for felling trees also IMHO. More control I guess would sum it up.

I doubt the life would be any different. The mechanical winch has moving parts to wear out just the same and a friction clutch to wear out. The hydraulic unit as long as it stays sealed should last as long. Either one is a very simple design compared to the crap I work on daily. It's like the auto vs stick debate. Yes manuals are simpler and should last longer but a well serviced auto will live a very long life.

 

[agvg]

How do you back off a PTO winch if you get hung up? Do they have a powered line out function? I'm accustomed to electric winches which function much like a hydraulic winch. Free spool clutch and forward and reverse. I know if something gets hung up with those, simply reverse the feed to take tension off, remove obstruction and try again. You have to reverse the drum though As you cannot disengage the free spool lever with tension on the line. With a mechanical winch how is this done? Keep in mind I have never laid hands on any of these 3pt winches.

The cost is actually less than a pto winch as this is the smallest unit wallenstein makes. My theory was the hydraulic unit would be more useful as a general winch other than just skidding logs. I have thought about building one but most home built units I had seen are painfully slow. If they made a. 6000 lb hydraulic unit my mind would already be made up.

There are no reverse as its not needed, release the clutch and the drum are free to move. The brake can lock the drum if it is needed. PTO winches pulls very fast, not the snail pace of electric small winches.

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[Sawyer Rob]

I think "IF" you had all three, side by side...electric/hydraulic/pto powered winches, pulled a log/tree out, you'd realize instantly that the pto powered winch is the way to go! By a long shot!

The more you used it, the more you'd be glad you chose pto power...

SR

 

[hanniedog]

taco98 are you near Greensburg Pa? There is an auction there with a winch on 4-2-16 starts at 9. Can be seen on auctionzip just plug in 4025 for the auction.

 

[morewood]

The lever on the right, with the bluish green cord, controls the brake. It is a basic ratcheting mechanism as the outside of the spool has teeth and this causes it to engage....think fishing reel. If it is off then when the clutch is released the line goes slack, if on, it stays tight. The small t-handle bottom middle of the winch simply controls tension on the spool when you pull it out. The white cord on the left is the clutch engagement. There are different styles of brakes and clutches, but they pretty much work the same way. You can choose hydraulic if you choose, I won't poo poo the choice. But I believe that pto is better.

Shea

 

[dancan]

I don't think that there's much on a pto winch that can't be fixed with minimal tools , a bit of mechanical ability and a reasonable amount of money , they stand up very well to no maintenance , abusive and dirty condition , even ham fisted users .
Hydraulics , on the other hand are not as robust .
You have to run a pto logging winch to see that it's not the same as any electric , hydro or pto recovery winch .
Like agvg said , speed is another thing , I've got 21hp tractor with an old Norse 190 , compared to my industrial 8000 lb Superwinch , the Superwinch is like watching paint dry .
A Norse 290 is only around 2K$ , it'll work with 20hp , just not to its full potential .
A Farmi JL290 specs down to 15hp .
If you do get the hydro make sure you let us know how it works .

 

[muddstopper]

I dont know anything about walstein products. Nobody around here that I know has anything they build. For that reason I wont commit on quality or durability of their product. These are just my opinions on the elctric/PTO/hydraulic winch debate.

A electric winch uses tons of battery power and can easily burn out or require stopping and waiting for things to cool off before completeing a long pull. Tractor batteries are not deep amp draw batteries so it would be fairly easy to pull the battery down and have to wait for it to build back up before completeing a long pull. Not only can low volatege be harmful to winch motor, it can also ruin your battery. And most tractors dont have room to mount a second battery anywhere that is convient or out of the way. For those reason, I wouldnt even consider a electric winch on a tractor with plans to use it as a skidding winch. Not to mention the slow line speed being very slow and cable capacity is also limited as to size and length.

A hydraulic winch can be fast or slow, strong or weak, just depends on how its setup. It takes lots of hyd flow to make a fast hydraulic winch with any power. Tractors dont have very large hyd capacities. This can cause overheating of the hydraulic oil and cause damage to the tractor. The cost of repairs to a tractor from overheated hyd fluid can easily be more than the cost of the hydraulic winch. for this reason, I wouldnt choose a hydraulic skidding winch for a small tractor. As with electric winches, cable size and length is also limited.

Pto driven winches are simple and only limited to the power of the tractor they are mounted on. They are also very easy to modify if you feel the need to increase line speed or increase pulling power, usually it just a matter of changing out the drive sprocket to larger or smaller for the desired results. Cheap and easy to do. Changing line speed or pulling power on the electric or hyd winches isnt quite as easy or as cheap. Unlike electric or hyd winches, the cable drum is usually larger and cable length not quite as limited. Most electric winche I have looked at will only hold about 65ft-90ft of cable, where as pto winches might hold 200ft or more, which is the feature I like most. A winch is worthless if you cant reach the tree you need to pull.

Then you have the issues of durability of the three types of winches. I know of one pto driven winch that was very old when we got it, been put thru heel since we have owned it, and I wouldnt be afraid to take it to the woods today and it has to be at least 50-60 years old.(we've owned it for over 40 years) Show me a electric or hyd winch that has lasted anywhere near that long.

 

[tacomatrd98]

Ok fellas we have a nice hydraulic vs electric vs pto debate going but nobody has actually answered my questions...Does anybody have an FX35 or has anybody used one?

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Well, it's an inferior design, why would I have one?? lol

SR

 

[muddstopper]

Well, it's an inferior design, why would I have one?? lol

SR

While tend to agree, the next size up winch they make is a pto winch with a cable capacity of 165ft instead of the 85ft of the smaller hydraulic one. That alone would make me opt of the pto winch. It is also has a tractor recomendation of at least 30hp which if the OP only has a small tractor, then a pto winch might not be the right choice.

 

[tacomatrd98]

I have a JD 3520 37 gross, 30pto HP. Mine will be ok but I'd like to share this with my father who has a JD 855 which is sub 20HP pto. 17 IIRC. The FX85 is borderline too much for mine and would simply pull his tractor around if something got hung up. That got me looking at the 3500 but I have not been able to see one or hear any reviews and really don't want to make a purchase like this without a demo.

 

[wise8706]

I own the fx65 and its hooked up to our JD3320 (32hp) What an amazing piece of equipment/time saver it is. I figure after three years of use it will have paid itself off! With the tractor at idle the winch will pull ALMOST anything I hook up. I don't know if I answered ur question or not but simply letting u know we own a smaller wallenstein winch like ur speaking of and wouldn't trade it for anything!


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[Sawyer Rob]

The FX85 is borderline too much for mine and would simply pull his tractor around if something got hung up.

When you lower the 3 point, the winch anchors itself into the ground, once anchored, the tractor is NOT going to be pulled any where!

SR

 

[tacomatrd98]

When you lower the 3 point, the winch anchors itself into the ground, once anchored, the tractor is NOT going to be pulled any where!

SR

The 855's weight is less than 2500. In a perfect straight line pull I'm sure the blade will dig in just fine but at any kind of side angle or hard surface I imagine it could move the tractor easily. We have a lot of slate ground which does not provide much if any "give" for things to bite into the ground. I understand you have to be sensible when using any piece of equipment to avoid mishaps but to say the winch can't move the tractor around may give somebody the wrong impression. I've been working in the woods since I was a kid and if I've learned one thing, expect the unexpected.

I'm saying this because we have a ravine that I plan to clean out a lot of blow downs from and the only place to winch from is narrow and slate/gravel. Not ideal for a blade to dig into and provide any real footing. His 855 is a beautiful tractor and I'd prefer to not see it flopped down the side of a ravine. The tractor may stall before it would actually move it for all I know as I haven't used one yet but I cant help but think an 8500lb rated winch could have a field day with a 2500lb tractor.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

First thing you need to do is, go see a pto powered winch work! If you do that, you will quickly see how one works and all these scenarios you are coming up with, should go away!

A pto winch has a "clutch" between the pto and the winch drum that engages when you pull a rope. IF there's a problem with the tractor moving or ANYTHING else, you let up on the rope and everything stops!

It's highly unlikely a tractor will get pulled over a cliff, UNLESS you do something absolutely stupid! IF you are prone to doing stupid things, then it won't much matter what winch you buy, you will certainly screw "something" up. lol

SR

 

[agvg]

Pull with an angle is not an good idea even whit a larger tractor.

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