WARN 30XL Series - Manual (Page 11)

11
WARN Industrial Winches
Spooling Guidelines
Stretching wire rope
The life of a wire rope directly relates to its use
and to the care it receives. A new wire rope must
be “stretched” or spooled onto the drum under a
load of at least 500 lb. (227 kg.). The objective of
“stretching” is to produce tight even wraps on the
inner and outer layers of the rope, thus
preventing damage to the rope from binding and
kinking.
To accomplish the stretching operation, follow the
guidelines and safety precautions in the Basic
Guide to Winching Techniques. Set up your
vehicle and winch for a straight-line pull on flat
ground. Spool out all but the last five wraps.
Attach the rope to an anchor point or load.
Operate the winch using the remote switch as
you sit in the driver’s seat keeping light pressure
on the brake. Spool the final few feet of rope
while griping the hook with a hook strap.
Spooling out
Freespooling is generally the quickest and
easiest way to spool out wire rope. Before
freespooling, power out enough rope to remove
any tension the rope may be under. Disengage
the clutch. Now freespool by manually pulling out
enough wire rope for the winching operation.
Always leave at least 5 wraps on the drum.
Spooling in under load
Never exceed the rated line pull of the winch.
Power in the wire rope evenly and tightly on the
drum. This prevents the outer wire wraps from
drawing into the inner wraps, binding, and
damaging the wire rope.
Avoid shock loads when spooling by using the
control switch intermittently to take up wire rope
slack. Shock loads can momentarily far exceed
the winch and wire rope ratings. The maximum
recommended fleet angle (side pull angle) is 5
degrees. Exceeding the recommended fleet
angle will cause damage to the winch drum and/
Spooling in under no load
Assisted - Have your assistant hold the hook with
the hook strap putting as much constant tension
on the wire rope as possible. While keeping
tension, the assistant should walk toward the
winch while you operate the control switch.
Release the switch when the hook is 8 ft. (2.4 m.)
from the fairlead opening. Spool in the remainder
for storage.
Unassisted - Arrange the wire rope to be spooled
so it will not kink or tangle when spooled. Be sure
any wire rope on the drum is tightly and evenly
layered. Spool enough wire rope to complete the
next full layer on the drum. Tighten and
straighten the layer. Repeat the process until the
hook is 8 ft. (2.4 m) from the fairlead opening.
Spool in the remainder for storage.
Spooling remainder for storage
Secure the hook to a suitable anchor point near
the winch. Carefully power in the remaining wire
rope, jogging the control switch to take up the
last of the slack. Be careful to not over tighten or
damage may occur to the wire rope or anchor
point.
or rope tensioner. A suitable fairlead must be
mounted for pulling angles that exceed 5
degrees.