Out Of The Groove--the V-velt Groove, That Is!!
02-04-2002, 06:45 AM
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Out Of The Groove--the V-velt Groove, That Is!!
Having built several winches using the venerable v-belt brake, I got tired of the delicate machining involved in the v-groove. I decided to try the flat serpentine belt found on the newer cars. I found that it works just great. So well, in fact, that I was able to cut the belt down from the original 3/4" width to 7/16". At the same time I bandsawed the ribs off to increase the contact area since I didn't machine any small grooves in the drum. Added benefits include the drum being lighter and the belt being easier to secure to the winch frame.
I've attached a photo showing the winch which is powered by a modified Chevy 350 starter equipped with dual ball bearings. It's a real puller!! The drum is 4 3/8" in diameter and holds 1500' of 120# braided nylon line.
What do you think? Is this a better way to get 'em up there?
I've attached a photo showing the winch which is powered by a modified Chevy 350 starter equipped with dual ball bearings. It's a real puller!! The drum is 4 3/8" in diameter and holds 1500' of 120# braided nylon line.
What do you think? Is this a better way to get 'em up there?
02-04-2002, 10:50 AM
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Winch
Nice job!
How fast does it rewind at the end of the flying session? Some GM starters are series wound. Without a load, series wound motors will increase their RPM without limit (until something fails).
How fast does it rewind at the end of the flying session? Some GM starters are series wound. Without a load, series wound motors will increase their RPM without limit (until something fails).
02-04-2002, 02:14 PM
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Out Of The Groove--the V-velt Groove, That Is!!
You're right about it turning really fast. This was a problem with it mounted on the tailgate of my pick-up because the line would whip up under the truck as I pulsed the winch. So, I came up with a cheap solution, which I call the "WinchTamer", shown in the photo. It consists of a 15' length of #14 wire spliced to two short pieces of #10 wire. The WinchTamer, which is a water cooled resistor, is connected between the solenoids and the winch when I spool the line in. Having the splices and the #14 wire submerged in water keeps them from overheating. It provides enough current to spool the line safely with a little pulsing of the switch. One of these with a shorter length of #14 wire could be used to limit the winch power for launching delicate sailplanes, or for someone not accustomed to a powerful 12-volt winch.
