Spooling new synth line on winch?

[Yosh_Lopez]

I am replacing the wire cable on my Warn M8000 with synthetic line. Whats the best way to spool the new synth line under tension? How many wraps around the winch drum does the new line need to be spooled under tension?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Sangster]

i've always read to let the winch pull the vehicle on flat ground in neutral to initially spool the vehicle.

 

[Bennyhana]

I hooked mine to my wifes car, set her e-brake with it in park. Put my truck in Neutral and applied a little bit of e-brake and winched away.

 

[alexrex20]

^^^ that's pretty much how i did it, except i used a light pole (in an empty parking lot across from my house) as an anchor.

 

[Scott Brady]

Synthetic line has two additional considerations when spooling. The reduction in drum friction (over steel cable), which means that a minimum of eight wraps must be on the drum to pull a load, sometime 10, depending on the rope attachment method and drum finish (steel cable is typically 5 wraps). And because of the "slippery" nature of dyneema, the synthetic line will constrict under load, both around the drum (which can crush some drums, like consumer Warn winches above 9,500lbs.), but also constrict and heat-up, smear and otherwise damage the synthetic cable if not spooled properly.

As mentioned above, this should be done under a load, usually another vehicle as the connection point with the a driver present and applying moderate brake pressure (the parking brake can also be used). All winching safety rules apply while tensioning and spooling. Tension will be obvious, as the "tone" of the winch motor and gearing will change and a visible tensioning of the line will occur. Obviously, without having a strain guage, there is no precise way to do this, so the goal is a moderate and controlled load.

This process is critical to your line having a long service life, and should be repeated after each use. Take that opportunity to also inspect the line for any damage and clean it. Fortunately, synthetic line is quite easy to clean in a bucket of warm water and woolite. You can easily open up the strands of the rope (like Amsteel Blue) with a simple technique (but hard to describe) of using both hands and holding the rope with a 4-5" gap between each hand and then pushing the hands together, sliding another 4-5" and repeating. I will try to post some pictures of this.

Unfortunately, it is common for some to recommend stepping on the line (of course, never step over a loaded line). Since we are not in the Outback Challenge, we should not be in a rush anyways, and can plan our rigging to eliminate most requirements of stepping on the line, and those we cannot, just walk around the vehicle or anchor. Stepping on the line drives dirt and other matter into the strands, cutting the fibers and shortening the life.

This will provide some help: Viking OffRoad Line Installation Instructions

 

[Master-Pull]

I have used a few techniques to spool lines at work and on the trail. When we spool at work we usually use two people, one to spool and one to work the winch control. It is important to get the wraps on the drum tight and even, this will keep the rope from cutting through the layers underneath it. I have used a second vehicle in the past and this works very well to keep the line very tight. On the trail we usually just spool by hand because we don't have the space to winch a vehicle in a straight line for the length of the rope. Any way that you spool it is important to keep the entire line under tension for the entire process.

Make sure you are spooling your heat guard on the drum end of the line (unless you have a winch without a drum brake ie 8274), the heat guard is usually a 10 ft section of Nylon webbing. Unless you have a heat resistant line; Liquid Crystal Polymer, Plasma, Technora, Vectron, etc, the rope needs this heat guard to protect it.

When I am winching on the trail I always keep one full set of wraps on the drum. By this I mean that I never let any part of the drum be bare. You could maybe get away with some of the drum being bare, but I don't want to take the chance of the rope coming off or damaging the winch.

-Alex

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Partial hijack but in regards to spooling. I saw these a few years ago. While its more than an end user needs to spend it might not be bad for a shop or club to purchase and offer as a service to their customers/members?

http://www.knightscan.com/product.htm

 

[Master-Pull]

I have looked at those online, I have never seen one used in person though. The idea is essentially the same as what they use on large commercial winches to make sure the lines spool neatly. Anyone on here use one?

-Alex

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I have looked at those online, I have never seen one used in person though. The idea is essentially the same as what they use on large commercial winches to make sure the lines spool neatly. Anyone on here use one?

-Alex

I had the chance to play around with it and can vouch for the fact it looks well made. A bit bulky and 'old school' feel to it if you will but definitely well made. They were showing them in action, did the trick.

 

[Gone2Baja]

One other thing to keep in mind is after you have used your winch for a recovery remember to resool it under a lite load, I failed to do this and after a long pull {by long I mean I had about 75% of the line out but only pulled under load for a short then re spooled the line with no load}then after one other short pull on the same trail I found out the hard way that the line had pulled itself closer to the drum making impossible to pull out the line by hand. Like I said I found out the hard way,alone and a long way from help.

 

[michaelgroves]

I've tried various "patterns' for re-spooling synthetic rope. What works well is to completely cover the drum with the first layer, and then to criss-cross the rope as you are spooling it on. Synthetic line doesn't get damaged by crossing over itself, and it stops the line from being pulled down through multiple layers, and getting jammed.

The only downside, as far as I can see, is that the drum won't hold quite as much rope if it's not spooled on in orderly layers. That's ok for me, as I prefer a slightly shorter primary winch line anyway.

Any views on this?

 

[Antichrist]

I don't use synthetic, but intuitively that sounds like it makes the most sense for synthetic, from what I've seen happen to others' line.

 

[Master-Pull]

I've tried various "patterns' for re-spooling synthetic rope. What works well is to completely cover the drum with the first layer, and then to criss-cross the rope as you are spooling it on. Synthetic line doesn't get damaged by crossing over itself, and it stops the line from being pulled down through multiple layers, and getting jammed.

The only downside, as far as I can see, is that the drum won't hold quite as much rope if it's not spooled on in orderly layers. That's ok for me, as I prefer a slightly shorter primary winch line anyway.

Any views on this?

Which rope are you running? I have never had a problem with my line cutting through the layers underneath. I do re-spool it after every trail run and sometimes during a run if it gets too messy.

-Alex

 

[michaelgroves]

Which rope are you running? I have never had a problem with my line cutting through the layers underneath. I do re-spool it after every trail run and sometimes during a run if it gets too messy.

-Alex

I've used Puget's "plasma", and Amsteel Blue - no discernable difference, really, although both will tell you theirs is better, of course. Most of them seem to have about the same specs, although your XD is the Icelandic one (I forget the real name ), and is a cut above the rest at least in terms of breaking strain. I use 11mm, but I expect the problem would be worse with thinnner ropes.

The jamming doesn't happen often, (certainly not as often as with steel cable), but if you are respooling and re-rigging several times in a row, and there's a strategically placed gap, the rope can get jammed. Even then, it doesn't matter that much, it just makes the next spool-out a bit of a chore when it suddenly starts to become a spool-in! I've seen it more often than experienced it. And I think it would become a real bird's nest if you didn't notice and started to then winch in again under load with the rope doubled back on itself, and it jammed again...

I just couldn't think of any downside to criss-cross between layers, which would ensure there's no chance of this kind of jamming.

 

[muskyman]

Which rope are you running? I have never had a problem with my line cutting through the layers underneath. I do re-spool it after every trail run and sometimes during a run if it gets too messy.

-Alex

thats kinda weird?...the one issue with synthetic I see all the time is the rope pulling down through?

angle pulls seem to be the worst offenders because you sometimes cant stop and re-wrap during the pull.

One thing I do to prevent this is if I know I am going to be pulling on a angle I will unwind the line well below where I am going to be working and then rewind the line stacking it all to the far side of the spool. This then puts me on a lower wrap during the pull and creates the space I will need as the line stacks up on the side of the spool that the line wants to be on. This is something that synthetic really shines for. I can drop my hydro winch into high range and preset the line like this in a mater of a few seconds and then make the whole pull without worry of over stacking on tension side of the spool. This is where steel is almost worthless because the spring tension in the steel cablewont allow the line to be moved to the other side real easily.