I'm in the process of getting a Farmi 351 and needing a longer cable than standard 165 ft which will mean going with a smaller diameter cable. Anybody have any problem with cable thickness of 5/16 vs standard 3/8 in terms of wear and tear?
Farmi Winch Cable
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Glen Watkins
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Can't you just stay with the stock setup and get yourself another length of cable for the long pulls? Welcome to the forum!
Thanks ,Glenn
I could go with another length of cable but most if not all of my pulls will be in the 180-200 ft. We live in a area where most of the good Shagbark Hickory is down a fairly steep hill, right out of the 165 ft cable range.
How are you liking your Wallenstein winch?
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Gordon Gould
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I have 5/16" on my Farmi. I dont pull a lot of big stuff. Mostly firewood and balsam fir and spruce. It handles hard maple logs 20' long and 16" or 18" at the butt doubled up just fine. Have pulled a few bigger but not many. My winch is good for 6400 LBS of pull on the bottom coil. Wow 200 feet every pull. That a lot of hiking.
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beenthere
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I would go with Glen's thought as well. In the end, adding cable and staging up a group of logs say at 150', then rehooking to the 165' cable to finish the pull should be more efficient in the end. Having a pull-back rope go up with the log so the cable can be pulled back down by the log hook man helps save a lot of hiking up and down too. 
It IS a lot of hiking, Gordon particularly, on the way back up. You have to really lean into the hill to get any traction. Very steep hills in this section of Tennessee.
I would go with Glen's thought as well. In the end, adding cable and staging up a group of logs say at 150', then rehooking to the 165' cable to finish the pull should be more efficient in the end. Having a pull-back rope go up with the log so the cable can be pulled back down by the log hook man helps save a lot of hiking up and down too.
So are you saying that you wouldn't go with more cable on the drum if it meant going down on the thickness of the cable?
debushau
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If you're going to replace the cable you might think about switching to amsteel blue. It's lighter and stronger than steel cable of the same diameter. There have been a few studies at OSU which conclude that this cable works just as well as steel even for skidding. It'll be expensive though.
beenthere
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Yes.
I'm just suggesting that for additional length, it is not necessary to go to the expense of replacing the existing cable (unless it is worn out) to accomplish your task.
Plus, you are downsizing the size which means less strength and more stress, and that leads to shorter life span.
If replacing, I too would look at the Amsteel "rope".