Hydraulic or Electric Winch?

[guido666]

What are some pros and cons of having either a hydraulic or electric winch? The price of the electrics seems to only be 50-60% of the hydraulic cost. Any help?

I know this has been covered a million times, but I'm looking for some unique answers. Like if the hydraulic is better, get around the engine running problem by running an electric hydraulic pump?

Or how about a PTO winch? I never hear anything about them? How much are they? I run a SM465/NP205 which both have PTO plates on them. No way to get around the engine not running though.

I really like the simplicity of hydraulic. But I want to do it cleverly.

 

[randy88k5]

Electric winches :
Pro:
Cheaper
Faster
Simpler to intsall
Easy to move
Engine does not have to be running

Con:
Their line speed changes under loads
Need large amounts of time to cool
Size for size, not as strong

Hydraulic winches:
Pro:
Very strong
Near constant line speed even under load
Less prone to overheating
Usually live longer

Con:
With no bypass valve, takes a long time to spool in/out
More expensive
Harder to mount (have to deal with hydraulic hoses)
Engine has to be running (if using p/s pump)


PTO (Power Take Off) Winches:
Pro:
Probably the strongest winches available
Military surplus available

Con:
Limited in mounting options
Hard to find
Hard to run (need PTO port somewhere)
Engine and PTO shaft need to be running
Very expensive


A while back I ordered a DVD from Mile Marker. I cant find it off hand, but it did address most if not all of these issues. It was free.

http://www.milemarker.com/video.html

I have a Warn XD9500i. I love it. Ive fried the motor, and burned out one of the remotes and an internal wire (watch the remote cord, it got sucked into the spool {my frind was using it}). Its easy to fix, and parts seem to be readily available.

Good luck in your choice.

 

[guido666]

I ordered the video. That should be interesting.

Anyone try to run an electric hydraulic backup pump before?

 

[diesel4me]

yup..

A friend of mine used a hydraulic winch on his ramp truck with a pump/motor combo originally used on a dump body for a few days,,until the pump that ran off his engine was fixed..it was pretty slow,and drained the battery fairly quickly,but it did work..

I doubt it would have lasted for long that way though,it took a good 2 minutes to extend enough to hook the cable onto the vehicle,and another 2 minutes to pull it on the ramp all the way..starter motors(which is all those plow lifts and "power packs use to spin the pump) don't like to be run more than 15-30 seconds at a time,they heat up real fast...Hydraulic pumps can put a lot of strain on the motor too..

 

[bugspray]

I was dead set on the hydraulic until I thought about it. The deciding factor for getting the electric was there is a good chance that I will end up on my side or top. I'd feel pretty pathetic having a nice winch, and couldn't even flip me back over.

 

[atho]

I am going to run a PTO winch. slowly collecting parts for it...if you scrounge through junkyards and such, you can get the pieces for cheap. I got the PTO itself for free and I have a line on a winch now. just trying to figure if i want a front or rear mount.