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Can I run my winch with a remote???

Started by Lumbergent, March 21, 2018, 09:04:11 PM

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Lumbergent

I'm beat!!! Running up and down the hill in knee deep snow is wearing me down.
Is there any way to patent some kind of remote on my Farma winch?


 
  
Futur Hobbit

Lumbergent

I need to add that I'm winching the new set of logs only half way up the hill. Kind of sorting and piling until thaws lets me use the road. When that happens it will be easier to get them out without destroying the forest floor.
Futur Hobbit

Lumbergent

Futur Hobbit

Jeff

The technical support board is NOT for equipment technical support. It is for website issues. I'm moving this to Forestry and Logging.
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Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
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redneckman

I have a Fransguard winch that I plan to add a small conpressor, a reservoir, a couple of air cylinders and solenoids to make an electric over air system to engage it.  The remote will send a signal to the reciever, which electrifies the solenoids, which controls the air pressure in the cylinders, which will engage the winch..........in theory. say_what

jason.weir

Quote from: redneckman on March 21, 2018, 09:57:39 PM
I have a Fransguard winch that I plan to add a small conpressor, a reservoir, a couple of air cylinders and solenoids to make an electric over air system to engage it.  The remote will send a signal to the reciever, which electrifies the solenoids, which controls the air pressure in the cylinders, which will engage the winch..........in theory. say_what

Wonder if this would work - is 110lb pull enough?  Not instant but  1/2" per second isn't bad.

Linear Actuator

add in a remote

Wireless Remote

you might have it all setup for a couple hundred dollars..

mike_belben

A harbor freight winch controller and a linear actuator or electric trailer jack.  
Praise The Lord

Lumbergent

for security reasons, Would the linear actuator disengage automatically when not pressing the remote button? Or would I have to press a reverse button? With the clutch on my winch all I need is a pulling pressure and release. 110 lbs might be enough is there a simple way to measure the force I use when pulling that rope manually?
Futur Hobbit

Resonator

There are new skidding winches with wireless remote control available, it might be easier, (and safer), to trade up to one of those.
Under bark there's boards and beams, somewhere in between.
Cuttin' while its green, through a steady sawdust stream.
I'm chasing the sawdust dream.

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47sawdust

Contact our sponsor Farma.They sell Krpan winches ,among which are remote winches.I have been investigating them myself.
I have no idea how one would retrofit a winch like you own.The factory units all seem to have a electric(12volt) over hydraulic built into the winch to operate the winch and brake.Not cheap.
Mick
1997 WM Lt30 1999 WM twin blade edger Kubota L3750 Tajfun winchGood Health Work is my hobby.

luvmexfood

I have an electric wench mounted on the tongue of my trailer. Used to have to get off the tractor, use the wired remote to do some winching then back on the tractor. Repeat. Bought a wireless remote for $30.00. Best money I ever spent.
Give me a new saw chain and I can find you a rock in a heartbeat.

Hilltop366

There has been talk about a DIY winch remote before on the forum with lots of ideas kicked around, not sure if anyone tried to make one or if it was successful.

Can try a search. (near top of the page)


mike_belben

Quote from: Lumbergent on March 22, 2018, 08:12:44 AM
for security reasons, Would the linear actuator disengage automatically when not pressing the remote button? Or would I have to press a reverse button? With the clutch on my winch all I need is a pulling pressure and release. 110 lbs might be enough is there a simple way to measure the force I use when pulling that rope manually?
For safety you mean?
  
I dont know what budget, skills, tools or resource junkpile you have so i cant just give you a simple answer that will be sure to fit.

You need a wireless remote DC switching device. Cheapest is surely the controller that comes with the harbor freight $60 atv winch.  Two wires hook to battery and then you get two other wires that will each get 12vdc independant of the other leg, so a forward and a reverse for the winch.  But you can do anything you want with this.  It could be a remote doorbell or lightbulb, thats up to what you build.
Now that have a remote, you need an actuator to physically push or pull that winch lever.  The required poundage will easily be found by pulling your winch engage lever through a fish scale.  Also note the required stroke length at the point of measure, this is a critical dimension in selecting your actuator device. 

 
Where it gets complicated is how do you convert a DC on/off voltage into a winch lever being moved.  DC makes motors turn, and motors turn threads to create linear motion from rotary motion.  So this DC actuator is a pretty direct way to bridge the gap here, but it has a shortcoming.   youre right, the retracting process will require pushing the reverse button which spins the motor in reverse, and the thread draws the jack post back in, releasing the winch dog.  Whats worse is these controllers turn off after a period of time automatically at your tractor wont mind destroying itself.  


Safety can be added in but it turns into a rube goldberg contraption pretty fast.  Unless someone invented a one way, spring return dc linear actuator that i dont know about yet, because thats what you really need between the controller and the lever.  

The pro machines weve seen in poland use air which is an excellent way.. It can do all sorts of stuff, engage winch, engage brake, throttle up....  But you need to make the leap and build an onboard air system.  
Air over hydraulics is even more systems.  

At some point it may just be better to fashion a pulley rig and a hundred foot of rope.  Or walk back and forth to the machine, remembering that exercise is just as important as income for your long term health.  
Praise The Lord

redneckman

The nice thing about air IMO, is that it is fast, and safer.  I have a little VLAIR DC compressor that is used on auto air suspension systems, and a 1 gallon air tank.  I am using air cylinders and solenoids.  The solenoids are all controlled by a 100' range electric wireless winch remote.  I will do all my wiring to the tractor with a RV style plug and put a hardwired winch controll on the tractor as well.  As long as the appropriate size piping is used, the winch will react to the pressing of the remote almost instantly.  Also, once the remote button is released, the solenoid will dump the air out of the cylinder.   The winch remote also hase a power button on it that will cut power to the system if there is an emergency.   There are a couple of reasons why I am goign this way over a DC actuator.  First, the fastest actuators is still going to take a couple of seconds to engage.  In those seconds, the winch is slipping until the actualor is fully engaged.  On the other hand, if you need to stop the winch quickly, the actuator will take a couple of seconds to disengage so the winch will stop winching.  Plus, if for some reason the actuator looses power, it will remain in the position it was in once the power was cut.  So, if the actuator is engaged and you are winching, and if for some reason you loose power, you will loose control to stop the winch. 

Also, to make it a fully remote system, you need a way to control the winch brake.  So, you will actually need 2 actuators or air cylinders (one to engage the winch, and the other to control the brake).   Going with a air system that is normally open is a much safer way to me.  I will begin installing my system soon.  I will do a posting and take lots of pictures.  Of course, this is all in theory.  I am a inventor at heart.  Remeber, Thomas Edison tried over 700 times to invent the light bulb.  He never said he failed; he just figured out over 700 ways not to make it.  I may figure out there are at least that many ways not to make a manual winch a remote opertated one.

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