Battery-Operated Winch

Battery-Operated Winch FARM HOME Miscellaneous Jim Ruen La Crescent Minn : “The 82W1 battery-powered winch from Greenworks Commercial is a time saver and a tree saver It could even be a life saver The portable capstan winch is quick to set up wherever it is needed In a straight-line operation the 3-speed 1 0 kW motor offers 2 200 lbs of pulling power Add a pulley or two and the power is multiplied     “The 82-volt Greenworks winch is available by itself with batteries or in a kit I have the kit which includes a transport bag a 3/8-in by 164-ft double-braid poly rope a 3-in pulley and carabiners and polyester slings for anchoring the winch and the pulley Everything including 2 batteries and a charger fits inside the nylon carryall bag     “One of the great things about the capstan winch is you are standing away from the towline should it snap The length of rope used is not dependent on the size of the drum I can use the full length of my tow rope as long as I have enough at the winch for 4 turns around the capstan and a short length to tug on     “I put the winch to work in the woods using it to pull logs up and into place on an access road In the past I’ve used a variety of log chain and loader techniques when logging select trees out of a stand Some have been less than safe while others have damaged neighboring trees All have been limited by how much chain I had and if a straight pull was possible     “This summer and fall I put the Greenworks portable winch to work in my 60-acre steep slope woodlot It gave me complete control to move logs exactly where I wanted them without endangering trees left behind By selecting my anchor tree as well as a tree or trees for connecting pulleys I directed the log as desired Redirecting the log is a matter of moving an anchor strap to another point     “The winch really earned its way when I was cutting a large pine on a steep slope Usually I can drop a tree within a few degrees of where I want it to fall I carefully made my notch cut As I made my felling cut the tree settled the wrong way pinching the chainsaw bar     “Instead of pounding in wedges or other gambits I put the winch to use Even tying the tow rope at shoulder height gave me enough leverage with the powerful winch I pulled the tree back about 15 degrees and left it under tension I removed my chainsaw and finished the cut confident this time where the tree would fall     “The next time I have any doubt about a tree the rope will go on first It will make working solo in the woods a little safer     “I haven’t had to use the winch to pull any machinery as yet However I can think of multiple times it would have been handy such as when an unhitched rough-cut mower slipped between multiple trees to lodge 30 ft down a steep slope Pulling it out meant a straight line to a field road at a right angle After many short tugs by a tractor with limited space to move interspersed with reattaching the log chain with every tug it was out     “A powered winch on the tractor or another vehicle would have handled the mower However the versatility of the battery-powered winch would have made it easy Anchor it for the best pull wrap the rope around the capstan and give it a tug The winch does the rest     “The winch tool only is priced at $849 99 while the kit is priced at $999 99 Batteries are extra It is available from dealers or at www greenworkscommercial com/shop-by-tool ”

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