Will a Kioti NX tractor alternator run a 12,000 lb. winch sporadically?

I've tossed the idea around of making a 3 point hitch mounted "logging winch". I'd love to buy a real one, but I don't have 5-6k laying around. I have a little over a third of an acre to clear for my soon to be bandsaw mill. The winch would also come in handy for getting logs to my access road, on the rest of my 21 acres. The trail system is almost a half mile long, so lots of deadfall and hard to reach trees. All on pretty flat ground.

I'd run leads to my battery up front to power the winch. I just have concerns of if the alternator will keep up. Northern also sells hydraulic winches, which may be an option.

 

I mounted a Badlands 12K winch on a 3pt grader blade to make a poor man's logging winch for a Kubota L2900. I decided it was better to add a dedicated battery for the winch. Saved running heavy gauge copper wire from the front of the tractor all the way to the back. The Kubota battery was already too small for the job anyway. For no more than it gets used it works fine for me. If I were using it all the time I would upgrade the tractor battery (and possibly the alternator).

I'd start with how many amps the winch draws, how many amps the alternator produces, and what is the capacity of the battery. There's some calculus you could do to figure out exactly how long it would take to get the battery down below the draw of the winch, but you can do some napkin math and get a good idea. Keep in mind that your alternator's output may require some higher RPMs, so just idling the tractor may not be enough to recover the battery.

 

What type of battery did you add? A deep cycle? How long will it last before you have to charge it?

 

Just a regular car battery.

I've never made more than a couple pulls between charges so no idea. There are a lot of variables that will determine charge intervals.

 

Any load on the battery will require charging. It's just a matter of how fast the alternator can charge and how much power the battery can supply.
Engine rpm will need to be high, and the alternator might not live long.

I vote for the hydraulic winch. It's more efficient than electric and no load on the alternator.

 

Electric is ok for pulling the top of the tree over to control the direction of fall, but you’ll grow tired of waiting for it to reel in. It’s considerably faster to use a few lengths of cable, straps, or chains and pull with the tractor itself. Once you’ve drug the log far enough, back up and re-hook

 

I’m with huski. A few snatch blocks some rope or cable and you should be able to setup for most pulls.

 

You guys are probably right with the loads and alternator. I've done straight pulls and I always end up having to reset the chains 2-3 times. Gets old working by yourself with limited free hours available. I've never really gotten into snatch blocks or pulleys. Another reason I like the skidder idea is that I'd have a higher pulling point/position to be able to get logs over walls, stumps, rocks, etc., easier. I can pull from the front with the loader, but I prefer pulling from the 3 point.

 

I imagine that buying a new PTO powered winch would be $$...and not sure how often those pop up for sale used? If you could find an affordable one, that would be a good option...maybe mounted on a blade, as was mentioned earlier here...