Tirfor type winch

[Donnie]

I'm a forestry cutter and looking to take on my own small jobs taking down hung up trees and wind blow etc. Minimal equipment etc and I'm looking at getting a hand winch. 
 

Any advice with using one or what to buy will be very much appreciated. 
 

Will be used on the odd day and handy for in the van. 

[Alan Smith]

Personally I would go for a portable capstan winch like an EDER or Portable Winch Company. Much easier to lug around compared to a heavy Tirfor and it's even heavier cable. Like all things it depends on what you are pulling  but 90% of my hung trees/windblow clear ups etc are done with my small Honda powered winch. Having said that I do have a Tirfor for those heavy situations but that's usually for shifting a really heavy tree.

[Brushcutter]

If you need to do a lot of big winching then a petrol/2 stroke one is the one to go for.yes they are serious money but they are quick and powerful.

 

If you don't want to spend too much but want something capable then a turfor clone is what you want.  Get a 1.6 tonne one because the 3 and 5 tonne ones are so heavy. I've got a 1.6t jet hoist with 20m of cable 3 strops and a redirect block. Fits all in a 64 litre really useful box. Then sits in the truck but a god send if you need it. Did drag it over a mile on Friday. Wasn't pleased with that. 

 

Some people really swear by lug all style Winches which are lighter but I've never got on with them. 

[5thelement]

I have a full range of Tirfor and an Eder 1800. 
The Eder is quick, light, powerful and runs on the fuel I have with me in the woods (Aspen), 50m of dyneema and a block gets most things down without much effort, but an expensive outlay for occasional use. 
Get a Tirfor TU16 and a decent 3 to 4 tonne snatch block, you can pick them up on eBay for a good price, way better than the cheap Chinese ‘Tirfor type’ shit with dubious build quality.

Get an Eder or similar when funds/needs increase. 
 

[Dan Maynard]

1 hour ago, Brushcutter said:

I've got a 1.6t jet hoist with 20m of cable 3 strops and a redirect block

... and don't forget to put the handle in the van too, else it's really annoying having to go back home and get it. Only done it once. So far.

 

I'd agree 1.6t is plenty big enough and dont go for more than 20m cable as it weighs a ton. There's a whole load of the Chinese ones which are essentially the same, Jet was available from L&S at the time so I thought would be good to use a reputable supplier in case of issues but its been faultless.

 

I've also upgraded to the petrol power, lot of money but brilliant. I went for PCW4000 as it was in stock, has holding cleat, and throttle control by rope tension bit like the Eder, and works with wider range of rope. 

[Brushcutter]

52 minutes ago, Dan Maynard said:

... and don't forget to put the handle in the van too, else it's really annoying having to go back home and get it. Only done it once. So far.

 

I'd agree 1.6t is plenty big enough and dont go for more than 20m cable as it weighs a ton. There's a whole load of the Chinese ones which are essentially the same, Jet was available from L&S at the time so I thought would be good to use a reputable supplier in case of issues but its been faultless.

 

I've also upgraded to the petrol power, lot of money but brilliant. I went for PCW4000 as it was in stock, has holding cleat, and throttle control by rope tension bit like the Eder, and works with wider range of rope. 

Yes the handle. I've often thought about cutting it shorter so it fits in the box. Then when something gets proper stuck and you want the full length handle  so it still forget length. I can tell you from personal experience that a husky universal axe fits nicely on the turbo stub. Works well to a point....

[roys]

I’ve had to resort to a scaffold tube before, bit sloppy but did the job.

[Will C]

When you leave the handle and associated bits behind and use the scaffold tube a 5.2mm file goes in the shear pin hole and snaps off just right , you can get a bit more pull from the longer handle then 🫣

[Mark Bolam]

1 hour ago, Dan Maynard said:

... and don't forget to put the handle in the van too, else it's really annoying having to go back home and get it. Only done it once. So far.

 

I'd agree 1.6t is plenty big enough and dont go for more than 20m cable as it weighs a ton. There's a whole load of the Chinese ones which are essentially the same, Jet was available from L&S at the time so I thought would be good to use a reputable supplier in case of issues but its been faultless.

 

I've also upgraded to the petrol power, lot of money but brilliant. I went for PCW4000 as it was in stock, has holding cleat, and throttle control by rope tension bit like the Eder, and works with wider range of rope. 

I too went for the 1.6 Jet winch about 16 years ago and haven’t regretted it.

Not much I can’t do with it.

No real speed though, if that’s important.

 

As Dan says, don’t forget the handle.

You won’t do it twice.

[roys]

I also found a motorbike front tyre works for me as storage method for the wire rope, there is a technique for putting it into and removing it from the tyre without dealing with loads of kinks. Which is basically rolling the tyre to remove the rope.