The winch line on my 540b is pretty much shot I'am going to have to replace it this week and I was wondering if I could get some advice on how to replace it since this is the first time I have ever done this...... Thank you
When you get a new winch line it will be tied together with banding or wire. Position the new roll behind your machine in the upright position and reel it onto your winch drum exactly like it is rolled up. Do not throw it on the ground and let it flop because you will create kinks in it and it will be half destroyed before you can use it. With either a coil or wrapped on a wooden spool, I always put a pipe through the roll as an axle and have someone "help" the cable to roll off without kinking.
bolt bender gots it right think a cassette tape spooling on to either reel. You want to keep the natural bend going the same direction. The other thing is making sure you have the line attached firmly to the winch drum, not sure on the newer Deere's the older ones have a tuck and smoosh method of securing it. Have not done this myself (on the skidder anyway) but it does involve a hammer.
And remember to put your sliders on in the correct direction BEFORE you attach the line especially if you have a swedged knob already on the line.
First swedged rope is the way to go. get the old piece of rope off and see how it was held to the drum. If you have employees osha is going to want it attached their way. Otherwise however it was before. Take the new piece unroll it on the ground, get all the kinks and loops out. Put the rigging on the new line now if there is a
knob on the tag end. Attach the other end to the drum however. Hook the end of the line to a large tree/dozer
something you can't move with choker.(just like your pulling a hitch) start up skidder put nuteral put foot lightly on brake, engage winch. Wind the cable onto the drum under tension. I like to tighten up the drag on the drum alot to keep it from birdnesting with new cable. Wind it up under tension 4 or 5 times. you need to get the first couple wraps on the drum tight, otherwise they will get crushed on the drum. I run 9/16 swedged rope on a 240 Tj and get about a year out of it. Some guys I know run 3/4 and get two weeks maybe a month.
The trick is good cable management. Don't cross the wraps on the drum, pull though the slides at sharp angles( or at all for that matter). A pig tailed mess of a cable is the sign of a poor operator. Also run the shortest piece of rope you can get away with.
I was disappointed in the line that came with my Harbor Frieght 12K Badlands Winch. It was too stiff, easy to get crossed up on the drum. I had to cut the cable in half so it would not overfill the drum and get stuck. So I am interested in types/brands of replacement cable. Thanks for the post.
240b
You say run the shortest piece of rope you can get away with, why do you say this? Just curious?
The rated pull for a winch is with one wrap on the drum, the more rope on the spool the less pulling power, plus more chance for a birds nest with a bunch on extra cable. 75' works 99% of the time on the ground I work,50' probably 85% of the time.
Sounds good the way you sad it originally sounded like you had a good reason...tonight i used my new machine and had to drop the hitch and spool out some line to get around a soft spot, and i realized it isnt my old set up, the line was much shorter and I had reposition the machine, iam used to a long line. I did find where the previous owner crushed the cable in two places? These are at the very end near the spool.
One thing was the chokers are hard to unlatch?? The end gets seated in there pretty tight i have to hit it with another choker end to get them unlatch sometimes, are they worn out ?..
cable or chains, maybe just clean it up w/ a grinder?
Chances are the knobs where not squished enough when they where made, they will eventually break in and get easier to unlatch, and then start coming loose all on their own... Don't worry it don't take real long in big wood...
If your impatient you could always grind a little of the knob to speed things up.
Quote from: Sixacresand on June 22, 2013, 07:42:58 AM
I was disappointed in the line that came with my Harbor Frieght 12K Badlands Winch. It was too stiff, easy to get crossed up on the drum. I had to cut the cable in half so it would not overfill the drum and get stuck. So I am interested in types/brands of replacement cable. Thanks for the post.
The more wires per strand the more flexible the rope, I imagine it came with either 7x6 or 21x6, go to something much higher say 37x6 or 27x8 (I have a pile of 1/2" 8 strand fiber core very flexible but a total pain to splice...)
::)Thanks guys it is a cable and i will wear them in....
If the bells are china made thats most likey for problem.
:-[ 240
I will check tonight to see if they are Chinese.
a lot of the time dirt and crud gets sucked into the chocker bell when it's tightened up, doesen't make and diffrence wether it's new or used and you have to bump it to get it to break loose, it's a normal situation, there is nothing to break in or seat on choker knobs wether US made or Chinese. Depending on where you are and where you get your chohers the are generaly made up of re-used choker bells, the only brand new ones I've ever had came on some 1/5 in. ones for my 10 that I got from Baileys and the worked fine, you will find that your local cable supplier will pay you for your old choker bells so don't throw them away.
Quote from: John Woodworth on June 24, 2013, 09:54:24 PM
you will find that your local cable supplier will pay you for your old choker bells so don't throw them away.
Boy, I wish they would. I have never been able to get them take back used bells. I send two five gallon buckets to the scrap yard full of them.
I buy 125' of 9/16" cable for my little skidder. I work with my buddy and he has 65' of swedged 3/4" on his machine and says it is too much. lol The reason I run more cable is that there are places that we can't get to without long cable. 9/16" is a lot easier to pull than 3/4". Believe it or not there are simply places a skidder will not go but the cable will. lol
We run used crane cable, 9/16" and pretty flexible. The crane outfit replaces it when it gets kinked or crushed.
Pulls much easier than 3/4" swedged and is tough and cheap.
Cable management is the key to making it last.
well all I can say is good luck! I just changed mine on my 640d this week for the first time its certainly an adventure on my clark u just put the cable button in the grove and put a 1/4'' bolt in the hole and ur done... on my john deere this week I had to try and make this stupid not to get it to stay on the spool what a dumb desighn that is!
Quote from: John Woodworth on June 24, 2013, 09:54:24 PM
a lot of the time dirt and crud gets sucked into the chocker bell when it's tightened up, doesen't make and diffrence wether it's new or used and you have to bump it to get it to break loose, it's a normal situation, there is nothing to break in or seat on choker knobs wether US made or Chinese. Depending on where you are and where you get your chohers the are generaly made up of re-used choker bells, the only brand new ones I've ever had came on some 1/5 in. ones for my 10 that I got from Baileys and the worked fine, you will find that your local cable supplier will pay you for your old choker bells so don't throw them away.
Since your kinda locale... who do you use for rigging? your out on the peninsula... so I imagine they got someone out there... Greene sheilds in Everrot is my go to, more expensive than the competition but they jump on it right away and I don't have to stand around scratching my butt trying to find someone to build a couple of chokers...