Installation and Working of an Electric Winch

Working of an Electric Winch

Principle of peration of an Electric Winch

Electric winch is definitely the most common type winch available. Available in a wide range of shapes and power ratings the The electric winchesuse your vehicle’s battery as the power source.

These winches are very reliable if maintained properly. Having the right and clean electric connections is very important for their proper functioning. The electric winch comprises a high torque electric motor coupled to a gearbox which drives a rotating drum.

Gear System

There are three types of gearing systems available: worm gear, spur gear and planetary gear. The job of a gear system is to gear down the high speed motor to a low-speed high- torque electric winch drum. The transfer rate of winch drum is technically expressed as ratio between revolutions of the motor and the revolutions of the spindle. The more revolutions the motor has to turn for one spindle revolution, the less motor has to work for that revolution and the greater is the reduction. The worm gear has a transfer efficiency of 35-40%. This causes the winch to be self-braking even under heavy loads, but this means the unit will need a clutch mechanism for free spooling. Worm gears offer the most reduction, very high reliability, built-in braking mechanism, and generally a slower winching speed.

The spur and planetary gear systems have efficiencies of 75% and 65% respectively. A braking mechanism is always needed with this type of the gear, because they have a tendency to free spool when loaded. Milemarker uses only the Planatary gears in its all models of electric winches, which provide both strength and smooth operation with good resistance to torque loads.

Electric Motor

An electric motor basically has two major parts, the stator and the rotor (or armature). The function of a stator is to produce a magnetic field which will cause the rotor to rotate when an electric current flows through it.

There are two types of motors: a permanent magnet motor and the serial wound motor. When the stator uses permanent magnet motor, the current drain on the battery is lower than series wound motors, (which uses field coils in the stator to generate magnetic filed). Permanent magnet motors are good for light and medium duty winches, but winching time and load has to be carefully monitored as they tend to overheat. Milemarker uses the permanent magnet motor for its 6, 000 lbs and other light duty winches. Series wound motors are used in heavier duty electric Winches such as the 12, 000lbs electric winch and these are costlier than electric winches using permanent magnet motor.

Battery and Alternator

It is important to know that you use the electric winch mainly on battery reserve power and not on alternator power, this means that you can winch for as long as your batteries can supply, and a bit more as the alternator assists to a certain extent. Generally your winch draws from 300 up to 1000 Amps and the alternator is only rated at around 80 amps.

Electric winches get very hot if used continuously, this excessive heating will damage the motor, and the current draw may damage the batteries if allowed to run down flat too often. Electric winches require a period of rest for working till the battery get recharged again.

Installation

If you want to install an electric winch you must have a very sound electrical system. For a heavy duty use you would also require a heavy duty (high output) alternator, capable of at least 100 amps, a high capacity battery, or a dual battery setup with some sort of electronic battery management system. If you have other high power devices, sound system, lights etc, you might have to consider a separate high power wiring loom. You can also install an easily accessible emergency power cut off switch and a circuit breaker which can be of great help in case of an emergency.

Checking your grounding system is very important because faulty connections tend to waste power. Take care to keep all your connections clean, use large diameter cables (such as welding cables). For connections the battery’s negative port is attached to the engine block, the alternator ground and the frame to the engine using a grounding strap.

Once you take care of the electric connections, have proper ratings for your batteries and alternator, your electric winch would never fail you and can even winch you out even when your engine has failed.

Don’t forget to read article on winch-safety advice which offers you some useful tips.
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