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Electric winches are most commonly used to pull a car, boat, crane, truck, or other equipment out of a problem area. If a car goes off the road and down a ravine, for example, trucks with these types of winches are used to hook the car up and pull it back onto the road. They can also be used to safely tow boats. There have even been rare cases where they helped save large animals from tricky holes and pits.
Electric winches come in all different shapes and sizes. They usually include a two-speed motor. A cable is connected to a reel, which is connected to the motor. A gear lever turns the spool to release the cable.
Once the cables of an electric winch are extended to the vehicle or object to be towed, the gear levers are pushed in the opposite direction of the object. This causes the reel to wrap. As the reel is wound, the cables are pulled. This causes the object to be safely thrown where it belongs.
Electric winches are generally capable of handling loads from 500 pounds (267 kg) up to two tons. The cables and motors on these winches are specifically created to handle different weight loads. Winches capable of handling large load capacities are more expensive. Those capable of handling loads of 12,000 pounds (5,448 kg), for example, cost more than 700 United States dollars (USD). A typical 9,000 pound (4,086 kg) winch costs between US$300 and US$600.
The standard length of cables on an electric winch is 100 feet (30.5 m). These winches also come with an automatic brake and remote hand control. They can deliver engine output from a third of a horsepower to over 50 horsepower. They can be easily installed on the back of a truck, boat, or solid surface. However, when shopping for electric winches, it’s important to research each product and read consumer reviews, as many models make promises they can’t keep.
The world’s largest electric winch is moored to a platform on a deepwater construction vessel called the Balder, which can handle loads of 275 metric tons. The Balder has a capacity of 350 workers and is used to rescue sinking oil rigs, to assist in the installation of subsea oil pipelines, and to install oil rigs.