Forestry winch Adjustment?/Problems (Merged topics)

[Al B]

This is a follow up on my winch problems.  I did get a phone call from the Fransgard No. Amer. Sales Manager.  Seemed very knowledgeable, and patient.  Apparently he used to work in the woods, so he knows the subject well.

My winch is a 2800, but the larger models are built very similar.  So some of what he told me should pertain to those and some stuff to Forestry winches in general. 

His advice  - keep the ½ moon steel plate the pulley rests and turns on     
                                                                  (“Turning plate”) well greased.

      -Lube the cable with grease
      -Lube the drive chain with grease
      -Don’t transport logs attached to the cable – always use chain 
         Slots to transport.  Possibility of damaging the inards’ –
         shaft/bearings - if a log hangs up.

Icing up – He acknowledged that it was possible, but quite uncommon.  He questioned me, trying to find the cause.  It appears that the clutch was not adjusted properly when I purchased it.  He did say that a lot of dealers do not know how to do it correctly.  (After adjusting it per his instructions, and comparing it to how it was when new, I strongly agree.)  Mine was way too tight which apparently had a lot to do with the ice, and erratic behavior.

He also pointed out that part No. 6, in parts diagram - a bracket at the bottom of the drum - sets the tension, which controls the cable pulling out. The two studs with nuts adjust this.  There is a fiber pad on this bracket, and it is possible to get ice here also.

The actual adjusting of the clutch is quite simple, and fast.  It is also not much related to the way the instruction book says to do it.  I will attempt to explain.

   -Loosen the two adjusting bolts and locknuts
   -Pull the clutch by the rope (No. 4) all the way up and over until it rests on the “stop”.  (The “stop” has no part no.  It is a welded piece of steel that sits in the middle that limits the movement, to vertical, of the clutch (arm).  Not hard to spot.)
   -Now tighten the bolts –snug.
   -Tighten the locknuts
   -A way to check correctness is  - locate the small pin (No. 3) that is inside bottom part of clutch.  There are three of them.  Looking down from the top, you can only see one.  This pin should be between 11 and 12 o’clock, only 1/8 to ¼ inch to the left of top center, when the clutch is up against the “stop”.

It is real simple.  If I didn’t explain it well email me and I will try to explain further. 

It now is as powerful as its capabilities will allow.  Just as important it is a lot easier, and safer to use.  The “pull” required on the rope is a lot less than it was.

He said that he was working on a new instruction book.

At any rate, I was grateful to receive his help, and the winch appears to be working without any unusual occurrences.

[farmerdoug]

It is nice when company managers go out of their way to help when i really should be done by the dealers.  In my vegetable farming there is alot of specialized equipment that you just do not run down to the nearest farm equipment dealer and buy.  So I have found that most of the companies are quite willing to help as they need you just as much you need them for the business.  A friend several years ago bought a brand new beet topper for table(red) beets.  He started using it and it was just making a royal mess of things so the local dealer came out to see if he could help.  He could not find anything wrong with the machine.  So the company sent out a sales manager and still no solution.  Then a company mechanic and still no answer.  So finally they sent out one of the engineers that helped design it.  He followed it up and down the field for four hours.  Mind you all of this time it is making a mess that required the beets be hand pulled which is how he labors did the years before.  But without the tops you can guess their fits.  So at lunch the engineer crawls under the machine on his back and has a guy rotate the PTO shaft by hand.  He found the problm that took two weeks to solve.

They put the cutting blades on backwards at the factory.  My buddy was *pithed as he wasted 10 acres of beets and almost lost his contract.  The company gave him the machine for his problems after they righted the blades.  Five years later he sold it for more than he was originally charged as he stopped growing beets.

[maple flats]

I log with a Fransgard 4000 and have never had any problems with the clutch not working properly. When you have the clutch adjusted properly there should be no slip when pulling (pulling should always be done with the clutch lever pulled all the way. When the clutch is released there should be no movement even with an empty cable and with the PTO on. I always pull by the cable but never pull the cable up too tight so that the log or logs are free to move and turn without binding. I used to be a FRansgard dealer before I sold the business and we once had a bent drum shaft because the owner pulled the logs up too tight and when he turned the cable was too tight for the logs to turn freely and the log ends hit the blade and tried to swing the log from the short end of a long lever, the shaft was the weak link. Therefor if you do pull by the cable leave enough cable that it does not bind but you can still lift the end of the log. In doing it this way if you get stuck or come to a hill too steep you can release the load by tripping the dog, drive away to a better spot and re-winch the logs again. This is important especially with a smaller tractor or on wetter ground. Once you get the adjustment correct you should be pleased with the winch. If your tractor is marginal as far as weight vs. load you might be better off if you do pull by hooking the load to the blade which will pull from a lower point and thus not try to lit the front end of the tractor as a higher pull point would and even though the winch would likely minimize chances of flippin the tractor it could still throw the operator and cause serious injury or worse.

[J_T]

Al B Got off my cheep spell and went to Rual King today  :DThis stuff I got today is called Sproctor called pullmore #71205 on yhe can it is for chains cable and a bunch of things three or four bucks a can from Woodstock Ill by way of Canada 1-800-766-7655 Phone # off the can. What I uster get was good stuff haven't tried this yet. If you don't have any luck and want some let me know.