Purchased a Uniforest 50E log winch for my Kubota L5030

[Modn]

I said FULL PTO rpms, not full ENGINE rpms. In my tractor, they are one and the same, as far as I can tell. I fail to see the "vast danger" in doing so, as that is how it is designed to run. I control log speed with the clutch rope. Slip the clutch a little to slow down if needed. Mine is also on the lower end of hp for a winch, so I need everything I can get. With a 50 hp L5030, he is in a better position power wise, so he may not need full PTO speed for everything.

While I noted that you need to give it a good yank to get started, that is not totally how I run things - I should have been more clear. I start slow in general, but if you have a big log, you have a bunch of inertia to overcome so full power can be needed at those times, so a hard tug is needed to get that. That comes with experience.

Modn - It does seem like your clutch may need adjusting too.

It does need adjusting just from talking to the dealer. If I pull hard enough...real hard, I can hit the lever on the housing.......it's not supposed to do that. I'm confident this will be the answer. Again thanks everyone for the insight.:thumbsup:

 

[slowzuki]

My 5 ton Farmi is really happy just above idle, things happen way too fast at pto speed. It will pick the front of my L5030 up with the loader on it if the load of trees snags and I am using the top pulley.

 

[Grandad4]

It does need adjusting just from talking to the dealer. If I pull hard enough...real hard, I can hit the lever on the housing.......it's not supposed to do that. I'm confident this will be the answer. Again thanks everyone for the insight.:thumbsup:

Modn, just wanted to report that I tried out the new Uniforest today and it does not seem to have any of the problems you've experienced. It seems to work fine. Plenty of pull, even with tractor running at idle rpm. The tractor does not seem to know there is anything on the pto. But I can definitely see there is some technique to using the clutch and brake controls.

Hope yours get adjusted OK without much further ado.

 

[Gordon Gould]

I would never run my pto/engine at 540/2700 rpm. I usually run at 1500 rpm with my 30 hp tractor. Never over 1800. Things happen to fast and you just dont need to. I have winched in a lot of logs and high rpms has never helped. As DeadHorse says - Look at your torque curve. Controling speed by slipping the clutch does not make sense to me. You just wear out the clutch. But everyone has there own ways.
If you are just learning please go slow for your safety's sake.

 

[dstig1]

The clutch doesn't slip much - only when I need to slow it down briefly. That is usually only at the end when they get close to the winch. Otherwise, it is full speed pulling. The only way you have to control the log speed is the winch clutch. You can't sit there and throttle the tractor up and down while running the winch. And the clutch is 30 yrs old, original, and appears to have about 95% of it's life left. I'm not real worried about wearing it out...

Watch the tractor/winch, not the log and you can react as needed. Starting slow is solid advice when new. I did too. And when it wouldn't move logs or lugged the engine, I turned it up. I have never seen a published torque curve for Kubota engines, but I am sure they are out there somewhere.

Like you said, Gordon, whatever you prefer and works for you. Start slow, learn how it works, then figure out how it runs best for you.

Cool pic!

 

[Modn]

Modn, just wanted to report that I tried out the new Uniforest today and it does not seem to have any of the problems you've experienced. It seems to work fine. Plenty of pull, even with tractor running at idle rpm. The tractor does not seem to know there is anything on the pto. But I can definitely see there is some technique to using the clutch and brake controls.

Hope yours get adjusted OK without much further ado.

That's great news to me!!! Baseball practice for my son is taking center stage this week, but the week end is mine and i sure will be trying it out. I feel really confident mine was just mis-adjusted from the get go. A guy that works for me has a Farmi and we compared notes on technique and it seems we both are on the same page so I can't wait to see as I have it adjusted and ready to go.

 

[Modn]

Grandad.....forgot to ask....what size Uniforest on what tractor?

 

[Modn]

Well I finally got a chance to try it out after adjusting the clutch in the spring. This thing is an animal now that it is adjusted right. I will dig in an I've stalled the tractor a couple of times, which is better than it slipping like before. Totally happy with it now!!:thumbsup:

 

[Grandad4]

Guess I left you hanging about which one I had... sorry about that. It's a 35E, so it's smaller than yours, but it should do fine for the work we have, and from what I've seen, there's still enough pull to toss the tractor around if you're not careful. I also bought one of those Farmi self-releasing snatch blocks based on some of the posts here on TBN about how handy it was. It should be useful since making a straight or near straight pull is important for safety.

 

[Modn]

Guess I left you hanging about which one I had... sorry about that. It's a 35E, so it's smaller than yours, but it should do fine for the work we have, and from what I've seen, there's still enough pull to toss the tractor around if you're not careful. I also bought one of those Farmi self-releasing snatch blocks based on some of the posts here on TBN about how handy it was. It should be useful since making a straight or near straight pull is important for safety.

Been thinking of one myself.....how pricey?