The summer of my discontent. Another spate of breakdowns today. Rolled up onto this maple score (now oak) to find they had locked the gate to the backyard. I had mentioned to the husband leave it unlocked. Locking it doesn’t really make anything secure as you can drive/walk around the front and side and gain access that way. And there’s nothing to steal in his backyard anyway. The only reason I didn’t drive around all the way to the back is his concern for the leach field. Some home inspector told him it’s fragile and cannot be driven upon. His septic tank is fragile,,,that you can tell by looking at it. Old homemade covers. But the leech field is buried into a slightly raised hill that increases in depth. You could drive a cement truck over it on the high side,,,,,but I wasnt going to argue with his home inspector. LOL So I drove around to the side to grab the oak. First thing my winch decided to quit overnight. Won’t feed out only in. An internal contactor I assume. Well most of the stuff was small anyway so I buck up what I can lift and load. Left behind the big flared stump butt (with steel cable buried into it) and a crotch. I would have taken them just to “clean up” but not without the winch. My husky 550 suddenly started acting up. A quick burble,,,a quick racing of the engine,,,,thought maybe it was operator error it was so fast. Maybe running out of gas even tho I just filled it. It stopped running and wouldn’t restart. The 462 finished the job. Now I’m down a winch and a saw. Plenty of room on the trailer so I’ll take home my mother’s self propelled brush hog seeing as it’s not needed there anymore. Some neighbor came by with a tractor and finished the job. The hogs in the garage, the white oak planks are in the backyard next to the maple logs I can’t get. The side door is supposed to be left open. It’s a new door with no handle/lock and they piled a garbage can and shovels and rakes against it as a barrier. I could have shoved it open but scratch the new door,,,,,even though I’m in a sour mood now I didn’t. Plus I’d have carry those damm white oak planks. I left almost empty handed. I had no idea my old neighbors were so paranoid LOL. Measures such as those don’t stop criminals. Oh well guess I’ll have to make an appointment. I threw everything towards the front to leave room for the hog. Oh and Brad I had to cancel this afternoons log fest because of the winch. Looks like I’m in the market for a winch. Could fix this one but even when working it’s not working well.
Suck$ about the bad hoarding day. Murphy's law was in full effect. Been there myself. I've had a couple scores that were very trying to my patience with the logistics and BS involved. Ill be respectful and not post a emoji! Is the winch an expensive and difficult job? Harbor freight special?
Nah, if I were to replace that winch with the same model it’s about $900 these days. I won’t, that would be my third. First was golden, I beat that thing severely and it took it well. This second one has been a weak lemon since day one and Superwinch is no longer the company it once was. Bought out by a conglomerate more interested in making money off the name than customer appreciation. They actually stopped selling replacement parts for two years just so they could produce more units to sell,,,,,quick cash. And that was precovid Warn or Sherpa. I’m learning fast on the web these winch companies do not offer a lot of technical information anymore. Friggin marketing, just sell it don’t worry about competing. No wonder the Chinese winches are selling so well. To add insult to injury I got a call from Polaris Saturday. Guy tells me the engine was running real rough but they revved it up and raced it for awhile and it’s running better. Told me the tech suggests a new spark plug,,,the old one looked bad. I told the guy that plug was installed the day before I brought it there, has less than five minutes on it, how bad could it look? Are you even working on the right machine? LOL Look for diagnostic code 520276,, I wrote it on every piece of paper I signed the day I dropped it off. Connecticut is doomed Brad, doomed.
On the bright side the other guy said he will hold them for me and not offer them to anyone else until I take what I want. You’re gonna get fat on popcorn
Another reversal of fate. The Husky fired up and ran good this evening. That saw hadn’t been used in awhile, maybe it was farting out bad gas?
Well It is a Husky after all. They're known to run erratically! JBYB Husky guys! Do you empty gas out when done? I'm not religious about doing that as much as I hate to admit it. Do you have a 20" bar for the 462? It has helped me at a cut where the small saw is down and out.
Nah, its days were numbered from the beginning. Just don’t be surprised if I avoid my own recommendations and buy a cheap winch. Was just watching a showdown on winches and the cheapest one on the market looked to be better than the big boys. I just don’t know anymore,,,,the world has flipped upside down.
Im very religious about emptying fuel. I don’t do it,,ever LOL I also don’t have 30 saws in rotation like you do. When one of mine is not being used it means I’ve been too lazy to sharpen a chain for it. You got me thinking tho. I bought a new gas can for the saws. Tried a cheaper model than the expensive good ones I normally use but not the super cheap ones either,,,I can’t use those, never figured out how without breaking them. The new can is alright but one flaw. If left outside in the rain water will leak down inside the nozzle. It won’t mix with the gas or infiltrate the can but it stays inside the outer nozzle opening and when you invert it to fill something it’ll come pouring out and possibly into the fuel tank you’re filling. I now turn it upside down if calling for rain and before filling anything,,,,,as long as I remember. Maybe that had something to do with it. edit, I noticed the primer bulb is not picking up as much fuel as usual. That’s a sign there’s a leak occuring somewhere. Bad crank seal maybe. The 462 is running a 20” bar right now. Best thing for those smaller black locust poles I’ve been working on
Crank seal has nothing to do with the primer (well, not zero, but its highly unlikely to be the culprit) you probably have a pinhole in the bulb itself, or a fuel line. X2!
Went out and split some locust before it gets too hot. No major malfunctions. Maybe the winch will even restart today, I’ll have to try. Should be about 6.5 cord of barkless BL in there when it’s done. Once you take the bark off it shrinks measurably.
It's hard to find duty cycle information on winches on manufacturer's websites. I was looking at the Bulldog 4400 because of its listed line speed and reasonable price; it uses the same motor as their next bigger winch (5800) but a different gear ratio (so less force but higher speed). And they specifically list it as a "trailer winch", with long control cord. But even though they have a page on their website for owner's manuals, which I would hope would include duty cycle information, there's no manuals available on that page. Very frustrating! At least Harbor Freight lists duty cycles in their manuals that are easily available online, but most of their winches are rated at 45 seconds of use in a 15 minute cycle. But I don't think that's too far off from most winches, because they're not designed for continuous duty, of course. Good luck with your search!
Ahh the dreaded duty cycles. Gotta admit when I first started on this project the duty cycles scared me most of all. I had no idea if this would really work in real life because there’s no way I’d rest a winch that much. I read tests where some cheap winch overheated and drained the battery in one pull. I went ahead with it anyway. My opinion on why they’re an unreliable measurement, it directly correlates to how much power you’re asking of the winch. In your case using a 4400lb winch to haul logs means you’re asking more of the winch than if it were an 8000lb winch. That will decrease the duty cycle. It’s just so hard to measure how much force any one task is putting on the winch. Now mine was only 5500 lbs. I have a Warn 4500lb on my log arch but I wouldn’t dream of putting it on my trailer. Only 1000lbs makes a big difference,,,,,if those numbers are to be believed anyway I was looking at the Bulldog 9.5 on your page for my own use. Overheat protection is nice, that’s your duty cycle safety switch LOL. Comes with wireless remote which as you mentioned is an important feature. Most winch remotes are on relatively short wires which doesn’t make them very useful for trailer winching. An unknown brand for me I would consider a steel cable version to try because of the price. Big fan of synthetic for safety reasons, winching logs your often right there in the mix. Steel whips when broken, synthetic just drops for the most part. It won’t hurt you. My biggest complaint with that company is the shipping charges. Don’t know what they are. It says they will be calculated at checkout and added to the bill for ground shipping. It did calculate USPS priority shipping at $356. I have a feeling ground shipping is going to be a big number too. One of the reasons I never bought a “billboard tarp”. Shipping is outrageous. edit. The danger of using a high powered winch is not paying attention and breaking expensive things,,,like trailers
I had looked at that Bulldog 9.5 also. Etrailer has it with synthetic rope for $573 with free shipping. https://www.etrailer.com/Electric-Winch/Bulldog-Winch/BDW56QB.html Zoro has it for $670 and free shipping, but they often offer 20% off coupons if you sign up an account. They're a subsidiary of Grainger and I've had pretty good luck ordering from them. https://www.zoro.com/bulldog-winch-95k-standard-series-synthetic-rope-10066/i/G010917241/ I HATE shopping! And honestly I don't know much about the Bulldog brand except that they've been around for a long time. Whether that means they've maintained their quality, I don't know.
well I bit the bullet and ordered the 9.5 Bulldog. Thanks for the link. I’d been internet shopping and comparing all day, mostly Warn. Started with their cheapy model and before you know it you’ve looked at all the upgraded models and you’re in the Platinum edition and falling in love LOL. She was just a too expensive bride, left her at the altar. Take a swing with the bulldog, see how she dances.
I hope she dances a real jig for you, or maybe a sweet waltz. Haha. One reason I hate shopping is because I seem to be able to always talk myself into at least one more nice feature or next better model than I can really justify, or afford. “Well, if I’m going to spend the money it sure would be nice to have…”! Please let us know how it performs for you, especially as compared to your previous winch, when you have some time on the Bulldog.
Early morning it’s cool. Husky is running good again. Winch is still out of commission. New one expected Thursday. Lots of bark for the low spots in the trail. Getting down there, not too much hidden in that mess.
