Potential Cheap Tree Winch

treegongfu

treegongfu

Branched out member
I'm thinking of using a Greenfield sky winch as a tree lifting device.

Just wondering if anyone has an opinion on its suitability and offering it up as a potential tree attachable lifting device at a much lower price.

It appears to grab the rope in the same manner as the masdam rope puller.

It sells for $45 on the Walmart Web page

http://mobile.walmart.com/ip/Greenfield-SKYWinch-for-Up-to-1-2-Rope/35879263

It would need a backing plate welded on to make it attachable to the tree.
 
Interesting....

No load rating....

If I was trying it, I'd back it up with a porty below--that way you could capture the load if there was a failure. At least until you got familiar with what it would handle. Just a thought.
 
Yes, I thought of that but it looks like the way it works may prevent that-looks like the rope has to come out of it 180° from the direction it enters.

I'm not sure about lifting heavy stuff but just generating lift capacity for branches that my ground man can then handle with ouT the aid of a friction device.
 
it will slip when over loading just like a rope puller will. Probabley around the 2000lbs mark. It would need a safety lock off like a prusik or belay type tool
I would guess it will work fine on its own if you compare it to a say a wrap and half mb even two wraps on a porti.
Definitely room for a light winch rig combo in my bag a tricks.
I can see using it in the tree to tension a limb or leader for pruning or cabling etc.
Cool stuff thanks for sharing.
 
RopeShield said:
it will slip when over loading just like a rope puller will. Probabley around the 2000lbs mark. It would need a safety lock off like a prusik or belay type tool
I would guess it will work fine on its own if you compare it to a say a wrap and half mb even two wraps on a porti.
Definitely room for a light winch rig combo in my bag a tricks.
I can see using it in the tree to tension a limb or leader for pruning or cabling etc.
Cool stuff thanks for sharing.
Click to expand...
What Ropeshield said--a prusik above would be the thing.
 
Contact the manufacturer for ratings. On their site the only thing that suggests a load capacity is that it can handle "most small boats up to 18'". Like Ropeshield suggests it could be used for pretensioning smaller stuff.
 
I just wonder how it will stand up if a piece shock loads it. If winching then a piece pops off you don't want to blow a bearing etc.
 
Spec's on the manufacturer website are for pulling a 350 lb boat into a trailer, that's a static load going up a water slicked ramp. I think a dynamic load on that little thing could lead to "a lotta 'splainin' to do." Seems like, given the anemic load it's rated for, a couple rigging biners and a rigging prussik to make a 3/1 z-rig with progress capture when needed, would cost about the same, be just as effective and be rated for the task as well.
 
I just got an email from a company rep.

Basically it goes like this: winches are rated based not on how much they can pull, but on how much force they can withstand before becoming damaged. It was built to the same spec as a standard 500lb winches. However, it's a non-ratcheting design, so they went conservative on the spec sheet. Seems like if you were to use this for limb raising, you might be in a tough spot when it broke free, handle flying in the wrong direction. Seems very limited.
 
re. the possibility of the handle flying and causing mayhem, the ad does state "...crank arm will not spin backwards until released with trigger for controlled payout, allowing you to release the boat at your own speed."
 
or find a way to implement a mount for the tree, and use it like the RCW, as a winch that pulls on the load line with a supplementary line and friction hitch. The actual load line can have slack taken up through a porty or other bollard/friction device so once the piece breaks free/shocks there isn't the reliance on the winch to hold the load
 
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