Has anybody had any experience with a hydraulic winch? Would like to try mounting to a tractor. Winch is off of a big utility type truck don't know much about them or what to look for, or what would be a good price.
hydro winch?
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I have a homebuilt one that uses a Braden winch taken from a truck. The hydraulic motor turns a chain that turns the winch. Slow but very strong. All this is mounted with the three-point hitch and the hydraulics is provided by the tractor through two hoses plugged into the tractor remotes. If you can weld and fabricate a bit it is not hard at all to rig something up. It sure is handy. I am in hilly terrain and I use the winch to reach down over the hill and pull out trees that would otherwise be very difficult. Not as good as a skidder, but it works.
wkpoor
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I bought a Mile Marker hydraulic winch 2 yrs ago and have not hooked it up yet. They are supposed to be able to withstand continuous use and have faster line speed then electric. Mine is the 12K MM. I've got a frame to mount it on 3pt that will hold 1000lbs of weight to help ballast the tractor. Just need to get it put together.
Swamp Yankee
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What size tractor, and what is its hydraulic output in PSI and GPM?
You may have to use a PTO powered pump to get any kind of performance.
Will also need the winch manufacturer's recommended minimum requirements and see if you can make the two work together. The winch hydraulic motor's manufacturer and part number will probably get you close to where you need to be for power.
Take Care
What size tractor, and what is its hydraulic output in PSI and GPM?
You may have to use a PTO powered pump to get any kind of performance.
Will also need the winch manufacturer's recommended minimum requirements and see if you can make the two work together. The winch hydraulic motor's manufacturer and part number will probably get you close to where you need to be for power.
Take Care
wkpoor
Addicted to ArboristSite
Unless your talking a bulldozer sized winch any lawn tractor could run mine. Requirements are 3gpm@1500psi. I will actually have to install a pressure reducer valve.
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Junkfxr
ArboristSite Operative
Hydraulic powered winches are the only way to go for pulling logs or for any extended use if you have hydraulic power available. The Mile Marker hydraulic winch uses a planetary drive and usually.... usually being the key word, planetary drives can use a smaller hydraulic motor to power them, needing lower flow rates. The big worm gear drive winches like the ones off of most utility trucks usually need a bigger motor because the gear ratio isn't as low as planetary drives. IMHO, the worm gear drive is a much tougher winch not to mention that they are self braking where as the planetary winches usually have a seperate cone style brake inside of the drum and are limited to "power out time". My neighbor has a 115 hp 4X4 John Deere that I made a 3 point mount for a big Braden winch for, runs off of the hydraulics. Not the fastest thing in the world but it'll stand the tractor up on it's rear end in a heartbeat and it'll run all day and never wimper.
wkpoor
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If more flow is needed the Prince PTO is a fine unit available up to 40gpm on a 1000rpm pto and 22 gpm on 540.
I have a chance to buy a hydro winch off of a utility truck for around $500. It does not have any cable with it and at the moment do not have any specs or brand name with it. Do have a 966 IH and 763 Bobcat to maybe try to make use of it. Our woodlot have lots of draws and bluffs and a winch would be useful. However do not want to spend cash on something that cant be used. Thanks to everybody that has responded so far any information does help.
Steve NW WI
Unwanted Riff Raff.
I'd rather use the 966 for winching/skidding, but the hydraulics on the old 'binders are sloooow, and so will your winching be.
763 will have lots of hydraulic flow for fast winching, but won't be anywhere near ideal once you get it winched up and start skidding.
Wkpoor's PTO hydraulic pump solves your problems, about $475 new for a 22gpm 540 model (will probably also want to add a separate hydraulic tank, don't want to contaminate or overheat tractor's lifeblood), might can find a used one on e-bay, craigslist, or machinery junkyard for quite a bit less. I have one on an old Hesston center-pivot haybine that I've thought about building a splitter around, or maybe I need to find a hyd winch too...
BC 5100S
ArboristSite Lurker
I have used the Mile Marker hydraulic winch. They are tough little winches and available from 9000 to 15000 lb pulling capacity. They have 2 speed selections, a high speed (really just for spooling cable) and low speed. The low speed is where the winch makes its rated pulling power.
The advantage of a hydraulic winch (any variety) is that they are generally rated at 100% duty cycle. Most electrics are lucky to get 25%. If you have a lot of hauling to do, hydraulic is the way to go.
The downside is that they are not the fastest winches out there. I have heard of guys replacing the hydraulic motor with more powerful (i.e. faster) motors to improve performance. On a tractor, this would probably work fine. In truck/jeep applications, the total speed is limited by the ability of the power steering pump to provide hydraulic pressure/flow.
My 2 cents..
The advantage of a hydraulic winch (any variety) is that they are generally rated at 100% duty cycle. Most electrics are lucky to get 25%. If you have a lot of hauling to do, hydraulic is the way to go.
The downside is that they are not the fastest winches out there. I have heard of guys replacing the hydraulic motor with more powerful (i.e. faster) motors to improve performance. On a tractor, this would probably work fine. In truck/jeep applications, the total speed is limited by the ability of the power steering pump to provide hydraulic pressure/flow.
My 2 cents..
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