iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Winch mainline

Started by mad murdock, March 19, 2010, 04:28:30 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

mad murdock

Anyone ever used that new light weight composite rope for winch mainline?  The Helicopter industry has gone to the stuff like crazy, as it is much lighter than wire rope, and doesn't stretch like steel, so when it breaks it does not snap back so bad.
I know that it is supposed to be used for winch line also.  I know it is alot more pricey than steel, .....Just wondering.
Turbosawmill M6 (now M8) Warrior Ultra liteweight, Granberg Alaskan III, lots of saws-gas powered and human powered :D

NWwoodsman

I've seen it on a chainsaw winch, when it brakes it dosen't kill you, so thats cool.

stonebroke

Most anything that doesn't kill you is cool. :D :D :D :D

Stonebroke

bill m

I think the rope you are refering to is Amsteel made by Samson. I don't think it should be used for logging because of abrasion. You could go on their web site and contact them about your application.
NH tc55da Metavic 4x4 trailer Stihl and Husky saws

chevytaHOE5674

It is nice stuff (light weight, doesn't birds nest, etc) but has many drawbacks. It is not chafe resistant at all, so if it gets rubbed on stuff it will break in a hurry, it also degrades with sunlight, and if it gets run through the mud and left uncleaned it will weaken it.

barbender

Bailey's sold it for a while for mainlines, they didn't have it anymore the last time I checked. I'd bet they had too many problems with it, mainly abrasion. I was thinking about getting it pretty hard, it sure would be nice to be pulling a rope off of the drum versus a stiff old steel wire :)
Too many irons in the fire

stonebroke

There were some studies done that said even with the extra cost the improved productivity more then paid for it.

Stonebroke


bill m

It can be used for winching but not the way we would like to as in pulling in a hitch of logs. A winch on a vehicle for getting unstuck or moving something out of the way would be ok. Utility companies use it for pulling overhead power lines, setting poles, transformers and such. It works great on boat and atv winches. Arborists use it on their chipper winches.
NH tc55da Metavic 4x4 trailer Stihl and Husky saws

captain_crunch

Have heard rope line will work for occasional use per say winch on Rv but wont cut it as heavy duty usage
M-14 Belsaw circle mill,HD-11 Log Loader,TD-14 Crawler,TD-9 Crawler and Ford 2910 Loader Tractor

barbender

 I saw a study a government forestry agency did on it posted on the web a while ago, I can't remember where. It had a favorable review in the short term study. I think if you where careful with it it would be fine, but what are you gaining if you have to baby your mainline?
Too many irons in the fire

Bobus2003

Quote from: bill m on March 20, 2010, 06:49:14 PM
It can be used for winching but not the way we would like to as in pulling in a hitch of logs. A winch on a vehicle for getting unstuck or moving something out of the way would be ok. Utility companies use it for pulling overhead power lines, setting poles, transformers and such. It works great on boat and atv winches. Arborists use it on their chipper winches.

I had access to 6000ft of this stuff a few months ago.. I had thought about it, but it is easy to cut if your pulling through rocks.. I have seen it get cut pulling powerline when it goes through a stuck dolly

mad murdock

Thanks for all of the feedback!!  I have heard some o fthe same concerns for ground based ops... i.e. abrasion , dirt contamination, UV exposure, accelerated wear.  Our local rigging supplier has it for a pretty reasonable price, though more than steel, he supplies alot of it to the marine industry, where of course, the working environment is much more freindly than woods.  Since I am not anymore a full time logger, I might load up my gearmatic 8A with the stuff to try it, when my mainline gets to a point where I need to replace it.  If and when I do, I will post all the info here for others to see.  The FF is an awesome place! Thanks for all the great input!!
Turbosawmill M6 (now M8) Warrior Ultra liteweight, Granberg Alaskan III, lots of saws-gas powered and human powered :D

stonebroke

I would love to see a real world review by someone I could trust. Go for it.



Stonebroke

chevytaHOE5674

Make sure your drum is shiny smooth as well as the fairlead. In fact you should replace the metal rollers on the fairlead with UHMW ones.

01crewcab

Quote from: stonebroke on March 22, 2010, 08:31:15 AM
I would love to see a real world review by someone I could trust. Go for it.



Stonebroke
I believe a pretty in depth study was done by a professor at Oregon State U., a couple of years ago. If I remember correctly one of the uses they looked at was using for wrappers for log loads.
2100(2),480, 281, 181,372XPW, 460,435,350,61(4),51-Huskys
49SP, 630Super(3),670's(4), 830, 920, 930 Jonsered's
S-XL925 Homelite
SP125C, 790, 250, 1010 Macs
27Ton Troybilt Splitter
NRA Life Endowment Member
Viet Nam Vet

captain_crunch

Hope it works better for something better than wrappers on Log truck one slice in coating and without special coating to reseal jacket instant JUNK.(not to mention Gold is cheaper) The rope they now put on pick up winches would be more of interest to me. But since we do not have to worry about Dinosaurs peeing on cable anymore we have had moderate sucsess with wire rope :o :o :o
M-14 Belsaw circle mill,HD-11 Log Loader,TD-14 Crawler,TD-9 Crawler and Ford 2910 Loader Tractor

chep

Does any one have any more opinions on the amsteel product... you've had a few months to run it

KyMasterLogger

bringing this topic back up.

i am running amsteel blue on a 440C jd skidder. i went with the 1 inch diameter rope as a mainline, and 2- 9ft 9/16 swaged chokers. im guessing i pull 400-800 bf per turn,  so far i have skid 200 mbf doyle scale. my personal opinion of this rope...I LOVE THIS STUFF!! weighs in at somewhere around 20 pounds per hundred feet. my chokes and bells weigh more than the mainline. easy on my hands. i can grab the rope and run with it. under tension, it spools up flat and pulls off the drum easier than steel line. im sure its a lot less wear on the winch drum and fairleads to. after the 200 mbf i have used it, it still looks pretty good. its color has faded and its dirty..but it still holds. the first day i used it..i tried to break it with a straight pull and could not. i also made sure it wasnt rubbing other trees and was clear of tops, limbs and general abrasion.

the worst part about it is the price and it was $10.30 a foot. i was using 75' 3/4 swaged cable and paying about 225 for a spool. the rope was nearly $800.

chevytaHOE5674

Quote from: KyMasterLogger on April 03, 2011, 03:03:11 PM
it still looks pretty good. its color has faded and its dirty..but it still holds.

If I was you I would get the garden hose out and wash it good. Dirt down in the braids of the rope acts like sand paper and will cause it to chafe and eventually break.

LorenB

I have been using the blue synthetic winch line on my MileMarker hydraulic winch for a while.  The winch is used on the back of my farm tractor.  The line is 3/8" and about 100' long.  I don't have enough experience with the new line to have strong opinions about it, but I have already noticed a few things. 

The line is really strong, but really fragile.  That contradiction results because of the nature of the line.  It is strong in that it will pull as much as a comparably sized steel rope.  It is fragile in that it can't take as much abuse as a steel winch line. 

As previously stated, this line is very susceptible to damage from sharp objects.  You can cut it with a pair of scissors.  Try that with your steel line.  I wouldn't want to pull it along a rock, or even a tree, but I wouldn't do that with a wire rope winch line either. 

On the other hand, I can run my hand along the synthetic line, with or without gloves.  Try that with a wire rope and you'll have serious cuts from the broken strands that stand up like little ice picks. 

Its light weight makes the synthetic line easier to use.  It's easier to unspool and to position where you want it.  It doesn't kink or twist up. 

I have already seen the synthetic line show problems with the fairlead.  When I installed the synthetic line, I removed my roller fairlead and installed the smooth, aluminum, hawse-type fairlead that was recommended.  This was a mistake.  With any kind of sideways pressure on the fairlead the winch line would rub hard enough to create enough friction to start melting the line.  I could see blue streaks on the aluminum.  Since the purpose of a fairlead is to allow you to winch from some other direction than straight, it seems a bit silly to have one that causes problems.  I have since bought a nice, chrome-plated, roller fairlead.  I hope that it will avoid the friction problem.  I see that some suppliers offer polyurethane rollers for fairleads.  If I have trouble with my chrome one, I'll try them. 

My reason for switching from the wire rope was mostly safety.  I don't have a lot of experience with winches and was always concerned with the consequences of a breaking line.  I know that the stretched steel line can store up a lot of energy as it stretches before it lets go.  That energy can wind up sending the heavy line right towards your head. 

The synthetic line doesn't stretch as much, so it doesn't store up as much energy.  Also, if it does break, it isn't likely to cause as much damage because the line itself doesn't weigh as much.  (I still wouldn't like to get hit with it, but maybe I won't bend tractor parts.) 

So far, I am very happy with the new line.  I continue to baby it with the hope that it will last a long time.  I think that if you are very careful about how you route the line, and pay attention to the potential friction points, it should serve you well. 
Loren
Baker 3667D portable sawmill, Cook's edger, Logrite arches & peaveys.  Husky 272XP chainsaw & two Echos.

captain_crunch

Talked to a friend and he said it works great as long as you don't use it ::) Might work with NO ground contact but mud and dirt eat it ??? ???
M-14 Belsaw circle mill,HD-11 Log Loader,TD-14 Crawler,TD-9 Crawler and Ford 2910 Loader Tractor

John Woodworth

wouldn't wast the time, if you have to babysit it and pull baby turns  it's not worth it. 1/2'' line  on a mdl. 8 lasts forver and does not weigh that much.
Two Garret 21 skidders, Garret 10 skidder, 580 Case Backhoe, Mobile Dimension sawmill, 066, 046 mag, 044, 036mag, 034, 056 mag, 075, 026, lewis winch

Thank You Sponsors!