Winch Cable

[Luc]

Snapped my winch cable on Saturday.

What are your opinions on cable vs synthetic ?

Where's the best place to get a new cable or synthetic rope ?

Thanks, Luc

[DMMcG]

A number of people have gone over to synthetic because of safety issues. I feel a whole lot better working around synthetic line than I ever did with wire rope. Still lots to be careful of, but at least I have some piece of mind knowing that catastrophic failure of the rope isn't necessarily going to take off an arm, leg or head.

http://bc4x4.com/tech/2005/winch%20rope/

Steve got an excellent deal by purchasing a whole spool and dividing it up amongst a group (Amsteel Blue). See what the marine supply stores will do for you.

If Steve can teach me to terminate the ends, then anybody can do it. :)

http://gallery.hot4x4.ca/albums/album275/aaf.sized.jpg

Nice to lose all that weight up front by switching to synth:

http://gallery.hot4x4.ca/albums/album275/aah.sized.jpg

I've since switched over to a cool aluminum hawse fairlead that Phil S. made up for me; he does quality work.....http://gallery.hot4x4.ca/albums/album330/aay.jpg.

Just enough bling such that nobody'd want to have it for their own, besides me. I've got a spare resin (Delrin) hawse fairlead, should you want to make the switch to synthetic, and need one.

[sdillen]

Wow -- I guess I've had this rope on the truck for a year and a half now. Time flies when you're having fun! My 18 month observations:

I've probably made more than 2 dozen pulls with my winches -- most were < 50% type pulls but there were several where I was pulling at near stall for a long time (one was more than 40 minutes in deep mud). A few pulls have had the rope laying across rocks (with my poly abrasion sleeve in place for protection) yet I haven't had a single time when I thought I'd either cut or snap the rope.

Abrasion was a concern to me when I bought this rope. So far I've had some grit abrasion on my main line that's generated some "fuzz", but according to the docs I received with the rope it's not anything that compromises the strength. I'm still on my first set of eye-splices....which I expect would be one of the first places to fail due to the fact that it's the most exposed section of the line. The rope isn't as fragile as I first expected it to be. I do make a point of taking it off the winch and washing it if I've exposed it to mud.

I tried an end-to-end splice earlier this year to test field repair of a cut. Documentation says that an end-to-end splice retains 100% of rated strength (ratings are for spliced sections). It took about 10 minutes to do the splice and I pulled until I was dragging two trucks chained together over dry gravel. There was no indication of the splice slipping -- so I'm confident that it works.

The best parts? I only have to wear gloves to keep my hands warm -- I haven't cut myself once on a winch line snag over the last year and a half. I am also never worried about someone being around the rope when I'm winching.

The bad part? Cost. Payne Marine is the local distributor for the Samson Amsteel Blue product I use -- they supply Steveston Marine and a gazillion other retailers in the area. Last year when I priced out at retail, most local sources were around $2.20/ft (tax in) for a 600' spool and there was one retailer (Donaldson Rope in North Vancouver) that would sell short lengths -- at the time for $2.60/ft (tax in). Earlier this year I checked again on price and found that the best local price I could come up with was about $950 (plus taxes) for a 600' spool of 5/16 Amsteel Blue.

Personally, I'd not consider using wire again.

A few comparable products are:

Samson -- Amsteel Blue
New England Ropes -- Endura 12
Puget Sound Rope -- 12 Strand Plasma
Pelican Rope Works -- 12 Strand Dyneema

[Luc]

Thanks guys, awesome replies.

I like the safety aspect and ease of handling of synthetic.

I was advized against going synthetic due to the fine grit that we get on the coast, but, sounds like you're having no problems Steve.

Have to start shopping.

Thanks again, Luc

[gavman]

Hey Luc, I have an in with a supplier in Richmond but i am way too busy to deal with this before the new year but if you want to split a reel with me i will check in early January for pricing....

[DennisAJC]

Luc,

I have some new cable if you want it.

I swithed to synthetic for my front winch. Looking to switch my rear winch to synthetic down the road.

[Luc]

Thanks guys, I've decided to drive down to Bellingham a pick up a PullMaster rope. About 200 usd will get me 100 feet, safety hook and an abrasion sleeve.

You guys want me to pick you up one ? Call me tomorrow, 604-726-2525

[sdillen]

One thing to keep in mind when winch with synthetic rope:

With wire, you want to keep the layers on the drum nice and neat to avoid any possibility of kinking of the wire. With synthetic, this isn't as good of an idea -- when I'm winching, I unspool about 10 extra wraps of rope and then feed it back onto the drum in a criss-cross pattern. This gives a "base" for the rope to wrap around when there's a load. The issue is that the rope is very slippery and will tend to "cut" its way through the wraps of line on your drum when there's a load, resulting in overrides that are REALLY difficult to release.

[4-runnin]

I boutght my Sampson Amsteel Blue syn. winch line through Rockstomper http://www.rockstomper.com/catalog/recovery/ropes.htm

No regrets, I've been running it for 3 years and its done awesome. I got the 3/8 line which is a bit overkill but it should last forever.

Its nice knowing that if it does break no ones going to die and you can just tie it back together with a net needle.

[buckle]

during the mainland cup there was a guy that had the warn synthetic winch line on his brand new winch.

it snapped first pull and he didnt even have much tension on it. i couldnt belive after all the comments about this stuff being great how horrible it was

i wouldnt run it after seeing his

[Luc]

Well it's a done deal. Got myself a 5/16th syn rope rated at 16500 pounds, 100 feet long with heat protected wrap, abrasion sleeve, awesome hook and a new aluminum hawse fairlead for $250 USD.

Lordco quoted me $810 for the Warn syn rope!!! Must of hurt when it snapped !