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Bryan Irons photos
Comparing a quality winch to brand X
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Bryan Irons photos
Comparing a quality winch to brand X
Gear reduction boxes are the muscle of any winch. Look for large, steel gears and a beefy housing to keep them in. The Ramsey unit allows for easy access and replacement parts are easily had at any authorized dealer.
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Bryan Irons photos
Comparing a quality winch to brand X
The clutch control lever on Brand X was already wallowed out after less than one year of unused service.
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Bryan Irons photos
Comparing a quality winch to brand X
Being the electrical dork that I am, I can tell you with certainty that not all cables are created equal. Look for oil and heat resistant cables and large diameters. Less weight equals more plastic.
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Bryan Irons photos
Comparing a quality winch to brand X
Widgets, love them or hate them, to us they are just eye candy.
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Bryan Irons photos
Comparing a quality winch to brand X
The large, series wound DC motor is easy to access and check when service is required.
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Bryan Irons photos
Comparing a quality winch to brand X
Brand X has a solid-state contactor meaning it requires a five-wire controller in order to operate. This means less moving and exposed parts in the housing.
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Bryan Irons photos
Comparing a quality winch to brand X
If all else fails in the boonies and we destroy/lose the controller, we could get the Ramsey unit to run with a butter knife. Brand X would be an extra-HD paperweight, which is how it landed in our shop!
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Bryan Irons photos
Comparing a quality winch to brand X
Small things like silver plated contacts ensure long contact life without fear of corrosion.
Story & photos by Bryan Irons
Don’t skimp on safety
We recently got our meat hooks on a Profile 12,000 lb winch from Ramsey and stashed it in the back of the shop for an upcoming project that will definitely require the hearty “Meat and Taters” that is synonymous with the Ramsey brand. While tucking the brute away, we passed an old “Brand X” winch languishing in the back confines of our junk farm, claiming to be a 12,000 lb unit as well. We could regurgitate the numbers that each manufacturer produces, but thought it would be better to demonstrate firsthand what we saw, and share what we have learned from the years and winches of yore.
We see winch failures first hand in two major categories, lack of use/maintenance failures, and overheating failures during long pulls. Maintenance routines are typically outlined in owner manuals. Typically, we like to take a half hour every three months and pull the cable out to check for any abrasions, broken cable wires and look for any bent or loose hardware. Ensure that you tension your cable back onto the spool while winding it up (we will cover this in a future installment). This is not just to check your cable; this also gets the electrical contactors moving again and keeps the grease of the inner workings from hardening up. Our second step is to check for proper torque on all your electrical connections and mounting hardware. Rumbling up and down trail shakes the living bejesus out of any threaded bolt or screw. Look out for abrasions where your power lines run through openings to the battery and take a peek at the controller plug contacts as well. A small brush of di-electric grease can keep corrosion issues at bay for years.
The electrical windings of a winch naturally dissipate heat when in use. The copper windings themselves have a small resistance that creates heat when current is running through them. The more current through the windings, the more heat is created. In order to rid the winch of the heat produced, you need a material that can “wick” away the heat and surface area to transfer it to the surrounding air. We have seen manufacturers in the past try to force air through the windings to cool them down, as well as “water to air” intercooler systems. Marginally effective as they were, these systems normally succumbed to fan and pump failures as well as introducing dirt and water to the internals. We personally like seeing a large, exposed motor casing like that on the Patriot here for cooling duties.
Hand held controller with built in thermal indicators are slowly becoming the norm from many of the big name manufacturers. In fact, Ramsey’s new “Sierra” line of winches comes with an algorithmic indicator and automatic shutdown system to protect itself. Our rule of thumb is actually executed with our hand; if you can’t keep it on the motor of your electric winch, it’s too hot! Time to take a breather and let it cool down before irreparable damage occurs.
Over the years and the many winches that have come through the gates at 4WDrive, we have learned to trust our hands. Cheap controllers can be singled out by feel. Plastic coated cables and ill-fitting plugs are a first sign. The Ramsey winch controller shown here is a waterproof unit with a comfortable feel and easy to use buttons even for chubby digits wearing a glove. Check out the clutch engage/disengage levers as well for smooth movement and positive locking. The Patriot 9,500 line has a “Semi-Automatic” clutch, which can go from free spool mode to engage by simply activating the motor. A winch as large as the 12,000 lb Patriot Profile here is a full manual unit with a sturdy rotating mechanism. The Brand X lever was loose already and felt like we were shifting through a bucket of marbles.
Sight is another important sense when looking for quality components. In our comparison you can see the physical size difference between the Ramsey and Brand X motor housings; the more surface area, the more heat can be released from the unit. Also, check the included power cables. Look for flexible rubber coating and weather sealed ends to keep moisture from wicking up the copper strands. Here “bigger is better” as the larger the diameter of the cable, the less the resistance you will incur when running heavy loads. This all leads to stronger pulling power, cooler running temperature, and a longer life expectancy.
The next time you’re pondering the differences when shopping for a winch, keep these points in mind. Remember that recovery gear is something that you may never want to use, but must work when you need it most. Editor Irons has spent more than a few hours trying to MacGyver his way out of sticky situations after his “cheap like borscht” gene made an impulse buy. It’s amazing what you and your five senses can tell you about a manufacturer and their commitment to top-notch products (maybe avoid taste this time). Having a real world side-by-side comparison told us who the clear winner is without having to look at the stats!