I am looking to buy some new sythentic cable and and trying to figure out the max amount I can put on this winch, i believe it came with 80ft, but some say 100ft is the max? Anyone know for sure? Can you put more synthetic line on vs. cable becasue its more pliable? Anyone with any info would be appreceated!!

Thanks
ken

 

I am not sure that you can use 100 ft of synthetic line on that winch if you use the same size line. My Milemarker E8000 had 100ft of 3/8" steel rope (14,500lb) but I have 125 feet of 5/16" Masterpull synthetic line (14,500lb) that is much smaller in diameter but the same strength. My guess is that you would have to find a manufacturer that makes a smaller line that is still strong enough to use within the specs of your winch. I have read on WARN's website that the use of synthetic winch line voids the warranty since they claim that the steel winch rope is an integral part of the winch's cooling system (heatsink I guess?) and synthetic line won't aid in cooling. In the end, it is all up to you and the risks (warranty) that you are willing to to take for greater safety.

 

i just put 5/16" x 100' on mine.

 

check out Rockstomper's site. They have some info close to the bottom of the page...

http://www.rockstomper.com/catalog/recovery/ropes.htm

 

It is diameter dependent and the synthetic stuff helps with that, as you noted.

I would stay with 100 or less so that you can make off angle pulls and not have the line bunch. It would be better to have 75 on the spool and two more 75 foot lengths in the truck that 225 on the winch.

Winches are rated at their max pull with something like 8 wraps of rope on the spool. Anything more than that and you are depriving the winch of possible strength.

 

never heard that before

 

To the best of my knowledge, your Warn or any others, are only capable of pulling 8k when there is minimal cable on the spool, as in less than one layer. I suppose what I am saying could be misread, but I mean they only are capable of pulling with their max rating if it is the first layer of cable on the spool. Because of this, any unnecessary cable is actually decreasing the effective pulling ability and would be better stored elsewhere.

 

The way I heard it is that you have to have at least 8 wraps on the drum or you have a chance of ripping the cable off the drum. The number may also be around 5-6 wraps but basically like you said one layer would be a minimum. Also, the perfect storage place for the steel cable is on the drum itself as it acts as a heat sink and allows the winch better cooling. This is one of the drawbacks for synthetic cable. On a hot drum it has the possiblity of melting. I don't do a lot of hardcore winching so for me I am more than happy to keep my synthetic line over the advantage of the steel rope, namely the heat sink issue.

 

I underfilled my XD9000 winch, using 90' of 5/16" UHMW rope from Rockstomper instead of the 100' of steel I removed. Then I picked up a second 50' extension rope. This way I'm about 1 wrap off the top of the spool so if I have to pull to the side, the cable has more room to pile up. I've typically found in winching, I either need just a little cable out or a whole lot. With the extension, I don't have to bother with re-spooling the last 50' of cable. And I get a total cable length of 140' which was longer than the 125' on my old XD9000i.

 

All winches pull their max with only 1 to 2 layers of cable/rope left on the spool,as you wind up more cable your pulling capacity decreases.That's why it's best to use a snatch block whenever possible.I believe it has something to do with the spool getting bigger around with more cable on it,changing the gear ratio.I've burned up motors on old winches trying to pull too heavy a load & not enough cable out.Check your owners manual most will note this in there somewhere.