Will my cheap winch work?

Hi,

On a tight budget at the moment so I bought a cheap electric winch for my series 3 SWB.

It's rated at 3500lb I'm hoping that it'll be strong enough to get me out of any sticky situations.

I know it'll have to work at max capacity and I will need to get one much bigger eventually but will it be okay forthemeantime?

Anyone else fitted anything like this?

use a snatch block with it and you have doubled its capacity

bmp42 said:

use a snatch block with it and you have doubled its capacity

Click to expand...

Use 2 and you'll treble it.

What's one of them and how does it work?

Stumpy 1970 said:

What's one of them and how does it work?

Click to expand...

A Snatchblock is basically a pulley, run out your winch rope, through the snatchblock which is attached to the anchor and back to your vehicle. You've then doubled the pulling power compared to just attaching the winch rope directly to the anchor. You'll find snatchblocks available on the link.

Goodwinch Winches & Parts, Electric Winches and Winch Bumpers, UK – Goodwinch.com


Worth having a look at their dvd at the very least before killing yourself, winches can be lethal if not used correctly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td92wGxvujU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP766RaCTFY

Thanks for that. All much clearer now.

I worry if you don't know what a snatch block is then i would be asking someone who knows how and what a winch does. They are very dangerous pieces of kit to the unaware. i'm not having a go but have spent too much time picking the parts both soft and mechnical after things have gone wrong.

john-sussex said:

I worry if you don't know what a snatch block is then i would be asking someone who knows how and what a winch does. They are very dangerous pieces of kit to the unaware. i'm not having a go but have spent too much time picking the parts both soft and mechnical after things have gone wrong.

Click to expand...

I was thinking exactly the same.
Should really go on a 'recovery course' before you attempt to recover, especially if you intend self-recovery.
You really do not want to be anywhere near a winch if it goes off.

thats a quad bike winch spec.i reckon it will burn out the 1st time you use it

Fitted it today. Bolted it over a bumper mount and bought a snatch block.
Not planning to get into big trouble with it. Just want it there should I need a little help. It's got a remote control so I will make sure I am well out of harms way and behind cover before I ever use it.

Can't afford a recovery course but won't go headlong until I have had a few goes in light conditions.
Thanks for the concer though guys. I appreciate that they can be very dangerous and I will take special care.

Very new to this and got the winch super cheap new in the box and I appreciate it's a temp thing. When funds allow I will get a proper big boys winch and winch bumper.

Although off-topic, I have a mate who keeps getting stuck on his own land....you name it and he's got stuck in it...usually on a muddy field after a week of rainfall. His automatic response is to call me. I have towed out vans, cars and quad bikes....nothing but a standard spec S3. Now he has bought a 4.6L P38 range rover and found some good off roading land near Liverpool airport. Still wants me to tag along....in case he gets stuck !! I may have to get a winch after all.