normal for winch drum to reach 200F?

[Wildcat]

my mile marker winch has been in storage for @ 9 years. i got it out today to remove the steel cable and put on synthetic. i hooked the winch to a lifepo4 12.8v battery on the garage floor. as i was spooling off the cable i noticed puffs of smoke coming off the drum. i kept going because there was no way i could physically pull the cable off.

got all the cable off and tore the winch down thinking it needed some grease. cleaned all the grease out and regreased. reassembled the winch and just hooked it back to the battery. after 50-60 seconds of line in, the MOTOR side of the drum was 200 degrees F.

is this normal? at what temp will synthetic line melt on the drum?

while i had the motor side apart, nothing seemed out of place, burnt or otherwise. both sealed bearings on the motor spindle turned smooth and free.

 

[Wildcat]

i just googled it and could it be the brake? is that inside the drum?

 

[Wildcat]

took the drum off. removed the brake. it doesn’t look dirty or broken. i got a call into mile marker to see if i can get a replacement.

 

[86scotty]

Let us know what they say about acceptable temps. Good intel for lots of people here. I've never thought about it.

 

[andy_b]

This is the main problem with most winches that have the brake inside the drum. As it spools out, the brake uses inertia to press against the drum housing as the motor winds down to keep the rope from free spooling out. Few brands go to the effort to build it differently; the only one I can think of off the top of my head is ComeUp (I’m sure there are others). I usually put the winch into freespool if I need to power out - my non-empiric testing suggests this limits how hot it gets.

 

[Wildcat]

i originally had it in freespool and it was a real struggle to pull the line out by hand.

 

[andy_b]

i originally had it in freespool and it was a real struggle to pull the line out by hand.

Freespool plus power out usually lets me get the line out without getting as hot as if it was in gear. YMMV.

 

[Wildcat]

not sure if i fixed it or not but i rotated the spring tensioner two flats on the rod, twisted the spring into it basically pretensioning the spring. initial floor test after running “line in” for 30-40 seconds, drum only got to 95*-100*.

everything went back together alot easier too.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

We had mile marker winches on a lot of our old brush trucks, and they would get too hot to touch. Melted my armored rescue gloves once on a drum....

We would even spray them with water under heavy use.... switched to Warns, but we also almost never use the winches anymore.

Curious to hear what they say,

years ago Overland Journal did a winch test and I think they measured drum and motor temps during the test.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Tug of War: The Ultimate 12v Winch Test - Expedition Portal

We tested 12-volt winches to their limits – and beyond (originally published by Overland Journal in the Gear Issue, 2009) By Chris Marzonie

expeditionportal.com

Overland Journal Put Synthetic Rope Winches to the Test. Here are the Results.

If you’re thinking of buying winches, my advice is to research and buy the best you can afford as they are best described as a safety device.

expeditionportal.com