Big Wood - Small Tractor.

   / Big Wood - Small Tractor. #21  
What I often do is use the loader as a winch where there is no place to maneuver and I cant get close to the tree.

Hook up the tree to those bucket hooks and raise the loader then curl it to gain another foot or two. Shorten the chain , rehook and repeat.

It is slow and tedious but it beats fetching it by hands IMO
 
   / Big Wood - Small Tractor.
  • Thread Starter
#22  
Well first step today was to purchase 35 feet of 1/4 inch (1250#) chain and a couple of hooks..... Stood in front of electric winches at HF for almost an hour reading labels on boxes... 3500 lb ATV winch looked to be best choice, but 50 feet of cable seems too short (for winch work) and for one or two pulls maybe ok, but for continued work in one day there is the battery/charging issue....

Dale
 
   / Big Wood - Small Tractor.
  • Thread Starter
#23  
Yep.
One of these (FX35) is hydraulic and requires "2-12gpm" of flow as compared to OP's tractor with 4.8 gpm (SCV), so it might be a little slow.
The FX40 is PTO driven, recommended for 12-30 hp, Class I 3ph tractor, weighs 280lbs, and pulls 4000lbs, which can be doubled up (2x) using a snatch block pulley.

Ask anyone that has these winches: They're a total game changer. Night and day. You can really reach out to places a tractor can't or doesn't want to go. You'll use it for a lot more than just grabbing logs too.

And no "power beyond" capabilities ....

Dale
 
   / Big Wood - Small Tractor. #24  
One thing you will notice with an electric vs a 3pth winch is the speed; if you were using it on a regular basis waiting for each log to come in would be tedious. However I know several people who have cut 10 cord loads of tree length pulpwood using just their ATVs so it is doable; and beats backing up to every tree or dragging each out with a chain. (And don’t ask me how I know that.) ;)
 
   / Big Wood - Small Tractor. #25  
Well first step today was to purchase 35 feet of 1/4 inch (1250#) chain and a couple of hooks..... Stood in front of electric winches at HF for almost an hour reading labels on boxes... 3500 lb ATV winch looked to be best choice, but 50 feet of cable seems too short (for winch work) and for one or two pulls maybe ok, but for continued work in one day there is the battery/charging issue....

Dale
Did you look at the ------> "duty cycle", of those HF winches??? Better add that into the equation too!!!

SR
 
   / Big Wood - Small Tractor. #26  
An electric winch is not a great choice for winching logs for anything but very occasional use. They are very slow, and the duty cycle on most of the inexpensive ones (and some of the not-so-inexpensive ones) is low enough as to make it impractical for logging use. I own the HF Badlands 3500# winch Which I have mounted on an antique UTV. From the owner's manual: "Duty Cycle Rating: 5% (45 sec at Max Rated Load; 14 min, 15 sec Rest)". Pulling in the full 50' at the full rated load would take hours. You don't necessarily pull every log at the full rated load, but logging tends to be a long, continuous pull. These winches are generally better for short bursts: raising and lowering a snow plow, or getting unstuck from a mud hole (where you generally only need to move a few feet to get yourself out of trouble).

Add to that issue the fact that your tractor battery can't take the deep cycling, and that your tractor alternator is woefully undersized to recharge that battery in a reasonable amount of time. The solution just isn't practical for anything other than very light logs or moving heavier logs out of the middle of your trail (as opposed to dragging them 50 feet from off the trail).

If you do go this way, a skidding cone will significantly reduce the drag from the log skidding across the ground, reducing the load on your battery and increasing the distance you can pull without stopping to let the winch cool. Even better is a logging arch, particularly one designed to be pulled in at the end of a cable (in addition to being towed by your tractor). IMO, neither of those comes close to what a real PTO-driven logging winch will do for you. Once you have used one of those, you'll wonder how you ever got along without one.
 
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   / Big Wood - Small Tractor. #27  
Has anyone used a gas capstan winch. They seem to be guite versatile and more practical than a 12 volt winch.
 
   / Big Wood - Small Tractor. #28  
I once worked on an land based oil rig that had a capstan winch that was about 12 inches across. With rope about 1 inch in diameter you could lift drill pipe sections that weighted 1000 pounds, hold them the air and lower them into the mouse hole with one hand, 3000 pound drill collars took 2 hands. It is amazing what can be done with a polished drum and a few turns of rope. Finger tip control for movement and speed of the movement makes this a great way to move heavy objects. Simple to use and little maintenance are all pluses. Dragging the rope through the woods should be a lot easier the dragging the cable winch line. The only drawback is the cost.
 
   / Big Wood - Small Tractor.
  • Thread Starter
#29  
An electric winch is not a great choice for winching logs for anything but very occasional use. They are very slow, and the duty cycle on most of the inexpensive ones (and some of the not-so-inexpensive ones) is low enough as to make it impractical for logging use. I own the HF Badlands 3500# winch Which I have mounted on an antique UTV. From the owner's manual: "Duty Cycle Rating: 5% (45 sec at Max Rated Load; 14 min, 15 sec Rest)". Pulling in the full 50' at the full rated load would take hours. You don't necessarily pull every log at the full rated load, but logging tends to be a long, continuous pull. These winches are generally better for short bursts: raising and lowering a snow plow, or getting unstuck from a mud hole (where you generally only need to move a few feet to get yourself out of trouble).

Add to that issue the fact that your tractor battery can't take the deep cycling, and that your tractor alternator is woefully undersized to recharge that battery in a reasonable amount of time. The solution just isn't practical for anything other than very light logs or moving heavier logs out of the middle of your trail (as opposed to dragging them 50 feet from off the trail).

If you do go this way, a skidding cone will significantly reduce the drag from the log skidding across the ground, reducing the load on your battery and increasing the distance you can pull without stopping to let the winch cool. Even better is a logging arch, particularly one designed to be pulled in at the end of a cable (in addition to being towed by your tractor). IMO, neither of those comes close to what a real PTO-driven logging winch will do for you. Once you have used one of those, you'll wonder how you ever got along without one.

Did not actually give a lot of thought to actual duty cycle per say, but all the rest of you statements is pretty much what I have deduced with reading a lot and experiences with my Jeep with 10,000 lb winch, I have actually been able to (at least twice) pull a 995 CCA battery while also running 100 amp alternator down to a point where it actually killed engine (low voltage shutdown of ECU)... The is why all the winches I was looking at are still on store shelf.... Yes a 1400lb SCUT stuck in mud bog can try to pull a 4000 lb Jeep (with all four wheels locked) into mud bog too...

Have a tough situation where "skidding cone" may be necessary no matter what I end doing for "pulling", or I am going to have to cut logs to fireplace lengths and hand carry it out, some of the stuff is up to 18 inches in diameter......

Dale
 
   / Big Wood - Small Tractor.
  • Thread Starter
#30  
Has anyone used a gas capstan winch. They seem to be guite versatile and more practical than a 12 volt winch.

It's a possibility, but a little more than I wanted to spend for the few days I may need it.... Of course it could be tractor mounted or on a "skid" on ground using another tree or rock outcrop as anchor point...

Simpson capstan winch with GX35 Honda Motor | Chainsaw Winches, Misc. Power Equipment, Portable Winches | Log Home Store Building Supplies and Tools

And then there is cost of rope... But not bad for 600 feet...

Double Braided Rope | Portable Winches | Log Home Store Building Supplies and Tools

But then this sort of goes back to putting capstan on PTO concept....


Dale
 
 
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