An electric winch uses an electric motor to wind a steel cable or flat nylon strap to pull an object towards the winch. It typically uses a 12-volt battery, and a crank can be used in case of a dead battery. It should not be used as a primary tie-down device.
An electric winch is a device that uses electrical power to wind a steel cable around a coil, pulling an object towards the winch with ease. Typically used to pull a boat or vehicle onto a trailer, an electric winch uses an electric motor instead of the hand crank commonly used on a manual winch. The typical electric winch uses a 12 volt battery as a power source to operate the powerful winch motor, however if the winch lacks power or is having difficulty pulling the vehicle or boat onto a trailer, the cable can be doubled by placing a block the pulley on the cable, virtually doubling the available winch power.
To release the cable of a common electric winch, the braking mechanism on the winch spool must be released and the winch cable must be physically pulled. Once the cable has been pulled out far enough to hook onto the boat or vehicle, the braking mechanism must be tightened back into the winch. The typical power winch uses a push button control to activate the electric motor and retrieve the cable onto the winch’s spool. As the cable is wound on the winch spool, the object being towed is pulled toward the winch and toward the trailer.
Wire rope is the primary recovery material used in an electric winch, however many winches are equipped with a flat nylon strap instead of the wire rope. The use of nylon webbing prevents the wire rope from bending and fraying which is often present in older winch ropes. Broken cable strands can cause injury to human hands when pulling the cable through a closed handle. The flat strap also winds smoothly on the drum of the electric winch, allowing the strap to be easily unwound without twisting or entrapment.
The most common type of electric winch allows the use of a crank in the event of a dead battery or other malfunction. The steel handle is attached to the winch drum assembly and rotated in a circular motion. As the winch is turned, the cable or strap wraps around the drum. Although the winch is a powerful device and is more than capable of pulling a vehicle or boat onto a trailer, it should never be used as a primary tie down device. The vehicle being hitched to the trailer must be secured to the trailer with ratchet straps or chains and swivel buckles. However, the electric winch can be left tight to function as an emergency tie-off in case a strap or chain comes loose.
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