Power to rear hitch mounted winch?

[Durango]

OK after a lot of agonizing I went with the Warn VR-10000-s (synthetic rope) on a multi-mount and a front hitch. I also want to be able to pull from the back by putting it in the rear receiver hitch. Instead of mounting permanent wiring back there I saw these 25' 1 gauge jumper cables and a light went off! do you folks think these cables (with the warn plugs mounted) would work for "once-in-a-blue-moon" use?

Thanks for your help,
Steve

 

[java]

those would be perfect. many folks use jumper cables for heavy wire. Its a cheap way to go.

 

[Antichrist]

To get the most power and longevity from your winch motor those are too small.
Your winch draws 500A at full load. Assuming you have a 12' between the battery and winch you'd need at least 2/0 leads to get close to a .5v volt drop to the motor.
That said, at 6,000lb pull #1 would give you slightly over .5v volt drop, so you'd probably be ok for your once in a blue moon pull.
The Warn plugs are too small, they only have a 175A capacity. There are higher capacity Anderson Connectors available.

 

[HenryJ]

They should work just fine. I have a lesser set that I have used to pull cars up on my trailer many times. You won't need the full 25' would be my guess. I would say 20' is plenty. Figure up what it takes from the rear receiver mounted winch, around the truck , over the side mirror to the battery. Leave a little extra for a long wheelbase crew cab truck. A little bit more for a receiver mounted to the car trailer front deck, if you have one in your future.
Mine is a 9500# winch and I believe my booster cables are 2ga IIRC. Used many times over the years. Keep in mind that the cable size is not as critical as the connection in this case. The clamps will be the limiting factor, not the cable size.
At some point run a good 1/0 or 2/0 cable. This will have good connections and be able to do the hard pulls. Use good quality automotive grade cable. Cheaper alternatives like welder lead will not hold up to the abuse in the long run. Learned from experience.
The cable and quick connector will let you use the booster cables for a quick "no hood raise" jump start. Pretty cool and wows, the one in need when you pull up in front and attach your booster cables so easily.

 

[I Leak Oil]

Cheap wiring can get VERY expensive.

 

[Antichrist]

Keep in mind that the cable size is not as critical as the connection in this case.

Sorry, that's just not accurate. Volt drop is volt drop, it doesn't matter what causes it.
Too small a cable size will "work", it just isn't good for your winch or power. The same is true for undersized connectors.

 

[HenryJ]

Sorry, that's just not accurate. Volt drop is volt drop, it doesn't matter what causes it.
Too small a cable size will "work", it just isn't good for your winch or power. The same is true for undersized connectors.

Perhaps I did not phrase my response as well as I could have. The clip on alligator clamps used on booster cables are not going to deliver 500-800 amps , therefore cable size adequate for that delivery would be excessive.
Keep in mind that I am not in a hurry pulling hard and fast. I have time and I am not a rock crawler. The winch is to help me along a little , or pull me back out of a mistake. The booster cable operations are for temporary use in a vehicle other than mine.
I don't see booster cable operation of my winch as "good" or optimal. It is a temporary solution at times when needed. My winch maxes out at 375 amps full pull. I do not exceed 200 amps and less than half that on most pulls. Even then any peak is short duration. 1ga is adequately sized for that load.
I have never exceeded 250amps in a pull. Anything beyond that would exceed the safety of my electrical system and trip the circuit breaker. I always figured if I ever did trip that breaker I would have to go back an rethink my system. No worries here Been working just fine for many years.

Bigger is always better to a point.Using booster cables on a winch can work. I would use as heavy a set as I could find. The OP did list a nice set of cables. Shortened up I think they would serve well. Not as a permanent solution, but as an option

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

I ran a rear winch and used it many times over the course of many years. I used 1/0 cable and 350A Anderson plugs the winch was delivered with. Lower voltage increases the amperage and is harder on the motor. Check with the technical department of the winch manufacture for a recommendation on the wire size they want there product to last for you.

 

[Antichrist]

I misread the OP. I thought he was talking about cutting the ends off to use the 1ga cable.
Even a worse idea IMO, though as long as it's low load and short duration, like the load and duration comparable to jump starting a car, then it would work ok.

That said, in my view it's sort of like using a tow strap to recover a stuck vehicle. It's fine as long as it's not a dynamic recovery, but all too often they turn in to one.
Using undersized components with a winch it's all too easy to tell yourself, "I just need a little more." then end up burning up a winch motor.

 

[mep1811]

Have you looked at this. ? http://www.quadratec.com/products/72006_XX_A_PG.htm

 

[DaveInDenver]

Sorry, that's just not accurate. Volt drop is volt drop, it doesn't matter what causes it.
Too small a cable size will "work", it just isn't good for your winch or power. The same is true for undersized connectors.

HenryJ is right in the sense that jumper cables, winch connections, aux wiring & grounds and even factory starter wiring is often done poorly and connections are not solid and starting to oxidize. Running #2/0 cables with terminals that are cold soldered and corroding could easily be worse than #1 cables with good connections, so people shouldn't get fooled into playing a numbers game with just wire size.

 

[Antichrist]

Running #2/0 cables with terminals that are cold soldered and corroding could easily be worse than #1 cables with good connections

Of course they could, but that wasn't my point and that's not what he originally said. He said good connections are more important than right sized wire. That's no more accurate than saying the right size cable is more important than good connections.
The right size cable and good connections are equally important. The best made connections in the world won't do you any good if the cable is too small.

 

[verdesardog]

I would use anderson plugs.... and have a short set with anderson plugs and clip to plug into your line for jump starting other vehicles.

I have anderson plugs for my jump starting setup with 15' of #00 cable:

 

[86tuning]

Only comment about Anderson plugs is that they're usually directly connected to your battery, and can be susceptible to tampering or mischief.

Consider the installation of a safety switch or solenoid, or tuck the connector where its not obvious.

For convenience reasons they are hard to beat. Tow/service trucks use them all the time for jumper cables.

 

[NMC_EXP]

Topic whiplash warning......

For the first time, I now have an electric winch (older Warn 8274 front mount on an FJ60).

I wrapped the winch hot cable in a split then zip tied piece of heater hose to protect it.

What if anything are you folks using for a circuit breaker or fuse for a winch?

The manual for the current 8274-50 does not show the use of a breaker or fuse.