Thread: A winch rope question

yeh will have to have a look....our bar has landed and packed ready to come to us...so i suppose we wont know until we put it on

Originally Posted by dullbird

its a 9000lb winch......and i just looked on the side of it and says max 5/16

the other winch we have is a superwinch x9 which is also a 9000lb winch so probably wouldn't fit on that either


who sold me a dud winch .......oh thats right I won it

Your winch size (9000lbs in this case) is determined by the size and Safe Working Load (SWL) of the cable or rope that you use, for instance, you could use a winch off a crane that is designed to lift/pull 150 tonnes, but if you put, say, 6000lb Guaranteed Breaking Strain (GBS) rope or cable on it with a Safety Factor of 6, which means your cable/rope has a SWL of 1000lbs, then your 150tonne capable winch would be rated at 1000lbs. A winch is no stronger than the GBS of the cable/rope wound onto the drum and the BIG problem is the fact that winch Manufacturers advertise their winches at the GBS of the cable/rope fitted, instead of the SWL of the cable/rope.
A winch, regardless of size, fitted with 10mm 7 Strand (solid core) High tensile Galvanised rope has a SWL of around 1200kgs or about 7200kgs GBS.
So it is no wonder there are so many breakages, I worked for 30 years as a rigger and never broke a cable or sling, because I worked to the SWL of the cable/rope, yet it seems common practise to break winch cables/ropes in off road situations, it is certainly more good luck than good judgement that more people aren't killed, Regards Frank.

Whats a bit scary is when you read this:

This Cable is aircraft grade, galvanized soft lay
cable of 7 x 19 class, right hand regular lay
construction. These Cable Assemblies include a
heavy duty Thimble, Eye Slip Hook, and a
compressed splicing Sleeve for safety. Available in 5/16" diameter & 3/8" diameter. Our 5/16" Cable has a Breaking Strength of 9,800 lbs. and our 3/8" Cable has a Breaking Strength of 14,400 lbs.

And then you read that this cable is used on Warn XD9000, 9.5XP and XDC, where the winch already runs a perfect winch cable down to its limits - and then you'll only need to jar it for it to break, or for there to be an imperfection.

Same sized Amsteel Blue synthetic has twice the strength.

For some people plasma rope will be great as mentioned in previous posts,but I can't and won't use it for a few reasons.
1. My exhaust would just melt the rope.
2. Winch & drive doesn't work with my setup so I always winch only,
so no problems with slack wire on lower wraps.
3. Side pulls aren't a problem for the wire to lay on the drum properly,
which means I don't need to attach the hook to a tree directly ahead.
When pulling on angles,the wire dragging across the ground is more
robust than rope.
4. I don't need to wash it as much as rope.
5. I can leave it in the sun and not worry.
6. Price is an another one.
After all that I agree that rope is a lot safer and nicer to use,but if used properly wire can be more useful to some.
Cheers Eric.

Originally Posted by Tank

Your winch size (9000lbs in this case) is determined by the size and Safe Working Load (SWL) .

The load rating of the winch is not SWL.

Originally Posted by dullbird

oh great you know i didn't even think of that when buying ours..

I have 125' of 3/8 to go on the magnum winch we have, i bet it doesn't bloody fit knowing our luck

If it doesn't fit you'll have a mega extension strap....

Regards
Max P

Originally Posted by r.over

The load rating of the winch is not SWL.

No, but it should be.
When I last worked as a Rigger Safe Working Load (SWL) was the standard term which describes the Guaranteed Breaking Strain (GBS) divided by the Safety Factor (SF) which for general purpose use is 6, SF's can be as high as 10, as in Lifts/Elevators which carry people or as low as 2 for Standing Rigging, such as Guy wires etc.. I suppose Working Load Limit (WLL) is the term used today, Regards Frank.

Originally Posted by Slunnie

Whats a bit scary is when you read this:



And then you read that this cable is used on Warn XD9000, 9.5XP and XDC, where the winch already runs a perfect winch cable down to its limits - and then you'll only need to jar it for it to break, or for there to be an imperfection.

Same sized Amsteel Blue synthetic has twice the strength.

SWL/WLL of the 3/8" cable (7 Strand 19 Wires) is 2400lbs (1090kgs), the Safety Factor (SF) of 6 is designed to protect the user against:- Quote: "and then you'll only need to jar it for it to break, or for there to be an imperfection."
If everybody worked to the SWL/WLL stamped on their wire cable (should be stamped on the alloy swage) then it should never come to Breaking cables, I reckon winch Sellers/Manufacturers should be held responsible for any Damages caused by their negligent labelling of their winches at the Guaranteed Breaking Strain of the wire/rope fitted, Regards Frank.