Good rope for portable capstan/chainsaw winch?

[slowtwitch73]

I inherited a new in box winch from my dad. I'm going to be doing some clean up of some logs on the property.. basically skidding up to the driveway. I'd like it to be able to winch out vehicles if need be as well.

So what's a good option for rope? How about length?

 

[lardy1]

Purple plasma line is as strong as anything you'll find. Pretty pricey though.

 

[slowtwitch73]

Thanks..this thing realistically probably won't get much use. Wondering if there's a good solid alternative that's not the 'best' .

 

[superduty1]

You might want to include more details on kind of winch. Capacity, weight rating etc

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[slowtwitch73]

2k pull, gas powered.

 

[GeoBruin]

There are several options such as the mentioned Purple Plasma, Amsteel Blue, Technora, etc. Based on their ratings and how much safety factor you need, you can decide which is best for your use. 2,000 lb isn't a ton of weight so you might get away with a smaller diameter which should be cheaper. On the other hand, if you're going to be multiplying that with ****** blocks, you might need to go bigger.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

You don't want nylon, it's too stretchy . Polyester floats and that is all that can be said about it. Manila is surprisingly good, but has to be cared for. Chain saw winches are great for moose and elk retrieval .

 

[MarlynOC]

Dyneema/Spectra lines , how long do you want? Back splice it.

 

[GeoBruin]

Custom Splice has a sale on a 50' 3/16" Amsteel Blue winch line with an eyelet already installed for $42. Not sure about shipping but that's pretty cheap. It's rated to minimum 4,900 lbs so it well exceeds your winch's capacity.

 

[theoldwizard1]

You don't want nylon, it's too stretchy . Polyester floats and that is all that can be said about it.

Actually polyester is not bad "bang for the buck". It is typically hollow so you need a much larger diameter (easy to splice) and it stretches more than nylon. A LOT MORE !

 

[slowtwitch73]

Custom Splice has a sale on a 50' 3/16" Amsteel Blue winch line with an eyelet already installed for $42. Not sure about shipping but that's pretty cheap. It's rated to minimum 4,900 lbs so it well exceeds your winch's capacity.

Great resource, thanks..

 

[theoldwizard1]

IIRC, there are two terms that kicked around when talking about rope strength. Working Load and Max/Breaking Load. Working Load is typically (but not always)10%-20% of the Breaking Load.

 

[shawhite]

Personally I would use wire rope for the purposes you listed. Amsteel is too expensive to use for dragging logs and such.

 

[GeoBruin]

Personally I would use wire rope for the purposes you listed. Amsteel is too expensive to use for dragging logs and such.

Typically I would agree with you and to get the kind of strength you would need for getting vehicles unstuck using 8,000 + lb winches and 100 foot cables, it is expensive. But he doesn't need large diameter cable for a chainsaw winch and synthetic cable gets much cheaper at diameters below 1/4".

 

[shawhite]

Typically I would agree with you and to get the kind of strength you would need for getting vehicles unstuck using 8,000 + lb winches and 100 foot cables, it is expensive. But he doesn't need large diameter cable for a chainsaw winch and synthetic cable gets much cheaper at diameters below 1/4".

My suggestion is based purely based on abrasion resistance. Amsteel is awesome but I don’t think I would use it to drag logs like the OP said is one of his plans for his winch.

 

[GeoBruin]

My suggestion is based purely based on abrasion resistance. Amsteel is awesome but I don’t think I would use it to drag logs like the OP said is one of his plans for his winch.

I see what you're getting at. Good point.

 

[slowtwitch73]

Pretty sure wire is not an option. This winch does not store the wire/rope. You loop the rope around the drum 4 or 5 times and apply hand pressure to it when you want it to bind and pull (winch is anchored). That would fall somewhere between a pita to impossible with wire.

With careful rigging abrasion can be minimized and I see many of the ropes have sheaths over the business end.

 

[GeoBruin]

Pretty sure wire is not an option. This winch does not store the wire/rope. You loop the rope around the drum 4 or 5 times and apply hand pressure to it when you want it to bind and pull (winch is anchored). That would fall somewhere between a pita to impossible with wire.

With careful rigging abrasion can be minimized and I see many of the ropes have sheaths over the business end.

Not to sound like a broken record (no affiliation I swear) but Custom Splice has something called Diamondback which is their Diamond line synthetic winch rope with a woven protective mantle the length of the rope. They sell it in 1/2" main lines but they also have a 1/4" extension for UTV's that's much cheaper and still rated at 8,000 lbs. The 50' length is sold out but you can get 40 or 100.

 

[vpd66]

I would go yo Bailey's website and see what is suggested. If you didn't know Bailey's is a logging/arborist supply company. They sell chainsaw winches.

 

[goodwrench]

from what i understand, double braid polyester is the recommended. no synthetic, capstans need friction to work, and synthetic is too slick and will melt. if it’s a winch like from, “portable winch company”, 1/2” is about the maximum size. from personal experience, three strand twisted will work but not string enough and will twist horribly. invest in a good quality 1/2” double braid polyester rope, and pay attention to the strength. one example: https://www.portablewinch.com/ca_en/accessories/ropes/pca-1215m/

 

[sz0k30]

A 2K winch isn't going to pull out much of a vehicle. And for just occasional use - why bother?

 

[shawhite]

A 2K winch isn't going to pull out much of a vehicle. And for just occasional use - why bother?

With a little rigging you would be surprised what you can pull out with a 1ton winch

 

[macgee]

Purple Plasma is pretty much the same thing as Dyneema but Purple is much stiffer that could cause problems winding well on the drum.

There's a ton on Dyneema line options available on Amazon and some are pretty cheap but some are asian variants, about $75 for 100' of 3/8 dia for a total set-up.

EDIT: Like above post, I recommend also getting a pulley rig set-up to gain purchase power when needing additional pulling power for your winch.

 

[theoldwizard1]

With a little rigging you would be surprised what you can pull out with a 1ton winch

Very few people know how to double the pulling power of a winch with a ****** pulley. Four or five times simply blows their mind !

 

[Muckin_Slusher]

A 2K winch isn't going to pull out much of a vehicle. And for just occasional use - why bother?

Your ignorance is showing.

 

[goodwrench]

these winches are my favorite. you can do so much more with rope than cable. being gas powered, portable and any length rope, your only limitation is enough pulleys and know how to use them. a simple 4 to 1 and you can pull almost 4x the winch by itself. they aren’t for every situation, but they can do just about anything an electric winch can do, and a lot of situations it can do it better. capstan winches are a lost tool that are very useful.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

The chain saw Lewis winch is drum winch. There is capstan winch out there as well. Most I've seen have been the drum.

 

[lardy1]

I spent considerable time working as an Able Bodied Seaman. Rigging is a big part of that job. There is far more to compounding power by block and tackle than can be explained in a couple paragraphs in a tool forum.

My message to anyone reading this for advice is that they please look farther than messages in a forum. Rigging is very dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. Overloading a block and tackle or pushing the limits of line or cable because you were unaware can get you or someone else hurt.

Please educate yourself.

 

[2oolhound]

Also don't think you can just keep adding blocks to increase pulling power of your winch. Manufacturers already thought of that when they advertised the max power of the winch. If you try pulling 8K with a 2K winch you will either burn out the motor; break the planetary gears; rip the winch off it's mounting lugs etc.

I'll ad - steel chokers made for skidding logs have thicker individual wires on the outside for resisting abrasion. They are also langs lay (meaning the individual wires in the strands spiral in the same direction as the strands). This makes them super flexible and ideal for skidding logs. It would be a good investment. Hook your synthetic rope to the choker to save wear and tear on your main line.

I recently set up a 2500lb winch I had lying around to a receiver hitch. My vehicle is around 5500lbs but my thinking was - the winch wasn't being used and it would be like having 4 or 5 guys pushing my vehicle if I was stuck in a mud hole. Sometimes that's all you need.

 

[Muckin_Slusher]

Also don't think you can just keep adding blocks to increase pulling power of your winch. Manufacturers already thought of that when they advertised the max power of the winch. If you try pulling 8K with a 2K winch you will either burn out the motor; break the planetary gears; rip the winch off it's mounting lugs etc.

Your ignorance is also showing.


That's like literally, exactly, the definition of what you can do by adding blocks. You may have to use 5:1 instead of 4:1 when pulling 4x the winch's rated capacity due to the friction of the blocks, but you sure as hell can do it.


I would love to hear you explain how my little 2k winch knows whether the rope it's pulling goes directly to a load, or through a handful of blocks.

 

[slowtwitch73]

There's all different degrees of 'stuck' For some, a little bit of pull helps. For others you need more than your vehicle weight.

 

[rick carpenter]

I would go yo Bailey's website and see what is suggested. If you didn't know Bailey's is a logging/arborist supply company. They sell chainsaw winches.

Madsen's is another good choice, but it's been a while since I've been on their site so I don't know what they might have for you.

 

[AngryBeaver]

This was an entertaining read. from the dynamic rope suggestions to the guying thinking a 2K lb winch wouldn't pull out a stuck vehicle. We won't get into dead weight pull ratings, vs rolling resistance, nor what is the right type of rope, nor what you can do with a little 2K lb winch. nor what a block is.

My advise is to contact baileys or madsens. They haven't led me astray in 30+ years of working with these, or in the tree industry in general.

or just go buy a generator, 12K winch and a stack of batteries. If you don't know what the generator is for, good, keep scrolling. you're the type that buys a 12K winch to mount on a car trailer.

 

[Kscardsfan]

Sisal or Manila is what I saw being used on cat head winches in my oilfield days. No matter what you pick, be damned careful. Those old cat head lines are beyond dangerous.

 

[slowtwitch73]

Used the rope from Custom Splice and winch for the first time yesterday. Had a tree that wasn't going the way I wanted, so winched it where I wanted it to fall. Winch has been new in the box for better part of 20 years, but it started right up after a few pulls. Pretty slick little unit.

 

[GeoBruin]

Used the rope from Custom Splice and winch for the first time yesterday. Had a tree that wasn't going the way I wanted, so winched it where I wanted it to fall. Winch has been new in the box for better part of 20 years, but it started right up after a few pulls. Pretty slick little unit.

Glad it worked out. Thanks for reporting back.