Winch direct drive or gearbox?

Norcalz71 · Ollie Joined: 21 Mar 2005 Posts: 88 City: Benicia/SLO

Are most guys doing DIY home brew winches running the spool directly off the engine via a chain drive w/ two sprockets, or are they going through a gearbox first and shifting like kento, just a simpler version? what model/horsepower engines are all you DIY'ers using as well?

Jeff_Knox · Backside 180 Joined: 31 Jan 2005 Posts: 712 City: J-ville

well i am in the process of making mine as we speak and i am quite certain kento is the only one goin throught the gear box... i believe he is using a dirtbike 150 cc engine... most DIY winchers use 6.5 hp engines but they also seem to be having trouble with deep water starts... i was goin to use a 10 hp gocart engine but we couldnt get it running so we downgraded to a 6.5... the 6.5 horse that we found cost 150 (including shipping) from ebay... anything else you pm me but were still figuring it out as we go... so i can only promise to help you out as much as i can.

JimTheArchangel · Pop Shuvit Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 134 City: the 904!

its awesome that you are DIY'n your winch, not sayin that commercial winches aren't good, but i think part of the fun is the figuring out a design and putting it together yourself.

kento911 · Kickflip Joined: 29 Mar 2004 Posts: 3657 City: Phoenix

mt winch doesnt need to be shifted whil epulling, the multiple gears allow you to tune your power curve for torque or horsepower, think of it as tige's TAPS, but for pull strenght as opposed to wakesize

Jeff_Knox · Backside 180 Joined: 31 Jan 2005 Posts: 712 City: J-ville

kento911, just curious ... is the pirate winch finished??? i saw the proto or whatever at the brodeo and understand it needed some fine tuning... just wondering how its doin now...

BillyOLDS · Posted: Feb 28, 2006 4:49 am Post subject:

Norcalz71, def use a spool to chain set up, but depending one wat motor ur using, different cluth set up will work better.

kento911 · Kickflip Joined: 29 Mar 2004 Posts: 3657 City: Phoenix

TheLeprechaun, actually it was finished at the brodeo, it just needed more than 2 pulls to get dialed on a totally new setup, but it has and continues to work great, we are still being haunted by parts supply problems, but I have 95% of the parts in, and once I get the last 5%in we will go into production of 10 units

Norcalz71 · Ollie Joined: 21 Mar 2005 Posts: 88 City: Benicia/SLO

when everyone says the centrifugal setups are bad.......HOW bad is it? Just for cost reasons I am thinking i may go with one initially just so I can get it done, and then see how it works out. As kento has suggested to me before and i know others have done, a CVT sounds awesome but I think im looking at like $150-$200 for one of appropriate size unless I am way off. With the centrifugal setup would I be able to deep water w/ say 8hp? Im right at 140 soaking wet.

mario c. · Guest

centrifugal cluthes at a 17 tooth size run no more than 65$$$$. torque convertor setups at around 150$$$$$$

Norcalz71 · Ollie Joined: 21 Mar 2005 Posts: 88 City: Benicia/SLO

mario, have you ridden both? how do they compare, obviously the TC being the better option. is it worth the initial $$ up front for the TC? If possible i might try to upgrade to a TC later on depending on how much I use it and how it performs for me if i begin with a clutch.

mario c. · Guest

no, i havent ridden both. my winch has a centrifugal clutch. but in a couple weeks, im gonna do the torque conversion. it is most definitely worth the extra cash. figuring out the setup will prolly be a little tricky. best bet on that, is to talk to the bruhs' at the online go-cart supply stores.
centrifugal still works good though.

Norcalz71 · Ollie Joined: 21 Mar 2005 Posts: 88 City: Benicia/SLO

right on man, thanks. i have been looking into what model TC would be best for the setup but i am not exactly sure what the power band on these little engines is. the one i am looking at says peak 8hp at 3600, but i am not sure where it really starts to kick in so im not sure what rpm engagement should ideally begin at. it looks like the comet torq-a-verter setup might be a good bet though, looks strictly bolt on.

kento911 · Kickflip Joined: 29 Mar 2004 Posts: 3657 City: Phoenix

Norcalz71, if you have never ridden anything but a centrifugal, you probably wont know any better, but once you try a CVT you wont want to go back, and if you have never ridden a meshing geardrive system you probably wouldnt think poorly of a CVT but once you do its hard to go back with each of those steps the smootheness and consistancy of the pull increases quite a bit,

Norcalz71 · Ollie Joined: 21 Mar 2005 Posts: 88 City: Benicia/SLO

thats basically what i figured, keep stepping up and the more inferior would just seem like a ridiculous idea lol. if i can find the CVT that suits the application for the right price then i will just do that, better overall in the long run. If i do build im gonna try to have it up running and all by beginning of april-mid april, want to use it at our waterski team tournament in bakersfield in early may.

another thing i have been wondering, maybe im doing the math wrong (probably, first time at this stuff) but what size diameter spool is everyone running? just playing around with some numbers with a 17-85 tooth sprocket set id be looking at just about 24mph at 5000 engine rpm, but w/ an 8" diameter spool (obviously changes somewhat as the wraps come in). does this sound about right?