Tired of crankin'

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A little project I built for SIL. She decided she didn't like cranking the hand winch anymore. Only welding needed was a base for the batt box. Made a plug for P/U to keep batt charged and also a float charger. Winch is a $50 from HF, doesn't even strain picking up the bale.                   MikeOl' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw
Reply:Nice solution.I have that same winch.  I have used it for a couple of temporary projects.  Nice to have around.  HF's winches and hoists are cheap enough to be taken apart and use as project motors, too.Why didn't you make a point to attach the lower hook? What is a float charger?
Reply:I think a float charger is what they use for deep cycle batteries.  mla2ofus----   Do you ever have trouble with the net wrapped bales after an ice storm, or snow that thaws/refreezes on top of the bale?"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:A float charger turns on when the battery needs it and shuts off when its fully charged.  Just plug it in and leave it with no worries.Nice way to handle a single bale.Those short trailers are a bitch to back up. DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Originally Posted by tapwelderWhy didn't you make a point to attach the lower hook?
Reply:Originally Posted by farmersammmla2ofus----   Do you ever have trouble with the net wrapped bales after an ice storm, or snow that thaws/refreezes on top of the bale?
Reply:Nice work? Anyone got the harborfreight float charger? I thinkin of picking one up? Does it work alright?
Reply:Originally Posted by welderShaneNice work? Anyone got the harborfreight float charger? I thinkin of picking one up? Does it work alright?
Reply:Mike,Interesting little project there.A couple of comments though.  The end of the winch cable is looped around the upright winch post and connected back to itself?    Put a connection loop onto the upright post and then hook the winch cable to -that-.  A cable end hook should never be hooked back onto the cable itself, the stress of the hook/snap back onto the cable is not good at all.  The good news there is that now you'll have to do some more welding.  The winch control pendant is tied (via those cable ties) to the top of the battery box?  So that in use the operator is reaching under or around or near the in-use winch and winch cables?    Never, ever, ever operate a winch while so close to the winch cable.  If and when a cable breaks, you don't want to be that close.  And being that close to an operating machine (even if it is 'just' a slow moving cable winch) is not so good either.  A snapped wire rope/cable is a dangerous thing.  In use the operator is supposed to be off to the side and holding the winch control pendant, not reaching under the moving cable with their face right next to that cable.Is the pulley/snatch block on the hay-bale lifting arm made for a wire rope/cable?  If it is, no problem there.  If it made/sized for a 'regular' rope, replace it with one made for cable or wire-rope.The battery in the battery box -is- a deep-cycle (aka trolling motor) battery, right?  Not a regular battery?  A 'regular' car battery is made to give just a 'jolt' of current to the starter but to mostly spend its time fully charged.  A deep cycle battery is made to supply current over a longer period of time and can withstand being deeply discharged and then recharged.  If you know that, never mind.  Maybe plug up those open pipe ends on the the trailer?  They just look like critters will try and set-up home in there.  Critters like mud daubers, or other things that don't appreciate when you get close to 'their' homes.  Welding or just plug ends.A "float charger" is made to keep a charged battery charged.  Sometimes also called a "trickle charger", because it supplies a trickle of 'juice' to the battery.   Although a trickle chager and a float charger are not exactly the same thing, sometimes they are called the same and used the same. Good ones may have some electronic 'smarts' so that the battery isn't 'cooked' or overcharged.  Dumb ones may just rely on being so low-powered that the battery is able to absorb the charging energy internally and not get overcharged.Oh, and more welding is needed.  You could/should put a latch/catch over the lever lifting arm so that in the 'closed' position the latch/catch holds the arm in place instead of the cable from the winch.  The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
Reply:Moonrise, I say this w/ toungue in cheek. Were you an MSHA or OSHA inspector in a former life?? Seriously all good points and I'll change them in the near future. We bought this place from the wife's sister and she lives next door. We moved in here in July and between her and the wife I haven't had too much slack time w/ all the honey do's.                         Thanks,                                   MikeOl' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw
Reply:OSHA inspector?  Nope, not me.  If OSHA were regulating that relatively simple little trailer with a winch, there'd probably be operator curtain guards around the whole thing, a requirement that the operator be 2x farther away from the 'machine' as there was length of cable off of the spool, cable sheaths, 20 pounds of warning stickers and placards, 74 pages of operators manuals of which 72 pages were generic 'safety' boilerplate and 1 page was the title page, and so forth.Personal opinion is that some (many?) OSHA/government regs have gone too far, some don't go far enough, and some actually do make sense.But I have developed a sense and philosophy about machines.And that is:The Machine Doesn't Care.And another that goes along with that is:Where's it going to go and what will happen WHEN it slips or breaks?Cables under tension (what, like a cable could be under compression? ) can have enough 'stretch energy' in them that when they snap, really bad things can happen.And reaching under or around a moving cable is not a good idea at all.  Too easy to get snagged or caught/pinched.  And if/when a strand pops, you'd be much too close to the cable even if the cable over-all didn't break.Plugging up the open pipe ends?  Down low on the to-do list, until/unless someone gets stung.A quick job of putting an attachment loop onto the upright post for the end of the winch cable to attach to?  That's a pretty important one IMHO, and should be maybe 5 minutes of welding (if that) and a little bit of prep (grinder or wire wheel or flap disk to clean off some rust and paint on the post and then maybe the same on the 'loop' ends).  A pretty quick and easy job to do, and eliminates the cable end hook from 'cutting' into the cable itself.Snip the cable ties holding the winch control pendant and instruct the user(s) to stand off to the side and use the pendant to operate the winch.  Then you'll have to figure out a way to 'hold' the pendant on the trailer when it's not being used.  Some sort of hanging loop or holster/pocket? Attached Images  The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
Reply:I agree with everything moonrise said.  Especially the extra hold down like on a boat trailer.  Just a safety chain to take the tension off the cable when going places.And YES stand off to the side.  For example some one holds the winch button on after the thing contacts the stop.  The cable could break and snap back.  OUCH !  Bail back on the ground and red stuff leaking out of the person still holding the button.David Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Only drawback to bail trailers like this, is how they handle on wet ground  Fastest way to bury a pickup ya ever seenThere's 2 kinda guys that run stock...........One goes to the diner in the mornin' and b****es about the weather, and what a b**** it's gonna be to go out and feed today.The other guy's sittin' there eatin' eggs basted, hash browns, pancakes, sausage, and toast listenin' to the first guy talk.  He's feelin' pretty good because he watched the weather report, and put out enough bales to get thru the storm YESTERDAY."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/