® ELECTRIC WINCH USER’S GUIDE 90-14530EN Rev A 6/17/15
page 3 2. INTRODUCTION page 8 3. WINCH INSTALLATION page 12 4. WINCH CABLE / ROPE page 14 5. UNDERSTANDING WINCHING page 17 6. RIGGING & WINCHING page 20 7. WINCH STORAGE & MAINTENANCE page 24 TABLE of CONTENT 1. SAFETY -+-+- A. B. C. D. E. Symbols Icons Dangers Warnings Cautions and Notices A. Application Information B. Winch Construction 1. Brake 2. Freespool 3. Gearing 4. Motor 5. Solenoid / Electrical A. Rope In - Rope Out B. Mounting the Winch A. Wire Rope B. Synthetic Rope A.
1. SAFETY Every winching situation has the potential for serious personal injury. To minimize that risk, read this User’s Guide carefully. Familiarize yourself with the operation of your winch before using it. Your constant focus on good judgment and winch safety are of great importance. This section of your User’s Guide contains, in one place, the safety icons, warnings and cautions contained throughout this User’s Guide. Please read it carefully and refer to it often.
6. Sharp Edge Hazard 7. Always Use a Handsaver Strap 8. Always Keep Clear of Winch, Rope and Load 9. Always Properly Seat Load in Throat of Hook. SAFETY 10. Always Use a Shackle or Strap When Attaching the Hook to an Anchor Point 11. Always Wear Personal Protection Gear. 12. Always Wear Heavy Protective Gloves. 13. Never Apply Load to Hook Tip or Latch. 14. Never Attach the Hook Back Onto the Rope. 15. Never Put Your Fingers Into the Hook. 16. Never Touch the Rope When in Tension or Under Load 17.
C. Dangers: SAFETY 1. Vehicle batteries contain gasses that are flammable and can explode violently. Always wear eye protection. Always remove all jewelry. Always keep spectators away. Always follow wiring diagrams. Always disconnect winch from power source when working on the winch. Never install winch or electrical connections while vehicle is running. Never lean over the battery while making connections. 2. Improper wiring can result in fire or electrical shock. Always follow wiring diagrams.
SAFETY C. 3 continued Always mount winch so that rope feeds through fairlead on front of winch parallel to the mounting surface and does not rub across housing or base. Always use tackle, hooks, pulley blocks, straps, etc. rated in excess of the load capability of the winch. Never exceed the winch rated capacity. Never hook the rope back onto itself, use a sling or strap to secure to anchor point.
D. 2 continued Always inspect entire length of rope, protective sleeve and hook before each use. Always keep helpers and spectators at safe distance. Always pass remote lead through window when used in vehicle. Always raise the hood to protect the windshield. Always stand clear of rope and load while winching. Always use a rope dampener over the wire rope near the hook end. Never expose the rope to heat sources or chemicals. Never knot or tie the rope to secure a load or repair a broken rope.
2. INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION This guide is intended to be a General Purpose document to introduce customers to proper electric winch use, technique, and safety. It is not intended to be an all-inclusive training exercise that will alert you to every type of winching scenario that will come up on the trail. Proper safety precautions and equipment, good technique, practice, and common sense are all required.
B. Winch Construction 1. Brake CONSTRUCTION The purpose of a winch is to pull a load out of an undesired position and therefore the presence of a brake is not essential to a winch fulfilling its purpose. It is possible to have a winch that does not contain a braking mechanism. If a winch is equipped with a brake, the brake is intended to minimize either coast or drift. A single braking mechanism may not address both coast and drift and therefore some winches will have two (2) braking mechanisms.
2. Freespool CONSTRUCTION Many winches are equipped with a freespool mechanism. A control lever/knob on the winch is pulled and/or turned, to disengage the winch drum from the winch gearbox. This disengagement allows the hook and rope to be pulled out by hand. Winches that do not come equipped with a freespool mechanism require the user to power out to spool enough rope to reach the anchor point. Common Freespool mechanisms shown below include: A. Turn Dial B. Pull and Turn Lever C.
4. Motor CONSTRUCTION Electrical winches are powered with an electrical motor requiring either a DC (direct current) or AC (alternating current) power source. The power source for DC motors is usually the battery of the vehicle to which the winch is mounted. AC motors are designed to be plugged into an indoor electrical receptacle; or hard-wired into an indoor electrical panel. The Standard vehicle battery in North America is 12 Volts, and can provide up to 500 amps or more to power your winch.
5. continued INSTALLATION - Never “quick-reverse” the winch (meaning, do not power the winch in the opposite direction when the winch motor is still rotating in one direction). - Never “Jog” the winch quickly (meaning, pulse the winch in or out rapidly, in bursts of power). - Always allow the winch to come to a stop after releasing the control switch, before powering in the opposite direction. - If the winch stalls (meaning, stops pulling) DO NOT continue to apply power to the winch.
B. Mounting the Winch INSTALLATION The mounting position of a winch refers to the position of the mounting holes relative to the winch drum. Winches can generally be mounted in two basic positions, foot down and foot forward. In a foot down position, the mounting threads are underneath the winch drum. In a foot forward position, the mounting threads are in front of the drum. The most common mounting position is foot down with an under wound rope orientation.
ROPE WIRE & SYNTHETIC 4. WINCH CABLE / ROPE The winch rope is an important load bearing part of the winch. The rope that comes with your winch is specifically selected to accommodate the load rating and drum of the winch. In selecting the rope three (3) primary variables were considered: rope strength, rope length and the rope diameter. The rope strength is obviously critical as the rope must be stronger than the maximum rated load of the winch.
ROPE From time to time, it may be necessary to respool the rope under no load after use. To do this, hold the remote switch (if equipped) in one hand and the rope in the other. Start from as far from the vehicle as possible, activate the winch and walk in several feet of rope while applying tension to the rope then release the switch. Repeat the process until the rope is fully spooled on the drum.
B. Synthetic Rope ROPE If your winch has a synthetic rope, the rope is not always spooled onto the drum. You will want to attach the rope to the winch drum and spool the rope on the drum under tension. A common method of installing a synthetic rope is through a hole in the drum coming from underneath the drum using enough line so it reaches opposite end of drum. Position the inserted line lengthwise down the drum as shown in Figure 5. Figure 5.
UNDERSTANDING WINCHING When replacing your rope, please be sure to use only Superwinch® recommended replacement parts. Section 7, Winch Storage and Maintenance, of this Users Guide provides tips on how to recognize winch wear and extend the life of your winch. The Technical Installation Manual that accompanies this User’s Guide provides details as to the installation, specifications and replacement part numbers of your winch rope. • Read owners manual.
UNDERSTANDING WINCHING B. Trailer Applications When choosing a winch for a trailer there is more to consider than simply the weight of the load. You can avoid paying for more winch than you need by keeping in mind that the force needed to pull a load on wheels is less than the force needed to pull the same load that is not on wheels. You must also keep in mind that the force required to pull a rolling load up an incline increases as the slope of the incline increases.
WINCHING APPLICATIONS With this information, you may now use the chart below, Figure 6B. to determine the winch capacity needed to pull your rolling load. Locate the GVW of your load on the left side of the chart and the slope of the ramp on the top. The intersection of these two points within the chart provides the winch rating (rounded up to the nearest 1,000 pounds) needed to move your vehicle up the ramp and onto your trailer. Figure 6B Selecting the proper winch capacity is obviously very important.
6. RIGGING and WINCHING A. RIGGING Rigging is the act of connecting the pulling mechanism to the anchor point. Rigging often involves materials such as tree saver straps, nylon straps, pulley blocks, and shackles. The use of these materials is discussed later in this section. Regardless of the materials used, selecting the anchor point is vital. WINCH RIGGING In some circumstances the vehicle on which the winch is mounted is the anchor point. In these situations the vehicle with the winch is not stuck.
Figure 8. illustrates a method of rigging to obtain a mechanical advantage. The use of a pulley block in this way will approximately double overall pulling ability. The winch hook is secured to a secure frame-mounted point on the vehicle (NOT on the winch.) The increase in pulling ability comes from 2 lines now pulling with the same winch tension. (Never exceed rated winch capacity. Always use a pulley block if PULLEY BLOCK more pulling ability is required.) Figure 8. WINCH ANCHOR POINT Figure 9.
Figure 12. illustrates the proper use of a winch dampener, blanket, or heavy jacket placed over the winch rope, to protect people and property. This is done to direct energy to the ground in case of winch rope breakage. Monitor your rigging during winching to be sure that your dampener is not caught up in fairleads or pulley blocks. Always keep safety your top priority during winching. WINCH RIGGING Figure 12. B. WINCHING Once the Rigging is set, you are ready to Winch.
JOG IN: Upper arm straight out, lower arm pointing UP, move thumb and fingers in a clam-shell motion repeatedly, for operator to run the winch IN in quick 1-second intervals. HANDS IN WINCH: Both arms held out, fingers extended, in the direction of the winch. Operator to secure controller to be sure it is not accidentally operated while the winch is freespooled or the winch hook is stowed. WINCH RIGGING Figure 13. Take up slack in the rope and rigging slowly.
DO NOT CONTINUE TO WINCH. Simply snug up the rope to a secure position. Do not attach the hook to any part of the winch, such as a tie bar, freespool control, etc. WINCH MAINTENANCE Use caution if pulling the thimble or hook all the way to the fairlead, Fairlead damage, leading to rope damage may occur, a better practice is to secure the hook off to a side tow hook or other structure. 7. WINCH STORAGE and MAINTENANCE A. Inspect the Winch After winch use, always prepare your winch for storage.
WINCH MAINTENANCE Avoid sharp bends. A sharp bend in the rope decreases its strength substantially under load and may cause rope damage or failure. Synthetic rope care is different than wire rope care, In order to properly care for your synthetic rope you must understand the appearance of synthetic rope as it ages. When synthetic rope is new, it has a smooth finish (a.). When the rope is first used, the outer filaments of the rope will roughen and give the rope a slightly, “fuzzy” appearance (b.).
C. Inspect the Rigging Gear WINCH STORAGE Inspect your rigging - tree-saver straps, pulley blocks, shackles, hook, etc., for physical damage such as tears, cuts, bending, etc. Clean any dirt or debris from your equipment. Check to make sure that your hook safety latch is operational. Pulley blocks can be wiped with a towel sprayed with a water displacement lubricant. Inspect your fairlead. If you have a roller fairlead, inspect the rollers for damage, and ensure that all rollers roll smoothly.
No basic guide to winching techniques can cover all scenarios that may come up in the real world. The safety of you, the people around you, and your vehicle are, ultimately, your responsibility. • Inspect your equipment regularly, and before each use. • Use only genuine Superwinch® accessories and replacement parts when servicing your winch. • Do not use damaged equipment. • Do not use a winch with damaged equipment, or a winch that does not appear to be operating properly.
9. NEED HELP ? CONTACT INFO. NEED HELP? You can contact Superwinch® directly at any time for assistance. Online, by phone, mail, or on Facebook®. Reach us.... online at www.superwinch.com by phone toll-free at 1-800-323-2031or at 860-928-7787 on Facebook at facebook.
10. GLOSSARY DRUM: Tube with flanges to store rope. DRUM SUPPORTS: Part of a winch structure typically used to mount winch or hold winch drum. DISENGAGED: The winch clutch position in which freespooling can take place. ENGAGED: The winch clutch position in which winch operation takes place. FAIRLEAD: A device, often with vertical and horizontal rollers, mounted in front of the winch that aids in guiding the rope onto the winch drum, and taking side loads.
ROLLER HAWSE: Combines the functions of a fairlead and hawse into one simple unit. Horizontal rollers handle vertical loads while smooth, large radius metal ends guide the rope onto the drum during side pulls. ROLLING WEIGHT: The force necessary to move weight on wheels. SOLENOID: An assembly used as a switch, consisting of a coil and a metal core free to slide along the coil axis under the influence of an electrical magnetic field.
Designed, Engineered, and Tested by Superwinch® Leader in Global Winch Solutions MEMBER SUPERWINCH®. SUPERWINCH® (design) and S Superwinch® (design) are registered trademarks of Superwinch, LLC. Lake Road Dayville, CT 06241 USA©. Husky™, Winch-In-A-Bag™, Terra™, Talon™, Tiger Shark™ are trademarks of Superwinch, LLC. Specifications subject to change at any time. All photographs shown are copyrighted material. Reproduction in any way is prohibited without permission of Superwinch or the copyright owner.
