Need some opinions on a electric winch for the log arch. Now I have a superwinch ut3000. It’s a nice winch but horribly slow. I do have a snatch block on it so I realize it slows it down. But I need to speed up the operation, I was considering a superwinch terra 45 or all the way up to a smittybuilt 9500. Would a bigger winch not working as hard be faster and not draw as much power as one that was maxed out? My ut3000 will winch all day on a single battery, would kinda like to keep it that way.
Winch options for log arch
- Thread starter Dustyw
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Maybe try to get closer to the trees so you don't have to winch as much? I only used my arch a few times but the bush I cut in is open enough that I never even bothered to use the hand winch I put on it. I just backed up over the tree, put the chain around it, dragged it ahead abit until the log was on a ridge and rehooked the chain tight. Did the reverse to get the chain unhooked. Only needed the butt off the ground a little bit to pull it.
ChoppyChoppy
Tree Freak
Warn 8274, and even that is kind of slow, only about 80ft a min.
A typical Cancar, Hyster, Gearmatic, etc winch on a skidder is well over 2x that.
A typical Cancar, Hyster, Gearmatic, etc winch on a skidder is well over 2x that.
I think you jumped light years from what he had in that post!
The 8274 is a legend in offroading when it comes to retrieval speed, I ran one for years on a Jeep and it out pulled everthing in the woods...but it ain't no skidding winch.
I also doubt the OP is looking to spend $1,500-$2,000 on a winch!
This Log-Rite 'fetching arch' has a two speed hand winch and maybe a twenty to twenty-five foot cable. There is also a
hook adapter which is used to double the line back up to the arch, vs single line and sliding bell connector.
The lower speed is nice for heavy lifts. The high speed for loose line spooling to avoid cable over lap or the occasional log drag to change alignment, and then back over it, or lift the arch over it. I would think the winch you have would be sufficient, unless dragging a log some distance before arching.
hook adapter which is used to double the line back up to the arch, vs single line and sliding bell connector.
The lower speed is nice for heavy lifts. The high speed for loose line spooling to avoid cable over lap or the occasional log drag to change alignment, and then back over it, or lift the arch over it. I would think the winch you have would be sufficient, unless dragging a log some distance before arching.
ChoppyChoppy
Tree Freak
I have a 3500 or 4k cheapie winch on a trailer. It works to drag junk on the trailer but it's laughably slow, maybe 10ft a minute.
Looked like a homebuilt skidder in the pic, so I was guessing it was for that.
I have an older NOS Belleview winch (yes, new) aka an 8274, but circa around 1970-1973 or so. It needs cable and has no motor, but it did come with a used motor (not sure it's good).
I'd sell it for $100.
That being said, I'd not use a "light duty" winch for dragging logs with any sort if production in mind. It's not going to last long.
For sure don't pull up logs and tow like you'd do with a skidder winch. The winch body and brake aren't designed for that and will certainly break.
A little bit better picture of the hand winch. Log-Rite has since changed suppliers due to this one closing its doors about two years ago. I think it is a Shelby. (old photo, so going from memory)
There are three levers. The one in the lower center of the photo is the two speed lever. Depress that and lift the handle to change gears. If I remember right there is a smaller ring gear below the one you see, and two different size gears on the crank handle shaft.
To the right is the largest lever, which is a friction brake for lowering the load. It works very well. Not using it with a load on the cable may allow the crank handle to slip free from your hand, in which case it can wack you pretty good if your not quick enough to get your had clear of its spinning, driven by 1,500 pounds or more of cable pull.
The small lever further to the right is the forward/neutral/reverse. Neutral is for free spool without the handle spinning, and I use it when traveling so it does not catch on low branches and such as easily.
Log-Rite builds some nice equipment that is pretty well thought out for ease of use.
There are three levers. The one in the lower center of the photo is the two speed lever. Depress that and lift the handle to change gears. If I remember right there is a smaller ring gear below the one you see, and two different size gears on the crank handle shaft.
To the right is the largest lever, which is a friction brake for lowering the load. It works very well. Not using it with a load on the cable may allow the crank handle to slip free from your hand, in which case it can wack you pretty good if your not quick enough to get your had clear of its spinning, driven by 1,500 pounds or more of cable pull.
The small lever further to the right is the forward/neutral/reverse. Neutral is for free spool without the handle spinning, and I use it when traveling so it does not catch on low branches and such as easily.
Log-Rite builds some nice equipment that is pretty well thought out for ease of use.
No the home built skidder is a another project. The log arch is my go to firewood tool for now. Just wanting to speed things up some sometimes I just can’t get real close to the logs without driving over a bunch of saplings. Tying to leave the woods like I found except a few brush piles.
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