Dealing with Mud

[Barryh]

That thing pulls up to 140 amps at maximum load, according to its spec sheet.

Yeah I thought about that. I was thinking for the short periods of time it would pull from the battery. It might recharge just fine as long as you didn't use it steadily? What do you think? A big no?

[Barryh]

How about this one? It's for ATV's and yard tractors. Can't imgine it's very good quality but than again it might be fine for casual use.... Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

[SnowRidge]

Yeah I thought about that. I was thinking for the short periods of time it would pull from the battery. It might recharge just fine as long as you didn't use it steadily? What do you think? A big no?

Depends on what you have for a battery. I don't know what they use in the red machines. If they are big enough, it shouldn't be a problem. However, deep draw downs are bad for starting batteries and will shorten their lives a little bit each time it happens.

Just something to keep in mind.

I would be more concerned about rigging up a safe, permanent battery connection for a portable winch. That might be a bit on the difficult side.

[woodlandfarms]

This is the confusion is the amperage. Every spec I read makes it an unlikely candidate for a PT (my tractor is at 35 amps I think). But I hear guys using winches all the time with no mods (on pickups with old alts, tractors, heck, quads....)

As the PT alt is so darn expensive I have no wish to fry the bad boy. And because I have the 1850 I am going places my truck will not go...

[SnowRidge]

This is the confusion is the amperage. Every spec I read makes it an unlikely candidate for a PT (my tractor is at 35 amps I think). But I hear guys using winches all the time with no mods (on pickups with old alts, tractors, heck, quads....)

As the PT alt is so darn expensive I have no wish to fry the bad boy. And because I have the 1850 I am going places my truck will not go...

Winches draw off of the battery. That's what the battery is there for, other than starting, to supply power when the alternator can't.

It won't hurt your alternator.

[woodlandfarms]

I guess I should just slap in a Optima Yellowtop and call it good...

[SnowRidge]

Another option is a portable hydraulic winch that plugs into a 2" receiver. You could also rig one up to connect to the PT with a short cable, instead of into a receiver. As long as your engine runs, you would be able to winch yourself out.

The cable connected portable hydraulic winch would probably be the most versatile solution.

[ponytug]

It is just an issue of electrical power, i.e. time multiplied by current draw.

Snowridge is right in pointing out that deep draws eat away at battery lifetime, but batteries are cheap in comparison to tows, at least around here, but YMMV.

So, a 35 amp alternater can put out 35 amps (surprise!), so if you run a 240A winch for two minutes, it will draw 480 amp-minutes. It will take your 35 amp alternator about 480/35= 14 minutes to recharge. In practice, it would take a little longer, and many alternators don't put out their full current at idle, but getting the engine just a little out of idle is generally enough.

I'v glossed over some advanced battery theory here, but it is close. Bottomline, it would be OK for the occasionaly retrieval, but if you want to skid logs through the forest, you should get a hydraulicly powered winch. (Check out Rip's on another thread.)

All the best,

Peter

P.S. Is your 1850 alternator really 35Amp? The newer 1011 engines are 55 amperes.

This is the confusion is the amperage. Every spec I read makes it an unlikely candidate for a PT (my tractor is at 35 amps I think). But I hear guys using winches all the time with no mods (on pickups with old alts, tractors, heck, quads....)

As the PT alt is so darn expensive I have no wish to fry the bad boy. And because I have the 1850 I am going places my truck will not go...

[ponytug]

Save your dollars. Check out the Consumer Reports battery reviews.

All the best,

Peter

I guess I should just slap in a Optima Yellowtop and call it good...

[woodlandfarms]

What is CU?