Winch - Hydraulic vs Electric

If I were to get a new winch I think i would get the Hydraulic made in USA that could use the power Steering oil and pump, Never have to worry about a flat battery or overheating just keep on winching, Now ok I know someone will say what if ... the motor won't start, well if that's the case your not going anywhere anyhow .

Site Link

There was a bloke in Sydney who designed one too

Teabag,
An outback challenge compitor one told me the hydraulic winches are all go so long has you have a proper hydraulic pump and a fluid reservouir. His recomendation was don't bother with the power steering pump options.
I note on your other post on topic, a bloke mentioned his hyd. winch was over heating. I expect that due to the using the PS pump and no fluid store for cooling.
Paul.

For a recreation 4x4 an electric winch is usually the best. Compact, the easiest to install, the lightest option, with a reasonable drum speed can assist by driving from the wheels without too much over run, is cost effective, works when the cars engine is stalled & will in all but the most difficult conditions recover the car. Limited to relitively short pulls (100m) by the size of the batteries/overheating the motor & can have solinoid & wiring problems over time. Normally require a 2nd battery to give a reasonable winch time & avoid draining the start batt.
Hydraulic come in 2 types.
1. PTO driven which IMHO is the best winch available but more suited to commercial use. They will pull all day & slow down very little when fully loaded. Obviously they only fit vehicles with a PTO drive, are far heavier, difficult to install, normally opperated from outside the vehicle making assistance by driving difficult & they cost heaps.
2. Power steering driven Hydraulic. These will run quite a while until the oil overheats, are compact & some have a 2nd speed for unloaded rewind. They are expensive, slow as a 3 toed sloth, cut out when the steering is used, don't work without the engine running, overrun when you drive birdcaging the cable & did I mention they are really really slow;-)

Now many on this site I know will say speed doesn't matter & in most cases they are right but if bogged in a river & the water is coming in, speed is everything.

And which Electric is best for the Pootrol??? For non competitive use the 9500lb low mounts have a good mix of power, line speed & cable length without going up to the added weight of a 10 or 12K. For more serious use the 8K High Mount is a proven performer.
Cheers Craig............
9500lb Ramsey.

I have used both types and have had a hydraulic winch on both Troopies for the last couple of years.

The hydraulic is more expensive to purchase but the winch that I have came with the vehicle.
The power source is from the power steering pump and hydraulic hoses have to be bought to suit you vehicle.
I was lucky that I was able to swap from the 75 Series to the 78 Series and use the same hoses.
The winch is rated at 10,000lb and is the same external size as the Warn 9,000lb low mount.
More pulling power from the same external size winch means that a new winch bar is not required.
The motor has to be running for the winch to work. This also means that it can not be used by any unauthorised personal.
The winch only draws 2amps under full load. The motor has only to idle to supply hydraulic power to the winch. With vehicles not having hand throttles fitted any more this feature is a blessing.
The winch can be used for longer periods with out having to stop winching to allow the winch to cool and the battery to recharge. The hydraulic winch would be great with plasma rope because the winch drum does not generate heat.

The down side is that it is very slow, and once it is run through a snatch block, grass would grow faster, but it will keep winching all day.

When I got the 78 Series it had a electric winch but I still replaced it with the hydraulic unit.
The hydraulic winch is not very popular but like the PTO winch has many advantages as well as disadvantages.
The electric winch would have to be popular because of the easy fit to most vehicles, the cost and size of the winch.

Wayne

Have witnessed a couple of hydraulic winch recoveries. Be fair to say that you can boil the billy and make a nice cuppa while its happening. First one was to pull a 100series out of a sand ditch - not much happened while the winch was idling. Eventually put it through a snatch block and upped the idling speed to 1200revs and it slowly but surely pulled the other vehicle out.

Second one was a beach recovery with incoming tide - again, it was very slow.

Considering the high cost of installing a hydraulic winch, I can't see the value for money. I spent $700 for a Terrain Tamer 9500kg - but I don't take winching seriously - bought it purely to learn more about winching.

Hydraulic for me ..
All the toy winches up to and including 9000lb can be run electric with reasonable success .. above that .. hydraulic ..

I have a 12,000 lb Mile Marker with a winch mate .. thats a 6HP petrol engine with a high pressure pump for good speed and cooling ...

Can run all day and I still have steering .. and .. you can use Plasma rope and not being afraid of melting it ...

but I guess its all about purpose and budget ..

good luck
gmd

Thanks guy's for all the valuable info.....I think I will go a Warn XP 9500 which should fill my bill.....

Thanks again.....

Hydraulic winch for us too! We've had them on two troopies and now the GU

With the override switch that still allows you to turn the steering wheel while winching.

<-- I don't have to worry about out driving the winch, because driving during winching is asking for problems - like you didn't already have some...