Winch Opinions...Please

[antichrist]

Most winches I see come with too small electrical cables which causes voltage drop and lowers the winch power while also overheating it.

Just was looking at the 12,000 Titan specs. Perfect example of what I was saying. The supplied cable is too small for the winch and will give you over .5v volt drop at 12,000lb load. They are only really suitable at the under 8,000lb load. This is assuming they are high quality fine strand cable. If not, the volt drop will be higher.
I just don't understand winch mfg skimping like that. The proper sized cable isn't that much more.

 

[D90DC]

LOL, those were the days, even if I did get banned.

Still lovin' my Milemarker 8k, works flawlessly and for what I paid, I have two spares!

.

LOL on getting baned... Maybe I should start selling diff guards again then I could get baned for pimping my wares on Discoweb... Seems to me that's common place now...

Part of the reason I like my MileMarker it was priced right. I was setting us up as a dealer for them once upon a Dicount Rovers buying the initial dealer package the cost of the winch was almost free... Did you buy your MM from me?

 

[ptschram]

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LOL on getting baned... Maybe I should start selling diff guards again then I could get baned for pimping my wares on Discoweb... Seems to me that's common place now...

Part of the reason I like my MileMarker it was priced right. I was setting us up as a dealer for them once upon a Dicount Rovers buying the initial dealer package the cost of the winch was almost free... Did you buy your MM from me?

I tried to get setup as a dealer for Mile-Marker and lost interest as they were so difficult to deal with. I was in the right place at the right time and a pallet of 8K Mile-Markers showed up at the shop one day. The cost was so cheap, I couldn't pass them up. Did some wheeling and dealing and the three I ended up with cost me nothing!

Needed to move my air compressor to the second floor a coupla weeks back. Go to fire up the winch and no love... Ran to the back of the shop, grabbed another control box, wired it up and was back in business. Opened up the non-functioning control box to find it full of mud! Maybe this summer, the control box will get relocated to the engine compartment-although in my case, that gets almost as muddy!

 

[antichrist]

Opened up the non-functioning control box to find it full of mud! Maybe this summer, the control box will get relocated to the engine compartment-although in my case, that gets almost as muddy!

That's why I'm looking for a small sealed box I can mount my solenoids in. Then use some bulkhead connectors to get the current in and out. Something like these.

 

[LR Max]

When the milemarker electric winches first came out, my buddy put one on the front of his rig (8k model). It was junk. It never worked right, had to have parts ordered for it once a week for 4 weeks, overall not that great.

But it seems like they've gotten their act together and are doing alright. I've seen a couple hard pulls with the milemarkers and they hold up. I will say they aren't as "refined" as the warn winches. Pulling cable can sometimes be a pain since the freespool doesn't seem as smooth as the warns. The biggest complaint with the milemarkers is that they are UNGODLY SLOW. Holy crap. Extremely slow. The Milemarker 8k is slower than my warn 12k, and the 12k is SLOW.

I know speed doesn't seem like a big issue, but when you've got a large group and your winch is only capable of pulling 1 foot per minute, winching can all of a sudden eat up a lot of time.

I was up at Windrock a couple weeks ago, two rigs were on rattle rock. Rig 1 had a 8274 on it and Rig 2 had a Milemarker 8k. Rig 1 was able to scoot right up, while Rig 2 used up a lot of time. Rig 1 easily passed Rig 2.

Did a similar thing on Slickrock, got a rig up on the end of a winch cable real quickly simply because the winch was fast. A slower winch would've been painful.

Lastly, I don't think a 8,000lb winch is enough for a Discovery/RR. The Warn 8k and Milemarker 8k strain big time on hard pulls with smaller jeeps, a heavy rig in a bad stuck would probably upset a 8k winch.

I thought about ditching my Warn 12k, but after this past weekend, nay. It excecuted an extremely difficult pull that had hurt the feelings of the Superwinch 9k that tried before me.

For everyone that is "saving money" with these cheaper winches, put synthetic cable on it. Besides the safety issue, the synthetic is a pleasure to work with. The simple fact that its easy to unspool and handle makes it worth it.

On the east coast, 100ft is plenty of line. I use 5/16" x 100ft of synthetic, been running it for 7~8 years. No problems, it just works. I did buy a 50ft synthetic extension line that is still brand new in the bag. I haven't needed it, ever.

 

[ptschram]

That's why I'm looking for a small sealed box I can mount my solenoids in. Then use some bulkhead connectors to get the current in and out. Something like these.

LOL, I just run the winch cables through a piece of heater hose and then through the sheetmetal.

AFI's truck has those bulkhead connector's all over it. They work well, but insulating them is a PITA. I'm constantly firghtened something metal is gonna bang into one of them and poof! Or rather, Zap!

 

[D90DC]

I went with the Hydro and I upgraded my PS pump to the Larger Flow S10 model... I still need to get a larger filtered resivor...

 

[apg]

That's why I'm looking for a small sealed box I can mount my solenoids in. /QUOTE]

That's what I am doing right now....

Went to bass Pro Shops, and although they have a bajillion different plastic tackle boxes and whatnot, none was "just right" - except for one that contained a 12' diameter minnow (throw) net - which I was too bloody cheap to buy just for the friggin' box.

Cheers

 

[antichrist]

LOL, I just run the winch cables through a piece of heater hose and then through the sheetmetal.

I use grommets through the sheetmetal, but if you have issues of dirt/mud under the bonnet too, then a sealed box.

AFI's truck has those bulkhead connector's all over it. They work well, but insulating them is a PITA. I'm constantly firghtened something metal is gonna bang into one of them and poof! Or rather, Zap!

Terminal covers.

 

[Bannon88]

I just don't understand winch mfg skimping like that. The proper sized cable isn't that much more.

The problem is that it really isn't that much different when you look at one winch, but when they are rolling them off the production line, the beancounters get involved.

They are looking for any way possible to save a few $$$ and to show their boss some tangible evidence of their worth to the company. Unfortunatley, this happens all the time in just about every company. SAD.

 

[MarkP]

That's why I'm looking for a small sealed box I can mount my solenoids in. Then use some bulkhead connectors to get the current in and out. Something like these.

Why not use Pelican micro cases. They probably have one in the size you need. Cabelas carries some. REI also.

 

[antichrist]

The problem is that it really isn't that much different when you look at one winch, but when they are rolling them off the production line, the beancounters get involved.

Very true. And there's the added benifit, shorter lifespan on the motors so more replacements sold.

 

[antichrist]

Why not use Pelican micro cases.

I've thought about it, just got to get past how it will look. Can you believe it? Me worried about looks? :rofl:

 

[Ataraxia]

Just was looking at the 12,000 Titan specs. Perfect example of what I was saying. The supplied cable is too small for the winch and will give you over .5v volt drop at 12,000lb load. They are only really suitable at the under 8,000lb load. This is assuming they are high quality fine strand cable. If not, the volt drop will be higher.
I just don't understand winch mfg skimping like that. The proper sized cable isn't that much more.

Good point Tom, but i'm sure most people would use a pulley block if your pulling close to the maximum stall weight (at least I would, with any winch). But c'mon, that's just common sense. The cables are 6' long, but my application would only use about half that length...

We can sit here and try to pick out all the shitty things about these cheapo winches, but the fact is "some" are actually good, strong units. I started this thread for that exact reason, so I/we know how good/shitty these china things really are. Based on alot of reading from you guys, some other forums and ppls actual experience, seems to me that alot of the negative things are superficial. and thats cool, but I know I can address most things mentioned. Personally time will tell about the reliability of the titan 12k , but this dude has been selling them for some time now, and from the feedback of many other users of this winch. They seem to stand up with the big named stuff.

Compared to some brand name and other generic winches I have used, this one is definately a monster. For price I paid, I have a very tough and fast winch that will get me out of a bind. Now I have all this left over money to pay for nessesary stuff like... fuel


The only thing I don't care to much for was the controller. Just doesn't fit a human hand. I'll be using dash mounted switches most of the time, so I don't really give a shit. It's kinda cheesy, oddball ergonomic design and reminds me of late 80's sci-fi video game controller. But If you have 6 fingers on one hand, then your off to the races.

 

[antichrist]

Good point Tom, but i'm sure most people would use a pulley block if your pulling close to the maximum stall weight (at least I would, with any winch). But c'mon, that's just common sense. The cables are 6' long, but my application would only use about half that length...

Probably true, but not the point. Why include something that isn't suitable for the application? What if you're super stuck and pulling 16,000 lbs, or 90' from the nearest anchor point?

 

[FIVESPDDISCO]

Probably true, but not the point. Why include something that isn't suitable for the application? What if you're super stuck and pulling 16,000 lbs, or 90' from the nearest anchor point?

Some things are worth the money. This was not a good time to try and put the smoke back in the winch. I learned the hard way.

 

[duncan]

Unfortunatelly this is the standard guage used by most manufacturers. A warn M12000 supplies the exact size length wire and there is a 10 amp difference in the motors under full load.
Cheers

 

[antichrist]

Unfortunatelly this is the standard guage used by most manufacturers. A warn M12000 supplies the exact size length wire and there is a 10 amp difference in the motors under full load.
Cheers

Yeah, I know. That was what I said in my original post on the subject.

Many people think you can just slap on a winch and you're good to go. Most winches I see come with too small electrical cables which causes voltage drop and lowers the winch power while also overheating it.

I'm sure that's the attitude with them all, "Everyone else does it, so why should we be the only ones with properly sized cables?"

BTW, I'd still like to see the specification sheet on that solenoid, I'm still considering one.

 

[antichrist]

this unit is a 450amp and one unit will run a Winch.

I checked the new specs, it's only 450amp for 6 minutes. 200amp at 100% duty cycle.
My setup is 100% duty cycle at 400amps.

 

[Velocewest]

After refurbing my 8274, I've put it back in service with the original solenoid pack. I want to upgrade to the 200a continuous solenoids, but geez! The cheapest I can find them is $65, that's $260 for 4 solenoids -- more than I paid for the winch!