Power upgrades for heavy winching?

[AdventurePig]

MIght be a dumb question, but I'll ask, how does one go about assessing an existing winching system to determine gauge of wire. Would pics posted here suffice? Do most cables have labels on the jacket/insulation? Thx in advance.

I also need to inspect my alternator, since at some point the PO installed what I think is a GM one-wire setup. I have no idea what my alt. is putting out.

 

[Rickyd]

Need? Sure! $2500 is a lot of coin.

And honestly at that size wouldn't a hydraulic winch have a better duty cycle and possibly be faster...PTO pump depending of course.

And at some point...it really doesn't matter how big of a winch you have...at 4400 lbs there's only so much you can pull before you're pulling the Jeep and not your load.

I'm a little reluctant to strap my Jeep to a tree to get it to hold still... afraid to bend or twist my frame.

View attachment 533726

Found another vehicle abandoned in the woods yesterday. Going to have to do a little road construction. The hill it got dumped off on has heavy brush growth and it'll be easier to drag it 500' down an old skid road to another spur road. No wheels and the entire front end was disassembled.

View attachment 533727

-Mac

You might want to chain the hood under the front end so it will skid?

 

[macleanflood]

You might want to chain the hood under the front end so it will skid?

Agreed if it wasn't like on an 80 degree slope, I could barely stand up yet alone hang on...and I was afraid if I jostled the load too much it would slide into a trail below or worse the creek 100' below that. I was really on the edge of this being anywhere close to safe enough.

-Mac

 

[macleanflood]

MIght be a dumb question, but I'll ask, how does one go about assessing an existing winching system to determine gauge of wire. Would pics posted here suffice? Do most cables have labels on the jacket/insulation? Thx in advance.

I also need to inspect my alternator, since at some point the PO installed what I think is a GM one-wire setup. I have no idea what my alt. is putting out.

Most winches have some documentation as to their max amperage.

Then you use a chart like this one...granted this one only goes to 200a...to determine the size of the wire.

https://www.bluesea.com/support/art...oosing_the_Correct_Wire_Size_for_a_DC_Circuit

-Mac

 

[srimes]

Need? Sure! $2500 is a lot of coin.

It sure is. That's why you need it and I don't!

And honestly at that size wouldn't a hydraulic winch have a better duty cycle and possibly be faster...PTO pump depending of course.

Probably, yeah. But it would cost more, too.

And at some point...it really doesn't matter how big of a winch you have...at 4400 lbs there's only so much you can pull before you're pulling the Jeep and not your load.

That's where plenty of line and rigging accessories come into play. Snatch back to a tree and the jeep sees 1/2 the load. Add a 2nd snatch at the tree and the jeep sees 1/3 the load.


Thanks for helping to keep our trails clean!

 

[macleanflood]

That's where plenty of line and rigging accessories come into play. Snatch back to a tree and the jeep sees 1/2 the load. Add a 2nd snatch at the tree and the jeep sees 1/3 the load.

Yeah I even brought a 80' extension rope aka @mrblaine OG test rope...and had plenty of rings... it's really hard to think through all the details when it's hot, you just spent all day welding the trailer back together, and you've clambered up and down that hill for the 15th time. That and (the second day) we rigged 20' up a spindley tree.

-Mac

 

[macleanflood]

9.5 xp got a work out today. Took it like a champ. No issues with my battery or alternator.

-Mac

 

[GTTJ]

Went through three alternators. The first one was whatever stock one the PO put on. Second one was a Durango 130a built by Zilkowski's Auto Electric in Springfield, OR...that one burned up a diode bridge and was a constant PIA. Current one... excuse the pun...is a brand new 130a sourced by Zilkowski's. Apparently I cracked the frame last summer reinstalling the engine in the new frame.

And so far that one is working beautifully.

Is there a recommended alternator replacement? I dont need one at the moment but would want to upgrade when the need arises.

 

[macleanflood]

Is there a recommended alternator replacement? I dont need one at the moment but would want to upgrade when the need arises.

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads...o-alternator-into-your-jeep-wrangler-tj.3979/

As to actual brand...I got mine from Zilkowski's Auto Electric in Springfield OR. I've heard various tales but if I bought one elsewhere I'd go Denso or AC Delco.

-Mac

 

[astjp2]

Welding cables are the best. It's not just the gauge but the number of strands for maximum amps.

Aircraft wire is even better, just need big crimper, the greenly hex crimper not one of those hammer crimper.

 

[mrblaine]

Aircraft wire is even better, just need big crimper, the greenly hex crimper not one of those hammer crimper.

Better in what way?

 

[astjp2]

Better in what way?

All the wire is silver plated, the wire strands are smaller but carry the same load, /0 wire is one gauge smaller for the same amp capacity, tefzel insulation, high temp rated., one thing it doesn’t line is lots of flexing.

 

[mrblaine]

All the wire is silver plated, the wire strands are smaller but carry the same load, /0 wire is one gauge smaller for the same amp capacity, tefzel insulation, high temp rated., one thing it doesn’t line is lots of flexing.

I don't see that all of it is but the warnings, restrictions, and problems I learned about plus the significantly higher cost make that stuff anything but better for what we need.

 

[macleanflood]

We could just run solid copper bus bars from the winch to the battery...aside from the aesthetics, weight and obvious issues with the hot bar touching grounding points we'd solve one minor problem and create a dozen more. =)

-Mac

 

[mrblaine]

We could just run solid copper bus bars from the winch to the battery...aside from the aesthetics, weight and obvious issues with the hot bar touching grounding points we'd solve one minor problem and create a dozen more. =)

-Mac

A 3.50 a foot for 8 gauge, I'm skeered to see what 2 gauge costs.

 

[jjvw]

A 3.50 a foot for 8 gauge, I'm skeered to see what 2 gauge costs.

We are approaching $4/lb for scrap prices. That would be another thing to be wary of.

 

[srimes]

A 3.50 a foot for 8 gauge, I'm skeered to see what 2 gauge costs.

If you're patient I'm sure you could find someone to pick it up for an 8 ball

 

[Mike_H]

A 3.50 a foot for 8 gauge, I'm skeered to see what 2 gauge costs.

I spent almost as much on wire for my motorhome as I did on (4) 100 Amp-hr LiFePo batteries. Copper is WAY pricy, and dealing with a 12v System that can put out massive amounts of current... I think I bought 20 feet of 2/0 and it was something like 10 bucks a foot. That was for tinned marine cable. Plus the 100 or so feet of 6 ga to run the DC-DC charger. Its painful.

 

[macleanflood]

And you wonder why folks are stealing trailers, dumping them in the woods and ripping them apart for the copper, aluminum and steel.

Why we're on our 28th vehicle this year...136,000 lbs of shit out of the woods.

We're watching this one... It'll get dumped soon...

https://www.facebook.com/share/3JU2H8yemfFwh3zq/?mibextid=kL3p88

-Mac

 

[mrblaine]

I spent almost as much on wire for my motorhome as I did on (4) 100 Amp-hr LiFePo batteries. Copper is WAY pricy, and dealing with a 12v System that can put out massive amounts of current... I think I bought 20 feet of 2/0 and it was something like 10 bucks a foot. That was for tinned marine cable. Plus the 100 or so feet of 6 ga to run the DC-DC charger. Its painful.

Not for nothing but I'll buy up some silver plated aircraft wire right after I convert all the fasteners on my rig to titanium. If you're gonna get stupid about stuff, don't stop with some sillywire, get all the way stupid.