TJ101 Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Evening OK, Who has an opinion on which is the better Alloy or Stainless Steel, for synthetic winch lines Had confilcting reports ? which have you got and why ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Brock Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Stainless is better IMHO...its been so long since i've used one ! Alloy can pick up grit etc it then gets embedded in the alloy and cuts up the rope, and alloy also wears away a lot faster than SS for the same reasons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WALFY Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Tim I have 3 ali fairleads on my truck. Front G10 with "Plasma" no notable grooves in the ends. 2 fairleads on the rear Huskey with "Plasma". Inside and outside the Xmember and again no grooves. But before James starts it doesn't get as much use as some others. Stainless looks nice but I can't justify spending out on them at the moment. * Plasma = In my case RockStompers Finest Rope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landrover598 Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 I fitted alloy ones today, not had any bother with the alloy one my other winch, so can't see any need to shell out the extra money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve 90 Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Ive got stainless on the front and alloy on the back. The stainless is just starting to dog bone a little on the front but the alloy one on the rear is about worn out. Both been on less than 12 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy-T Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Hi All, Now this is an interesting little thread. I suppose it is related to synthetic winch line by association. What do I think? I believe that under normal working conditions my money would be spent on an Aluminium Hawse Fairlead - Why? They clearly wear faster than S/S - this is a good thing! If a dirty, grit filled line is passing through a hawse it will cause friction, leading to wear. The harder and stronger Stainless will not normally wear - so what does - the line! Lots of minute particles rubbing away against each other come into contact with Stainless and a forced into the fibres of the line resulting in line wear. With Ali the softer metal takes the damage sometimes causing remarkable wear tracks in the aluminium - this is a good thing - it prolongs the life of the line. It becomes the sacrificial link! Which would you rather do? Replace a £40 Hawse or a £200 line - your choice! I withdraw all the above comments - keep using stainless - I get too supply lots more lines!! Andy Thomlinson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugwash Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 anyone used the rubber/plastic jobbies that the yanks have? sound like a much sfoter option without the risk of burring, however as Andy says I don't want to find out that they wear the line out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveG Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 anyone used the rubber/plastic jobbies that the yanks have? sound like a much sfoter option without the risk of burring I suspect some of our grannies had a similar conversation some 65 years ago! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugwash Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 your a rude rude rude little man Mr Gurney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Alloy on mine, no problems, no wear, half the price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moose Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 I have been running a alloy one for about a year it now has 2 groves warn into each bottom end of the slot.. was thinking about going SS but for the mo i have just flipped the current one over. where i mainly play its very gritty/muddy/clay stuff. One con of the alloy fairlead might be if you stuff the nose off the truck in to a bank and a rock is forced into the fairlead this would damage the slot and then your rope.. just my thoughts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milemarker Type S Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Alloy one fitted on mine- very little wear in the 18 or so months it has been fitted- the only sight wear is on the sides from very heavy side pulls... On a side note does anyone know of an alloy one with a greater radius on the leading edge (i.e. the radius that the line has to bend around on an acute pull) - when pulling to the side or up/down it seems daft for the line to have to follow such a tight bend and this obviously puts huge forces on the line that are unnecessary- anyone make one with a bigger radius leading edge? If not why not... calling Simon R... We need an X-hawse!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pongo Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Just to add to the debate, I know of one challenge driver who made a fairlead from a block of nylon. Seems to work really well, with no reported wear issues. Way ahead? Discuss..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ101 Posted March 17, 2008 Author Share Posted March 17, 2008 Thanks All Not too bothered about wear etc, Answer i was looking for, is which is kinder to the rope,, Andy's answer, is along the lines of my thinking, with alloy being a softer material Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_warne Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 As everyone so far has said Ali I'm going to say SS for 3 reasons (although I can see a case for Ali for light users): 1) When you wear them out there's a risk of enlarging the slot so much that you're side loading the ends of the drum which is a quick way to kill your winch. 2) If you get friendly with a rock you can cut a nasty burr unto Ali increasing the chance of damaging your rope. 3) If your going through fairleads fast the cost does add up. Yes, there is slightly more wear to winch rope but it is still has a reasonably short life if used hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy-T Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Hi, Your point regarding the radius is vitally important! The recommended minimum radius is 7 times the circumference of the line in ideal conditions!!! Now I know that this impossible on the front of a 4x4, however, the bigger the radius the better. This only becomes a real concern with right-angled pulls. My advice - go for the thickest hawse you can find to minimise risk of line failure in the above situation. Mine are made at 1" thick, with the biggest radius I can effectively achieve for this very reason. Andy T. Alloy one fitted on mine- very little wear in the 18 or so months it has been fitted- the only sight wear is on the sides from very heavy side pulls...On a side note does anyone know of an alloy one with a greater radius on the leading edge (i.e. the radius that the line has to bend around on an acute pull) - when pulling to the side or up/down it seems daft for the line to have to follow such a tight bend and this obviously puts huge forces on the line that are unnecessary- anyone make one with a bigger radius leading edge? If not why not... calling Simon R... We need an X-hawse!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmatt Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Well I've just bought my first synthetic rope. Althpugh I have been using it for 14 months at work and I'm keeping my roller fairleads as we have at work. But I suppose my situation is quite different in that I winch in a commercial environment so we allways set up to be pulling square and into middle of the drum, Side pulls are avoided at all cost, and if all else fails we use pully blocks to direct ropes nicely on to the drum. We haven't had any problems. I can see why you comp and play day lads use ally ones though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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