Ramsey Winch 800/H-800 DOW-LOK - Manual (Page 3)

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Safety Precautions To Guard Against Possible Injury
A. Clutch must be totally engaged before starting the winch operation.
B. Do not disengage clutch under load.
C. Stay out from under and away from raised loads.
D. Stand clear of cable while pulling. Do not try to guide cable.
E. Do not exceed maximum line pull ratings shown in specifications.
F. Do not use winch to lift, support, or otherwise transport people.
G. A minimum of 5 wraps of cable around the drum barrel is necessary to
hold load. Cable set screw is not designed to hold load.
TECHNIQUES OF OPERATION
The best way to get acquainted with how your winch operates is to make test runs before you actually use it. Plan your test in
advance. Remember, you hear your winch, as well as see it operate. Get to recognize the sounds of a light steady pull, a heavy
pull, and sounds caused by load jerking or shifting. Gain confidence in operating your winch and its use will become second
nature with you.
The uneven spooling of cable, while pulling a load, is not a problem, unless there is a cable pileup on one end of drum. If this
happens reverse the winch to relieve the load and move your anchor point further to the center of the vehicle. After the job is
done you can unspool and rewind for a neat lay of the cable.
The Dow-Lok® clutch provides free spooling and clutch engagement with the cable drum. With the clutch disengaged, the
cable can be freespooled off the drum. For winching in the load the clutch must be fully engaged with the drum.
The Dow-Lok® clutch is latched into either the engaged, “IN” position, or the disengaged “OUT” position, by a pin at the bottom
of the shifter handle which fits into latching slots.
TO UNLATCH CLUTCH
Run winch in the reverse (reel out) direction until the load is off the cable, Grasp handle firmly and while pushing on the top of
the handle with the thumb for leverage, lift until pin clears latching slots.
TO ENGAGE CLUTCH
Unlatch and pull handle toward “IN” position as far as it will go. In order to attain full engagement, internal elements of the
clutch must be aligned. This alignment will take place when the cable drum or cable drum shaft turns a maximum of 1/4 revolu-
tion. The clutch will automatically spring into engagement and pin will drop into “IN” slots when this alignment takes place. Do
not attempt to lift a load unless pin is fully into “IN” slots. Keep clear of spring-loaded handle during automatic
engagement.
TO DISENGAGE CLUTCH
Unlatch and push handle to “OUT” position and fully insert pin into latching slots. Do not disengage the clutch under load.
The Dow-Lok® air-shifter clutch provides free spooling and clutch engagement with the cable drum. With the clutch disen-
gaged, the cable can be freespooled off the drum. For winching in the load the clutch must be fully engaged with the drum.
TO ENGAGE CLUTCH
There must be a minimum of 1 foot of slack in the cable before attempting to engage the clutch. This will allow the drum to
rotate a minimum of 1/4 turn allowing engagement of the clutch before picking up the load. With this slack in the cable, exhaust
air pressure from the air shift cylinder. Run the winch in the “IN” direction until the clutch starts to turn. Clutch must be fully
engaged before starting the winch operation.
TO DISENGAGE CLUTCH
Run winch in the “OUT” direction until there is no load on the cable. Apply 70-90 psi to the air shift cylinder to disengage the
clutch. Do not disengage the clutch under load.