What style of winch cable to get?

[North to Alaska]

I have a 48 horse tractor with a Krpan 3.5 winch (3.5 ton) on the 3pt. 
I've had it for two years and pulled a lot of logs but after several breaks (due to damage from getting "nests" on the drum) I'm down to about 130'. Now it's really jammed in there and i might have to cut it in half on the drum to get it lose. Monday I will look at it and see if I can get it lose. 

I'm thinking of getting another cable this summer anyway. Current cable is slightly less than 3/8", 16,000# rated, and compacted/swaged.  
While I will do some more calls on Monday, i may have trouble getting a similar compacted/swaged cable easily here in Alaska that doesn't involve expensive shipping.

Local places do have Landmann 3/8" 14,400# cable but isn't swaged.
At about $1.19 foot

https://www.aih.com/Catalog/Material-Handling-Storage-And-Rigging/Wire-Rope-And-Fittings/Steel-Cables/3-8-7X19-GALV-A-C-CABLE-14400-BREAK-C-L-CBL38

Anyone here have experience with swaged and non swaged wire to know if I will be happy with this wire?

[Plankton]

Swaged cable is great alot less prone to cable jaggers in my experience. When I put new cable on my skidder about 3 years ago i went from swaged to regular and its holding up fine. Both were availible locally but i went with non swaged just cause im cheap.

[47sawdust]

I have a KRPAN 4.5 winch and it is also due for a new cable.A direct replacement from KRPAN is $250.00 here in Vermont.It is a swaged  cable about 230' long and similar in diameter.
Pickens Equipment in Quebec are the North American importers they may be able to ship direct to Alaska.Brad Charby is the contact person.

[WCFAK]

North to Alaska, not sure where in Alaska you are located but Arctic Wire Rope and Supply  in Anchorage has always had or been able to get whatever we needed for our dock cranes and Cat winches, you might give them a call if you haven't already.

[North to Alaska]

Thanks for the replies already.
Already talked to Alaska wire. Not been super impressed with what they have and their prices.
Will call back again though.

Already talked to Pickens. Quoted $300 for 230' of 3/8 swaged....plus some expensive shipping. They won't have it available till late summer.

Also noticed/learned the difference between break strength such as 16,000# and working strength which is usually either 20% or 33% of break strength. My original 3/8" would be significantly less working strength for a 3.5 ton winch. Might help explain some of the breaking.
Any thoughts on this or if I should go to 7/16?

[Ed_K]

Put the winch in release and hook to a stout tree and drive away, careful the tractor doesn't rear up. Then on a day your not going to use the winch for a while, hook to a stout tree run the cable all the way to where you only have acouple wraps on the drum and tighten up as much as you can and leave for the weekend. That will straighten the cable out. Put some ribbons on the cable so no one will run into it and get hurt.

 I like swedged cable, I run 10mm cable on my winch.

[North to Alaska]

Was able to get the cable lose. Was worried that I really jammed it in since I tried using the full force of the tractor to get it loose. Done that trick many times before.
Will definitely pull it tight today and let it sit to straighten the cable out more. Thanks Ed_K for that advice.

I talked with Alaska Wire again. Their swaged 3/8" with 3,300# working load is $2.70 per foot😯
I can order that from lower 48 and have it shipped for much less.🤦‍♂️

Going to get back with me on what the vertical break is on that quote as well as info on 7/16" swaged and non-swaged.

Swaged might last longer but I can purchase non-swaged twice and still be cheaper 🤷‍♂️
Just a matter of it being more problematic to use.

[ArcticCircle]

Alaska Rubber & Rigging Supply may have what you are looking for. I checked out their online store and it looks like they have various sizes of swaged wire rope.  

[North to Alaska]

Alaska Rubber & Rigging Supply may have what you are looking for. I checked out their online store and it looks like they have various sizes of swaged wire rope.  

Alaska Rubber owns Alaska Wire. 
However, they seem to differ significantly on the same 3/8" non-swaged rope. $1.20 at Alaska Rubber and $1.82 at Alaska Wire🤷‍♂️

[North to Alaska]

Swaged cable is great alot less prone to cable jaggers in my experience. When I put new cable on my skidder about 3 years ago i went from swaged to regular and its holding up fine. Both were availible locally but i went with non swaged just cause im cheap.

What is your experience as far and usability between the two? The non-swaged bind up or get damaged more than the swaged? Which is easier to handle?

[Plankton]

Im no expert on the matter but swaged was heavier to pull and held up alot better lot less prone to small frays and jaggers. Non swaged relatively light but the cable thats on my skidder is not that old with ocassional use and has plenty of jaggers on it.  Snapped it a few times but thats not really the cables fault. Not anywhere near breaking from normal use or worn out but nice to have a pair of good gloves on when using it.

[John Mc]

According to the cable manufacturers, swaged cable is more abrasion resistant. It's also stronger than a similar diameter unswaged cable (basically, because the swaged cable starts out as a larger cable that is compressed or hammered down to size).

Swaged cable picks up less crud when dragging through the dirt. I also think it tends to wind up on the spool better.

If you are frequently getting nests on the drum, you may want to review your winching practices. I'm sure you probably already know to always keep tension on the cable when winding it in. I also find it useful to unwind the cable almost all the way occasionally (leaving a few wraps on the drum) and winding it back in under a good load. I usually do this by hooking the cable to a tree, driving my tractor down a hill, putting the tractor in neutral, and then winching the tractor back up the hill. If I don't do this every once in a while, the wraps on the drum seem to loosen up enough to let the cable pull down into the lower wraps on the drum - snagging the cable and/or eventually leading to a bird's nest on the drum.

[North to Alaska]

Little update on what I ended up with. I was able to get a good price for swaged 3/8" cable with 20k pounds breaking strength from Woods Logging Supply in Washington (now part if Westech). Best part was shipping cost. 
They were able to drop it off at Carlile in Taucoma on one if their normal trips. Carlile, through their MyConnect, shipped it to Anchorage for $24. I picked it up on one if our normal shopping trips. 
Normally shipping for something like that through freight would have cost $300.

Anything like what I just purchased would have cost about $600 here in Alaska. 

[rusticretreater]

The manual for my warn winch told me to do the same as described above except to pull my truck with the parking brake on and in gear!  This would stretch the cable prior to use.  I also do it again when I want to rewind the wire on the spool neatly.

[North to Alaska]

Well poop 
I just broke my very new cable at about 150' on a 240' cable. 
I initially used three logs to keep the cable tight when I reeled it up the first time. 
After a couple dozen logs, I could tell things weren't right. Started having nesting issues. Hooked it to a tree and drove the tractor to unwind and do it again....seen the frayed cable as it came out and snap. Still have to get the rest of the cable out yet. 
Not sure how it frayed so badly. I could see that half the cable was essentially broken already as it was coming out.

Not sure how much is my fault (probably all of it) for not having a heavy enough weight as it was spooled on in the first place or if something more is going on.
Just my bad luck?

[thecfarm]

....seen the frayed cable as it came out and snap. Still have to get the rest of the cable out yet.
 
 

I really don't understand this line. The times that I had trouble, the cable is flat just in one spot. The chain is exposed on mine and the cable can get run over by the chain if I don't check it to make sure it's close to the drum. This really only happens when I release it under a load. Like when it's caught behind a  rock,  .  I never had it snap or break off inside the drum.

I have never been around that kind of winch, but I tell you what I do with the Norse I have used for more then 25 years.
Most of the times when it's new, I don't seem to have any problems with the cable not staying close to the drum.
But when I release the cable, I try to look inside at the drum, if you can see it, to make sure it is tight on the drum. I've had to take my mast of about 3 times when it does get caught up inside.  If not tight to the drum, I just pull the cable out until it is.
I have only broke a cable maybe 2 times since I have owed it.

[g_man]

Seems like 240' of cable is a lot to keep tight on a drum especially when new. When you load the drum you need tension like you said but you also need to let the cable untwist if it wants to so the tension logs or what ever you use should be on a slider. Twists in the cable make it want to loop up on the drum. When I load a new cable I lay it all out so it is free to untwist as I reel it in with nothing on the end and only a gloved hand as tension. Then I pull it all out and reel it in again with tension on a slider.

If your in the woods and reel in a lot of free cable make sure you put tension on it or it will be in loose turns on your drum. The next time you make a hard pull the cable will bury itself in the loose turns and get locked in by the addition tight turns over it. When you pull out cable the next time it will be stuck. Then when you hook to a tree and pull to free it the cable will be frayed with broken strands.

I few things I have learned.

gg

[North to Alaska]

I've only done this for a few years. I'm sure it's my doing. Just never seen a cable cut like that while on the drum. I've had kinks and some minor breakage, that over time will eventually get worse.

Don't have much choice but to get another. My other cable was about 120' left. 30' more doesn't give me much.

I'm clearing my land out and selling the firewood as i go. Snowshoe over 2' - 3' of snow to cut the trees down and pull them in with the winch across the snow. I have a drive I built last fall along a small ridge which I keep plowed. From here i can clear cut a good swath of the woods. (Mostly spruce).