Hydraulic winch
You want to pull on a rope a load that stays on the ground, not lift it.
Three points decide:
the pulling force and its conditions, the actual carrier and its fixing point, the hydraulic line and its control.
A photo of the machine and of the pulling site is enough to start.
It pulls the load along the line of the cable; it does not lift it.
Photo:
Naturpuur, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, resized, face blurred, clothing brand removed.
It pulls by cable what cannot be carried.
Its usual carrier is most often another machine:
on an excavator, the use is checked case by case.
Other names for this tool: pulling winch, skidding winch, boom-mounted winch, hydraulic capstan.
- Family
- Handling and lifting
- Classes (t)
- Depending on the size
- Coupler
- Depending on the mounting, to be checked
- Power source
- Hydraulic, with a dedicated control — flow and pressure: we calculate it with you for your machine
What it is for
Right: a load hanging from the cable is a lifting job, not a winch job.
What sets it apart:
skidding, hauling, recovering a bogged-down machine — always a pull, never a load in the air.
Computer-generated image.
the load stays on the ground, along the axis of the rope.
Synthetic image.
A winch does not lift:
it pulls.
Skidding timber, hauling a load up a slope, recovering a bogged-down machine:
these uses have in common a pulling force along the axis of a rope, and not a suspended load.
The usual carrier is most often another machine — tractor, tool carrier, forestry machine — where the winch is permanently mounted and fed by the carrier.
On a hydraulic excavator the mounting exists, but it is checked machine by machine:
fixing point, line available, control, and above all the real use.
A pulling winch is not a lifting winch. They are two pieces of equipment, with two sets of requirements, and confusing them is a mistake that gets paid for.
A pulling winch is chosen on its pulling force and its conditions, not on a maximum load at the hook, which is a lifting quantity.
A rope under tension is moreover dangerous in a different way from a suspended load:
it whips when it breaks, and the area to be cleared is not the one you imagine.
On which machine?
The excavator class and the mounting of the winch, depending on its size: we calculate them with you for your machine.
What the tool does
It pulls with a force that drops as the cable winds on in layers.
The pulling force, the cable length and the weight of the winch: we calculate them with you for your machine.
What is needed on the hydraulic side
It needs a hydraulic circuit, with a dedicated control.
The type of circuit, the flow and the pressure: we calculate them with you for your machine.
Your study sets the exact value for your machine.
Don't have these figures?
A photo of the machine is enough to start.
Have your machine checked.
Tell us what you are pulling, from which machine, and why it cannot be carried.
If the excavator is not the right carrier, we will say so rather than put together a shaky arrangement.
- Your machine Its make and its tonnage.
- The auxiliary circuit Its flow in l/min, its pressure in bar, single- or double-acting.
- The coupler in place Its system and its class.
- The work The use, and the material.
Without these details, the study still begins: we will ask you for them.
Or call 01 84 16 55 49 · our lines are open 7 days a week, from 7h to 22h.
Written study within 3 working days, once the file is complete.
What determines the choice
Each point says what changes the choice.
The values, we check them in your carrier's instructions and in the tool's.
-
01 — Pulling or lifting
Two different pieces of equipment.
The question is settled before all the others. -
02 — The real carrier
If the usual machine is not the excavator, say so:
the answer changes entirely. - 03 — The fixing point A winch takes up a pulling force in a structure, not in a tool hung on the end of an arm.
-
04 — The control
From the cab or remotely:
it is the manoeuvre that makes the workstation safe.
What is checked before ordering
-
The real use, described
Skidding, hauling, recovery:
these are not the same forces nor the same equipment. - The compatibility of the carrier This is where many projects stop, and it is better that it be before the purchase.
- The hydraulic line and its control Supply, return, and an accessible control device.
- The rope and its monitoring It wears, it is inspected, it is replaced.
- Family
- Handling and lifting
- Compatibility
- The seven criteria in detail →