Hobbs device

Jehinten said:
Thanks everyone for the good answers so far. So is the one advantage of the hobbs the overall strength of the unit? I know it can pretension and lift as well, but so can the other two units in question.

Just my thought, but I don't lift every limb to lower, if I did I'd make smaller cuts and use the rig-n-wrench. I am leaning towards the stein for my purposes, but am still interested in everyone's responses before I make my decision.

The one job that comes to mind where lifting and a locking bollard would be most useful was a recent maple removal that was over a house and privacy fence, and had 8 utility wires under the tree and no room for the lower limbs to swing down. The rig-n-wrench is great, but with only one person on the ground and that many obstacles I really need something with a little more control and a lock off feature.
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There is nothing wimpy about the grcs. Very well built. Actually they're all well built. The grcs has a 2 speed feature, and when something is cut loose in negative rigging the groundie can pull the rope thru the winch bollard to take up the momentary induced slack. The winch will ratchet right with it and re-tension the rope. It's more or less ....... how much do you want to spend?
 
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Stein : you plan on doing a little lifting here and there, cycles will not be long of frequently repeated.

GRCS : your planning on utilizing it's winch for long lifts kinda often. Like maybe you live in an area with large decurrent trees where the limbs often start low to the ground with big wood?

Hobbs : your work style is that of which your hardly lifting at all but will be ripping huge pieces, often times pretensioning big lines.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong. This is just my interpretation of these devices.
 
I think that is a good overall description of their respective strengths. Often I have thought about building my own mini "sailboat winch device". Something lightweight and specific for 10mm-13mm ropes. Most of work is smaller so it's not really about strength but more about an easier way to lift or move over something than a 5:1 or other prusik based system that I keep having to move during the process. I think the GRCS is a great device to own, I just don't know that I need something that heavy duty and heavy for 90% of my jobs. Hence why I still use a fixed bollard and a 5:1. Lol
 
I have used all of the lowering devices mention and the Hobbs is by far the best. The POW is a joke for real wrecking jobs, and I have personally witnessed 2 GRCS devices brake on the job. I have seen the insides of the GRCS and it has some real design flaws. I bought my first Hobbs 25 years ago and it is still kicking ass. Call Don Blair and have a discussion about the Hobbs.
 
erik smith said:
I have used all of the lowering devices mention and the Hobbs is by far the best. The POW is a joke for real wrecking jobs, and I have personally witnessed 2 GRCS devices brake on the job. I have seen the insides of the GRCS and it has some real design flaws. I bought my first Hobbs 25 years ago and it is still kicking ass. Call Don Blair and have a discussion about the Hobbs.
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POW?


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The Poster has all of the lowering devices mentioned, but doesn't mention the Stein in his post.

I am interested in the Stein, & would like to see more feedback on actual field use.


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I had a Hobbs before I started working on the Stein bollards 8 yeas ago. Obviously that brought about a conflict of interest. If not for that situation, theres little doubt Id still be using now. It might not self tail, but a single guy can still crank it without too much trouble. The only slight drawback is that you can't take half wraps, because there's only one fair lead on the way out. Other than that, I'd recommend one without hesitation.
 
I couldn't decide which of these I would use the most, so I bought both. Pic taken when they were new. They're holding up well, and I'm glad I got them both. Strong as hell, but heavy. That's a good thing, though... they probably won't break. Yellow zinc plating is still good after a year. The big Stein cranker looks like it would hold up to anything I'm likely to use it for, and it's what? About $1200 with the winch? Good price, something I can probably afford. I don't bomb half the tree down in one shot, so I'm thinking it would be up to the job. The Hobbs and GRCS are just too much money for a po' boy from the other side of the tracks.

SteinRC-1k-2k-1.webp SteinRC-1k-2k-2.webp

I like the idea of the big bollard, so maybe $650 for the RCW-3001 and then buy the winch later? I think it ends up being the same price whether you buy it all at once or separately.
 
JeffGu said:
I couldn't decide which of these I would use the most, so I bought both. Pic taken when they were new. They're holding up well, and I'm glad I got them both. Strong as hell, but heavy. That's a good thing, though... they probably won't break. Yellow zinc plating is still good after a year. The big Stein cranker looks like it would hold up to anything I'm likely to use it for, and it's what? About $1200 with the winch? Good price, something I can probably afford. I don't bomb half the tree down in one shot, so I'm thinking it would be up to the job. The Hobbs and GRCS are just too much money for a po' boy from the other side of the tracks.

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I like the idea of the big bollard, so maybe $650 for the RCW-3001 and then buy the winch later? I think it ends up being the same price whether you buy it all at once or separately.
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I had a porty made from ss schedule 80 pipe. Looks to be the same size as your stein. I know what you mean by heavy. That one doesn't come out as much any more.
 
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