logging winch

[Dead Horse]

The Fransgarrd and Farmi winches are exactly as you describe.

I use a 12,500 # winch and it is an ANIMAL!

The Hesston 100 90 it runs off of is 22.000#

1,500 rpms is more than enough and the winch cannot stall the big Italian beast! What a pair of working machines!

 

[6sunset6]

Given I would have to chop up a perfectly good electric winch motor I thought about the option of just driving down the road with the cable running through a snatch block for direction, as someone suggested. With some fancy dodads for just winding up the cable. like a hyd motor to wind ,say a tire rim, and a pin to lock it. Pull, un pin , back up and spool in, pin and drive. Issue is the weight of the tractor . mine is a little over 3000#. I think I would spin the tires on the pull. Unless I cut the logs shorter if it happened. Hmm This may be a really low cost solution. Still using my remote set up and the vickers valve allows me to unspool amd walk out with the line. rolling it up while backing down keeps from driving over it pinning the tire rim allows repull.
I think I would gat a length of Amsteel blue for the winch line.
What do you guys think of this.

 

[Dead Horse]

Risky as ****, unless the cable can handle ALL of the power of your tractor. You get a hang up and snap a cable and you are in for the experience of your (short) life. Either use chains and your loader with chain hooks welded on or get a real logging winch... You can also weld chain hooks to a tow bar slung between your lower links and do your pulls that way........

all of these methods are vastly safer than the rigs you are conjuring up!

 

[6sunset6]

I can't buy a real one . Rick Wallace mentioned he had a small one for $2999 He is probably 2 hrs from me but it is still too much for once in a while logging. I have decided to go with the Mile Marker H9000. Hydraulic 2 speed. I found one for $620 including shipping. Weighs 88#. There are tradeoffs of course Comes with 100ft of 3/8 aircraft wire. Probably ok but if I want to go longer I can use Amsteel 5/16 min working load is 12,300# .150ft will fit on the drum. I will build my own controls , I got the gate opener unit the other day and after going through the usual disconnect between hardware and translated down level docs, it works exactly as it is supposed to. Hold one button down and a relay contact closes until you let it up. Hold the other button down and the other relay closes until you let that one go. Receiver runs on 12vdc and realy contacts are rated for 10a even though they spec in the literature 5a.
I heard the comments about staying near the tractor or in it when winching. Makes sense to me. I will also add a saftey screen to the rig. I think I can keep the whole thing under $1000.

 

[6sunset6]

Mile Marker winch will be here Monday. Assuming I like what I see I will order a vickers 12vdc motor valve and base plate from Burden as well as a double cushion valve and a flow control valve. . A back up alarm to go with winching in. 1500 psi and 3.5 gpm are the operating limits for the winch. 2 speed winch.
I will modify a carry all for winch /controls mounting, drag anchor, slot bar for drag chains and a couple of tool boxes for chain saw, chains , snatch block,etc.
If I get it done before the frost is out of the ground I will be winching next years firewood out of the woods.

 

[GRNMAPLE]

I am also considering a logging winch, but i am leaning toward a PTO powered 3 PT hitch.
I have looked at FARMI, Norse, &Wallenstein, does anyone have any input about any of these winches?
I plan on doing lot clearing and woods mantainiance.

 

[Chilly807]

I'm saving my pennies until I can get a proper logging winch, they're designed to do the job as safely as possible. A Norse 290 is about $2300 CDN brand spanking new, with cable, chokers, etc.

20 years down the road, I'll sell it for about half what I paid for it, maybe more by then. To me, having the use of it for that long is worth the money.

Until then I'll do what I've done in the past, rig a snatch block up in a tree roadside, and drive down the road with either the ATV or tractor. The walking does me good actually, and it isn't much. Once the log is out where I can get at it, you just back up straddling the rope or cable, unhook the log, and walk back in to hook up the next one. Unless you're cutting a lot of wood, or really big stuff, this works just fine.

Chilly

 

[eanjay]

I am also considering a logging winch, but i am leaning toward a PTO powered 3 PT hitch.
I have looked at FARMI, Norse, &Wallenstein, does anyone have any input about any of these winches?
I plan on doing lot clearing and woods mantainiance.

I have a small Farmi on a MF1523and it works great. With a 3 ton pull and a 160ft of cable I have pulled the whole tree to roadside, or with sliders and choke chains, gathered-up 3-4 logs at a time and hauled those out. A snatch-block makes it easy to pull logs out from behind stumps, or pull round corners or out of gullies etc.

Works just as advertised - a real 'slick rig'.

EanJay

 

[SFish]

GRNMAPLE:

Like eanjay I have the small Farmi, but on a JD 3320, and have had similar good experiences with it. It pulls much faster than most electric winches and the dozer design makes the tractor self belaying. The remote rope operated clutch is adjusted to slip under maximum pull so it can't be overloaded. I have done a lot of work with it.

Steve

 

[Chilly807]

Anybody have the 290 Norse? I've been wishful of one of those for a while.

Chilly