One of the smallest, and most reliable, lightweight winches in the world is a wire rope winch. There portable, easy to store, and offer an excellent solution for those that need to pull heavy items, or lift them into place. If you are in a situation where you need to recover an item, or perhaps move a sizable tree branch, these will do the job. You can put them in your toolbox, or in the back of your truck, using it whenever it is required. Let’s discuss how they work and why you would need to use a wire rope winch.
How Are They Different From Other Winches?
If you have ever installed a winch on a boat, or even a vehicle, you know how large and cumbersome these can be. These are self-contained units, with many moving parts, and may require hours to install in most cases. With an electric wire rope winch, it is ready to use within minutes. All you have is the winch itself and the cable. At the end of the cable is a hook that you will attach to the item that you need to move, and then use the crank to activate the winch.
What Would You Use This For?
These are used for very small jobs. They are capable of moving items that are several hundred pounds. You could use this in a shop when you are lifting heavy items for an engine that you are working on. If you need to move a stone, perhaps bring it up a hill, a rope pulling winch would be the ideal solution. These are not the type of winch that you would use on a boat or a ship except to move barrels or beams that are simply too heavy to lift.
Manual And Electric Wire Rope Winches
There are two different types of these winch machines that you can purchase. One is operated manually. The other will be powered by electricity. There is a crank on the manual unit that you can turn, or crank back and forth, depending upon its design. The electric model has a button, or a lever, that will allow you to extend or retract the line.
How To Set Them Up
The line that you will use, which is usually a steel cable, will be fed through an opening. This allows it to interact with the winch, similar to larger winches with the spool. You will then attach the hook to the item you are moving. It is important to wrap the cable around securely. Once it is in place, we will then begin to crank the winch, or turn the electric winch machine on, to bring the item toward you using the power of the winch itself.
If you do not have a smaller winch that you can use for emergency purposes, the wire rope winch would be ideal. It can be brought with you to virtually any location. They are lightweight and easy to use. Whether you choose to obtain a smaller manually operated winch or one that is electric, it will depend on how much you have to spend. Overall, these are very useful items that can be used by virtually anyone, even if they have never operated a winch before.