Sooner or later, no mater your off-roading experience you're bound to get stuck be it in the sand or mud. Especially, if you're not careful how you position your wheels and how you drive through different terrain. But that is not an obstacle a true off-roader can't overcome. Many people have bogged down their vehicles but because of one component, a winch, they've been able to save their 4x4s.
A winch is not only able to free your vehicle but it's also able to do so when no one is around to help. As long as there's a rock or a tree strong enough to help your vehicle get out you'll be fine. This way you can go on solo adventures without worry but also help someone else that needs to recover their vehicle.
Motor
What is It?
The head unit, the brains of the whole operation, when it comes to a winch, is its motor. A winch motor relies on two components, coils wound around in a circle known as an armature and a collection of magnets placed around the coils which is called a stator. Winch motors work by having the stator produce a magnetic field by moving around the armature so that an electric current flows through it. But not every winch motor is made the same.
Types
There are two types of winch motors you'll find being used in winches. These are series wound and permanent magnet motors.
With permanent magnet motors, you have the above operation present. There are no field coils and only a permanent magnet, or stator, which makes for a more efficient electric winch motor. This is because permanent magnet motors drain the battery of your 4x4 far less than series wound motors. Series wound motors, on the other hand, are more powerful but also more efficient at high speeds. They are able to generate more torque as they use field coils connected in a series together with the armature coil. This is why series wound winches are considered to be heavy-duty winches.
Gear
Planetary
The majority of electric winches rely on planetary gears nowadays since they are compact and weigh less. Winches with planetary gears offer smooth operation and a more efficient pulling power while having a long service life and being quite stable too. They are quite noisy and accumulate heat a lot more than some other types of gearing systems.
Spur
Spur gearing systems are made up of one small wheel-shaped gear and one large wheel-shaped gear. This design makes them have a power efficiency of 75 % and the ability to work fast too. One big drawback of spur gears is the amount of noise they generate but they still operate fairly well.
Worm
When it comes to industrial applications and off-roading, winches with worm gears are much preferred. Why? That's because they can also be used for low lowering and holding. With a built-in braking mechanism, worm gears are quite reliable and have a power transfer efficiency between 35 % and 40 %.
Solenoid
What is It?
A solenoid is essentially an electromagnetic switch. Solenoids in winches are used in order to help control the winch motor. Also, the number of solenoids present in a winch can vary as those with more solenoids are found to be more efficient but also more dependable.
Types
A winch can either have an integrated or a remote solenoid pack. The main difference here is that integrated solenoids are part of the winch while remote ones are mounted outside of the winch. With the former, you get a simpler winch that has fewer chances of short-circuiting. A winch with remote solenoids is safer from the heat exerted by the motor as it doesn't affect the function of the solenoids.
Number of Solenoids
The higher the number of solenoids you have in a winch the more reliable it is and also it's usually stronger. That is if we're talking about winches with a series wound motor. The fewer solenoids there are the less powerful and more affordable the winch is going to be.
Types of Winches
Electrical
An electrical winch is one that relies on a winch motor and as you'd expect it's powered by electricity. They are more advanced and thus better at extracting a bogged-down vehicle but they're also not as reliable as manual ones.
Manual
A manual winch is, as you'd expect, completely reliant on the power of your own two hands. Any light objects can be pulled out with a manual winch but don't expect to do a vehicle recovery with it.
Hydraulic
A hydraulic winch makes use of electrical power together with the help of a highly viscous fluid. Hydraulic winches are one of the most powerful since the viscosity of the fluid inside them allows them to pull extremely heavy loads.
