Synthetic winch cable again sorry....

[Stevie D]

I'd don't want to opena a big can of worms - so only asking if anybody has used this or is it not suitable?

Anybody tried this stuff? Any good or waste of cash?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140894037514?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

I need to replace my steel wire cable on the disco, using an x9 with an uprated motor, no winch callanges or anything like that just to odd bit of recovcery out of sticky situations etc. I'm a synthetic virgin lol.

Unfortunatley don't have the budget for the normaly recomended bow rope or the dyneema.I know buy once and all that - but monies tight and I need to buy carefully.

I know of a guy that is using this - but he's using it with a suk and not sure if it's man enough for the disco's weight. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170896429732?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

Thanks, Steve

[tuko]

The first ad said "similar to" various synthetic lines, therefore I would think that the quality would be second rate. I wouldn't buy it.

Myself and several users on this forum have bought from Chris at Winch-it on eBay, here is one of his line packages: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100ft-10mm-Synthetic-Winch-Rope-Hawse-Hook-Dyneema-SK75-self-recovery-4x4-/281028363911?pt=UK_Lifting_Moving_Equipment&hash=item416e988687

Excellent service and products from Chris.

Todd.

[Stevie D]

Many Thanks will give Chris a call to see what he has / recommends etc!

Steve

[Nigelw]

For £20 more I would go with the branded any day!

[garymorris]

I'd give David Bowyer a ring if I were you because when i enquired about a plasma rope for an X9 he told me "X9's get hot and then plasma rope can melt" , I spoke to Gwyn Lewis as well and he said the same , so I went for a new steel rope off Gwyn as he's on my doorstep.

I didn't ask why they get hot but I'd imagine it's something to do with the motor / brake design .maybe a grown up will be give you a better explanation .

Hth

Gary

[zardos]

I used plasma rope on my x9 many years ago in novice challenges and never had a problem with the rope melting in the 3 years of running it.

While yes if you were doing a lot of spooling out under load because the brake is inside of the drum then the friction will eventually heat the drum, but never to melting point (but might degrade the strength over time).

[mickeyw]

I agree the drums do get warm on winches with cone brakes inside the drum. How hot they get - I can't say, as mine is normally covered in steel rope

Excuse my questioning why you have chosen to go with synthetic. Are you involved with an organisation that prohibits steel ropes? If not, I'd stay with steel, especially if your use will be occasional and for your own recovery.

I pick up new take off steel ropes for my Warn M8000 from Mr Bowyer for just £20 a go. The last one I broke had seen a few years use and had corroded through. Winter road salt is not good for winch ropes.

[garrycol]

If you treat it with care and know its limitations (just like steel rope) - synthetic rope overall is superior - much lighter, you can get a little more on your drum, size for size is stronger, floats, does not whip back if it breaks, no steel wires to rip you apart, can be rejoined using standard rope splicing techniques. Down side it does not abrade very well (there are abrasion sleeves for this), does not like UV (sunlight) but not an issue in the UK (in Aust a bag over the winch fixes this), can abrade if it gets dirt in it - toss it in the washing machine after use to clean it, does not like heat from the drum but there are insulated sleeves to go over the drum if this is an issue.

Garry

[BogMonster]

The issue with in-drum brakes is to do with lowering out a long distance under load i.e. lowering yourself down a hill or something similar, or running out the whole rope under power.

A quick winch out to slacken the rope followed by freespooling the rope out to where you want it and then winching in (i.e. a normal recovery) should cause no problems unless there is a fault with the winch brake and it's dragging when winching in. Personally I have never needed to lower any vehicle under load in many years driving off road so I can't really see where you would need this outside challenge competitions, though all three of my winches (Husky then 8274 now Milemarker) have not had in-drum brakes. Most of my recovery is fairly short pulls anyway, as you don't carry a heavy ground anchor further than you need to!

I should imagine that suppliers over-egg the problem a bit to make sure they don't get people coming back moaning their rope has turned to mush. The basic rule is don't power out the rope, freespool it, and if your freespool is seized or broken, then fix it.

[UdderlyOffroad]

The issue with in-drum brakes is to do with lowering out a long distance under load i.e. lowering yourself down a hill or something similar, or running out the whole rope under power.

....

I should imagine that suppliers over-egg the problem a bit to make sure they don't get people coming back moaning their rope has turned to mush. The basic rule is don't power out the rope, freespool it, and if your freespool is seized or broken, then fix it.

Thing is, I can think of a few non-competition applications where the winch is powered out with load on it....people using their winch to offload trailers for instance, or ahem, tree-surgeon-style applications. In which case, steel rope is definitely the way to go...