Warn Series 12 Deep Fording Winch Project

[bjowett]

An aftermarket planetary winch has come along that finally piques my interest... the Warn Series 12 Deep Fording Winch. Numero Uno consideration - waterproof, real seals on the drum. Second, overbuilt. As far as I can tell, it is the same winch that Warn currently sells for the H1 Hummers. Downsides...While the 4.5 HP motor and contactor are 24V, it shouldn't be a problem to swap in some HD Curtis Albright 12V contactors and a nice 12V 6hp XP motor. The mounting pattern is also smaller at 8.5"W vs. the standard 10". When it arrives I'll be sure to break it all down for some tweaking and take some pics to post. This one will be fun....

Costs so far.

Winch NIB ebay deal $1200 delivered
6 HP XP motor $300 - $350
C/A Contactors $100 - $200
Sell 24V motor and contactor for ??

http://www.warn.com/industrial/severe_duty/pn63891.shtml

 

[Momrocks]

Interesting. What do you expect for line speed when you retrofit the 6.0 XP motor?

 

[bjowett]

This winch won't be a rocketship, but should have some serious yank and be very reliable. The XP9500 runs unloaded at a published 38 FPM on the first layer of the drum and it has a 156:1 ratio. The series 12 has double the ratio, 315:1. We can speculate that on the first layer it'll run 19 FPM. Anyone have any top layer numbers for the XP? The speed while loaded should improve a bit over the standard 12k pounders w/ a 4.5 motor.

 

[bjowett]

I forgot that the drum diameter on the 9.5xp is 2.5, and the series 12 has a massive 4", so the line speed calculations above won't be correct. Using the 6 hp motor with the 16.5ti consumer model 315 ratio, we can speculate this winch will easily pull in the 15k range. It shares little or nothing with the consuer winches, everything is bigger and beefier.

 

[ntsqd]

I thought that I'd have a look at the numbers and see what might result.

The XP with it's 156:1 ratio, 2.5" drum OD, and 38 ft/min no load speed means that the motor itself is spinning just over 9000 rpm. First wrap, full load pulls it down to 1800 rpm.
Assuming the same motor speed range, that motor with the 4" drum and the 315 redux ratio ranges from 30 fpm to 6 fpm (first wrap) depending on loading.

 

[bjowett]

Thanks for the calculations.

Gear box is large and heavy, sealed, might have to add a breather. Anyone ever convert one of these to gear lube?

Large 4" diameter drum bearings. Real doube lip seals, possibly viton.

Remote, large rocker switch is easy to use with bulky gloves. Plugs are keyed and waterproof.

 

[Michael Slade]

That is the winch I have on my CrewCab. It is the bomb. I also have the contactor pack with it as well. You will love it.

 

[Stumpalump]

It looks narrower than the other 12000's I've seen but that may be an optical illusion since the shipping weight is 150lbs. Thanks for showing it !

 

[bjowett]

Nice to hear of one in use...thanks.

You are not looking at an illusion, the winch is 1.5" narrower than the consumer series.

 

[java]

looks massive!

 

[gearbox]

Jesus, you must have some big fish in Massachusetts!

 

[ntsqd]

Thanks for the calculations.

Gear box is large and heavy, sealed, might have to add a breather. Anyone ever convert one of these to gear lube?

You're welcome. I would first consider using ATF. I don't see any gain in gear lube over grease.

Large 4" diameter drum bearings. Real doube lip seals, possibly viton.

Bonus!!!
That makes it worth much more to me.

Remote, large rocker switch is easy to use with bulky gloves. Plugs are keyed and waterproof.

Am I seeing an AMP "Cannon" plug and socket there? Looks like the plug fits over 3 bayonet lugs on the socket?

 

[bjowett]

My thoughts on a gear lube or even a flowable grease like an NGLI #0 or #00 is that it can get back into the bearings that the planetary gears spin on. The #2 grease that is used will eventually cavity out of the way of everything. ATF might be a little too thin.... leak past things.

One reason I like the Superwinch Husky and the Warn 8274... sealed gear boxes. This joins the list....

That is a Cannon 3 prong plug. You like?