Looking for grade 70 chain or winch line inexpensive

[supesazpd]

I don't have the money to get a bumper/winch on my 2011 Xterra so I am using a Hi-Lift jack for winching if needed. What I need now is an extension line. I know the chain is heavier but much cheaper. But finding chain is proving to be difficult outside of Ebay. I already have the Hi-Lift ORK Off Road Kit
I did find some 3/16" synthetic winch line at Viking but I don't think it would be strong enough (waiting for a response from them).
Does anyone know where I can purchase grade 70 3/8" in maybe a 40'-50' length for not too expensive?
How about a synthetic winch line that would fit this bill?

[keezer37]

Here's various types.

[Antichrist]

Grade 70 Transport chain is not cheap.
Here's one place at random: http://www.mfrexpress.com/38x25-grad...ink-p-551.html

[I Leak Oil]

Grade 70 Transport chain is not cheap.

Aint that the truth! I bet most of it covers the liability insurance constitutes most of the cost!

[endo]

I don't have the money to get a bumper/winch on my 2011 Xterra so I am using a Hi-Lift jack for winching if needed. What I need now is an extension line.

please don't use chain for winch recovery. Just get a winch extension line for a reputable source. Chain as a winch extension is such a safety concern. The cost difference of an extension is nothing compared to personal or property injury costs when the chain fails.

[LR Max]

Grade 70 Transport chain is not cheap.

Truth.

Go with 3/8" synthetic winch extension. It is easy to handle and doesn't weigh a ton. They'll probably cost about the same and the winch line is MADE for what you are using it for so I think that is probably the better bet.

[supesazpd]

Hey Endo, can you explain why the winch line is so much safer than chain? I have always read that you still need to weigh your winch line in case it breaks, why would this be any different for chain? The grade 70 is what is widely recommended for the Hi-Lift winch set up. I am not trying to be a jerk, I am looking for the best way and if chain isn't it I am not committed to it.

[endo]

Ok. For starters the chain you are speaking of has a break strength of 6600 lbs. Your cable is rated at over 15k more like 17 to 21k probably. Chain has roughly a 4% elongation (stretch) and is not static. It also gives little or no indication when it is going to fail unlike cable which will ping and pop. Additionally it has alot of mass for its strength. Mass equals potential energy when loaded. When it fails it fails usually in a catastrophic way. Synthetic line and or strap has much less mass and although you should always rig a parachute on a winch line synthetic or steel. The likelihood of stored energy in a lower mass object causing damage is less than a higher mass object. As to using it with a highlift perfectly acceptable. I am 250lbs I cannot generate enough force with a highlift to exceed the working limits of a chain used to rig a 4000lb truck without mechanical advantage. Simply put. Be safe buy a winch extension from a reputable source.

[Tennmogger]

Don't sell old tech chain short. One thing you can do with chain that you cannot do with synth line is winch with it for the entire length of the chain. Most people hook one line to one end of the Highlift, and a second line (be it chain, cable, or synthetic rope) and cycle the Highlift to pull the two ends together. They they slacken everything (including the vehicle) and hope the vehicle stays put. Works fine, for maybe 3 or 4 feet. And if you can't hold the vehicle from sliding back..then what? With a chain you can hook a short chain across the span of the Highlift and hold the vehicle where it is when you slack off on the jack. Lengthen the jack, re-hook, and pull again against the still-tensioned chain. You can keep that up for the length of the chain.

Synthetic line is good as an extension for the chain. BTW, you can't use synthetic winch line for dynamic pulling either, just like chain.

As for size of chain, check the charts and decide for yourself, but I have done a lot of Highlift pulling with 1/4" chain. I'd challenge anyone to pull that in two by way of Highlift jack. A human, moving the handle horizontally, can't get anywhere near full 7000 lb rating out of a Highlift. A length of grade 70 chain in 1/4" link does not weigh, or cost, that much. It stores well in a sack, and fits in awkward places (much easier than a coil of cable, IMHO).


.

Hey Endo, can you explain why the winch line is so much safer than chain? I have always read that you still need to weigh your winch line in case it breaks, why would this be any different for chain? The grade 70 is what is widely recommended for the Hi-Lift winch set up. I am not trying to be a jerk, I am looking for the best way and if chain isn't it I am not committed to it.

[supesazpd]

Ok, maybe I have my terms wrong, but isn't winching static and not dynamic? And grade 70 3/8" chain has an operating strength of 6600lbs, the actual breaking strength is 26,400lbs... I understand the stored energy in the chain can be transferred in a more dangerous way, this is why it needs to be weighted down. I can get about 40' of chain with 4 hooks for about $100 shipped. Do you know where I can get a synthetic line with hooks or eyes for a comparable price?
Does anyone know where I can get chain for cheaper than this price?
Again, I am not against the syn line but the cost is what I am looking at. Weight isn't the only factor for me (I don't mind breaking a sweat
And ref the 1/4" chain, I don't think it will fit in my hi-lift 'chain choke' and other chain slots.