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modifying electric winch to hydraulic.


wolfcat

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Hi there everyone, I'm a newbie on here and would appreciate your considered opinions on converting a Superwinch Husky 8 to run hydraulic. Since burning out yet another motor!! :angry: I've done a bit of research and find the idea of running hydraulic using the power steering pump ala the Milemarker's (but can't afford them) appealing as a temp option and upgrade later if needed. Since I only use the Husky for logging (I've a wood burner) speed is not a major issue, but the motor would need to be mounted onto the spur gearbox, as a direct replacement to the electric motor due to it's location. As far as I can find, the power steering pump fitted runs 2.4-2.9 gals/min(as it's a Jeep I presume these to be US) @ 1500PSI. Does anyone know of a conversion chart, as I am at a loss to how hydraulic motors are rated!! ie **cc/rev @ 100bar = ??HP(electric) :huh: What size motor would be suitable to maintain/improve the standard line speed and what rpm would it run at? :unsure: Rather have a slow hydraulic winch than no winch.

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must be running it direct from national grid to burn out a husky winch motor.

Hi there, I was only hauling a 30ft tree across a section of bog (honest guv :( )!! But in my defence I should say that the motors that have burnt out were second hand and have had hard use. :rolleyes: It's just that with so much to do and so little time (heard that somewhere before) It doesn't look like I'm allowing enough time for the poor little things to cool down I quess :blush: Must do better as my old school reports used to say :)

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I think hydraulic motors are much slower than electric motors so you would have to somehow bypass the gearbox in your current winch. The milemarkers have 2 speeds one of which I believe is direct connection to the motor for 'fast' winching the other steps the speed down for more power.

There is an exploded diagram here .... http://www.firstfour.co.uk/images/www.firstfour.co.uk/Image/H12%20PARTS%20LIST%20small.jpg

Also don't forget you will need to budget for solenoid valves and hoses which make the prices start to mount up pretty quickly. I think you might be surprised how much a homebuilt solution will cost.

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I've done a bit of research and find the idea of running hydraulic using the power steering pump ala the Milemarker's (but can't afford them)

You could offer me £120 for an old NHW10000 plus assorted hydraulic bits that is sitting in a box at the back of the garage...

Niamh.

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Hi there, Yes I know that I'd have to bypass the gearbox, my original thought for this would be to fit some sprockets and run either a heavy gauge chain (motor bike etc) or a duplex chain. With these being in the original housing they would be continually lubricated and contained if something went wrong, so should be very safe. Or have a new set of gears made, once I know what speed I need. :unsure: This option would also allow changing the ratios to counteract the reduction on the worm drive box? This in turn would enable the fitting of a slower rotating motor.

As for the Milemarker being two speeds, as I said in my original posting I just want to maintain the standard Husky line speed and don't see this as being relevant for my needs. Although the fact that hydraulics maintain their pull under load, there would be a significant benefit on the 3rd and 4th wraps on the drum. :)

As to the price of hoses and valves etc, as these are quite robust items and are likely to last it's a one off investment. Just look at all the machinery that use hudralics daily. Yes the control valves/solenoid packs are a bit pricy, but I don't consider them excessively so, as they should provide years of service, changing Albrights a couple of times would soon mount up as well. What I consider pricy at the moment are what the slightly larger than standard ZF74's are being sold for, especially when compared to the larger output/pressure pto/remote engine driven hydraulic pumps with electric clutches (ah well maybe I'll come up on the lottery one day <_< !)

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You could offer me £120 for an old NHW10000 plus assorted hydraulic bits that is sitting in a box at the back of the garage...

Niamh.

Hi there, thanks for the offer, maybe if I'd known before modifying the bumper to accomodate the Husky's higher offset drum! (always seem to get these offers after doing something). <_< For the moment I'll stick to my Husky, even if it means putting on another (NEW 5.5HP) electric motor this time.

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Hi there, thanks for the offer, maybe if I'd known before modifying the bumper to accomodate the Husky's higher offset drum! (always seem to get these offers after doing something). <_< For the moment I'll stick to my Husky, even if it means putting on another (NEW 5.5HP) electric motor this time.

Maybe you could sit a different winch on a metal spacer so you didn't have to modify the bumper? Just a thought

If you do go down the modifying your husky route I'd try to choose a hydraulic motor that is similar spec's to the milemarker or similar winch as these will calculated to work on the flow rate of the P/S pump then it will be a bit of experimentation with the gearing.

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Hi there, I was only hauling a 30ft tree across a section of bog (honest guv :( )!! But in my defence I should say that the motors that have burnt out were second hand and have had hard use. :rolleyes: It's just that with so much to do and so little time (heard that somewhere before) It doesn't look like I'm allowing enough time for the poor little things to cool down I quess :blush: Must do better as my old school reports used to say :)

30ft long tree [or was it 30foot in diameter :rofl:] through boggy ground would make it grunt hard.

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You must be doing something wrong. My husky has never burnt a motor & I've had it about 9 years. It used to on the front of my 90 & came with a standard 2.5hp motor which I changed to a 4.6 warm motor because it would stall fairly easily. Now it sits as a center winch on my challange truck & I need more power so will be changing a few things.

I wouldn't bother faffing about & just put a new 5.6hp bow 1 on it. It should pull really nice then.

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30ft long tree [or was it 30foot in diameter :rofl:] through boggy ground would make it grunt hard.

Yes it was 30ft long, I may be slow (and getting on a bit - but not senile yet!! :mellow: ) but I still think I know the diference between length and diameter, :P As you say through boggy ground making it grunt hard, could that be a possible cause why the motor burnt out? :o:blush:

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Yes it was 30ft long, I may be slow (and getting on a bit - but not senile yet!! :mellow: ) but I still think I know the diference between length and diameter, :P As you say through boggy ground making it grunt hard, could that be a possible cause why the motor burnt out? :o:blush:

possible & maybe dirty connections which could get hot & a long running motor adding to excess heat, not much airflow over the motor when winching.

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I could be persuded to swap a superwinch PTO winch for a husky in need of a new motor......

Hi there many thanks for the offer, but unfortunately as I am running a Jeep (for my sins :mellow: ) I don't have any way of running a PTO. Thats why I'm looking at the PS hydraulic system setups to find out if it is a viable option. I like the Husky's solid buid and the fact that the worm gear acts as a brake, no if's or but's, as soon as the motor stops (for what ever reason) the drum stops.

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possible & maybe dirty connections which could get hot & a long running motor adding to excess heat, not much airflow over the motor when winching.

Hi, thanks for the info. Took the winch off this afternoon and stripped it. It looks like a previous repair was done by bodge it and scarper ltd :angry: The joint at the bottom of one cable post had been soldered and when the motor got warm this solder let go :( Not only did the connection come loose but as the solder melted it dripped onto one of the field coil cables, whose insulation melted and began to short out. This was the smell that made me think the motor had burnt out. With some luck my local auto spark will get round to fixing it tommorrow :D I'm still going to look into the possibility of running it with hydraulic from the PS. I got interested in this possibility after reading a previous thread/article by White 90 back in June 2006 (Building a fast hydraulic winch) I would be interested to know if he's still a member and available? as any thoughts or advice from someone who has run a winch off the PS would be appreciated.

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Running the winch from a PAS pump , even an uprated one will only ever give you much less speed and power than a properly installed electric system. There are several winch install threads on here incl milemarkertypeS' thread on runnung a dual pas pump on a 90 powering a MM.

Hydraulics only come into there own with the right pump/motor and valveblocks pipes.

My hyd conv. on a Fairey mech winch is running a pto pump - approx 9 gal/min @2500rpm at 200bar to a dowty reversible gear motor -approx 6.5gal/min @ 2500rpm and 1/2" hyd pipework. This also runs the rear MM with the std RollerStator motor thru a changover valve.

A belt driven Hyd pump running thru an AC clutch may cope with the load when the belt(s) are dry...

Make sure your electrics are all well up to spec - wire x-section , relays , earths , batteries and alternator(s) and you will have much more success. Doubling the line for heavy pulls will help too

hth

Steveb

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Running the winch from a PAS pump , even an uprated one will only ever give you much less speed and power than a properly installed electric system. There are several winch install threads on here incl milemarkertypeS' thread on runnung a dual pas pump on a 90 powering a MM.

Hydraulics only come into there own with the right pump/motor and valveblocks pipes.

My hyd conv. on a Fairey mech winch is running a pto pump - approx 9 gal/min @2500rpm at 200bar to a dowty reversible gear motor -approx 6.5gal/min @ 2500rpm and 1/2" hyd pipework. This also runs the rear MM with the std RollerStator motor thru a changover valve.

A belt driven Hyd pump running thru an AC clutch may cope with the load when the belt(s) are dry...

Make sure your electrics are all well up to spec - wire x-section , relays , earths , batteries and alternator(s) and you will have much more success. Doubling the line for heavy pulls will help too

hth

Steveb

Hi there, yes this does help, as does any information that helps me to figure out what option will best suit my needs. As for making sure the electrics are in good order, I believe they are. All wiring was new when winch was installed (approx 9 months) 35mm3, new albright type solenoid and no problems with battery (heavy duty approx 12 months old) alternator checked/tested at this time.

As I said earlier, running off a PS pump would be temp. to study mounting/configuration/fabrication to upgrade to PTO/alternative at later date. Due to needing the winch and taking my 3 year old to hospital appointments I can't keep it off the road much as it's also my daily driver. Therefore all mods need to be done gradually. While I have considered a second pump, there is no room to mount a second onto the engine and no room to fit another belt, things are that tight on the 4Ltr Jeep engine.

Incidentally I had a look this afternoon and there may (I did say MAY!) be enough room to run a second pump off the bottom crank pulley. As a consideration would a dog gear very much like the manual crank handle, just the opposite angle similar to those used on early Series Landrovers for the Fairey capstan winches be up to driving a hydraulic pump?

Had the motor back from the local electrician this afternoon and is working. Hope to get round to reassembling and refitting this weekend. Appears that the fault was down to the A post terminal detaching itself and shorting out against the field coil cable. A relatively simple repair, but quite expensive.

It is this sort of problem that I find annoying with electric motors/circuits, something small goes wrong and no winch. At least with hydraulic systems they tend to be far more reliable. When they decide to play up, they still work (sort of!) either they will be down on power or they leak, not very often do they fail totally without warning.

All I am really attempting to achieve is a winch that works well, continuously and for long periods. Speed is not a major concern, getting the job done safely is!!

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Finally refitted the Husky and so far it's been tested by winching my mates Pajero up a slight incline to recoil the rope with no problems :D . So at the moment it's purring and I'm happy to have a working winch again ^_^

Still considering the hydraulic conversion and as such I could do with the info on pump/motor sizes/ratings which leave me confused :huh: as per my original posting, namely:

1, What size motor would be best suited (so that it could run off the PS pump initially - and cope with a larger pto/engine driven pump later) or vice versa?

2, What size pto/engine pump would be required?

3, How do pump/motor ratings work? I have seen them marked as cc/rev - Cu. ins :huh: , how can these be compared?

4, Is flow (GPM - Ltrs/min) what controls the effective speed of the motor?

5, What type of control valve would be needed to change winch direction - manual/electric solenoid?

I would be grateful for contributions towards clarifying my confusion. :unsure:

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  • 2 years later...

Hi guys,

Just managed to snag myself a mechanically driven capstan winch, great stuff but the main disadvantage is it prevents the use of a starting handle.

These posts have given me great encouragement to consider hydraulic conversion, driven off the power take off.

In fact, I think this is the only way to go.....!

Thanks fellas,

Norm.

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Hi guys,

Just managed to snag myself a mechanically driven capstan winch, great stuff but the main disadvantage is it prevents the use of a starting handle.

These posts have given me great encouragement to consider hydraulic conversion, driven off the power take off.

In fact, I think this is the only way to go.....!

Thanks fellas,

Norm.

The landrover capstans allowed use of starting handle , by replacing shearpin , as the capstan has virtually no resistance , I saw one with a bit of an extension on front bumper to support the handle , which was a standard one shortened HTSH

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wolfcat if thinking hydraulic, which for commercial usage rate is the system that makes sense, forget belt drive , it needs to be a mech drive , if no pto then drive off front of crank with some sort of dog drive , the landrover hydraulic winch was usually driven at engine speed eg 4th gear , if you can find one they are quite an easy system to mod , have done several in past. HTSH

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The landrover capstans allowed use of starting handle , by replacing shearpin , as the capstan has virtually no resistance , I saw one with a bit of an extension on front bumper to support the handle , which was a standard one shortened HTSH

Actually the winch I've got, has no provision for a starting handle, so obviously it's not a rover. I don't know what it is, there is no name on the sucker but there is a number on the casting so I might be able to google it to find out.

I like the idea of power take off but I don't know what control there is of the power take off, any ideas.

Thanks

Norm.

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