Powering a 12v winch with a 110v house power supply--help.

SouthSoundTree-

SouthSoundTree-

TreeHouser
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Sep 24, 2014
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What would it take to power a 12v winch with a 110v house power supply?

Ideally, I believe I would want to hook up my 12k winch to a seperate battery with a Battery Isolator and/ or seperate alternator. Frequently, I'm near 110v.

I understand that I would need to have as short of extension cords of a large diameter as possible. The electrical leads from the winch are thick welder-type power wire.


When I first got the winch, mounted in a frame to plug into a hitch receiver, I rolled it into a remote place and ran it off a battery to pull a plum tree off a house. I have also run it off my pick-up battery for some easy-ish
backleaner pulls.

Last time I used the winch for a pull tree, it drew too much power and killed the chip truck engine mid-pull. I had run it off the battery in the truck with the welder wire run to the Positive battery clamp bolt with ring-tip connector. Ground is on the bumper next to the winch. The battery was "dead", too. It might have taken a charge after that. I might have swapped batteries. I think that the alternator maybe was on its way out at the time.

I was almost 'there' when it happened, and could cut the hinge up thinner and get it to finish tipping over.

I used it this summer trying to pull a stump from a windthrown tree, but it was too much, and again killed the battery and truck. Both of these hard-pull instances were right next to house power.

I've had a electical problem with my truck where I have a leak somewhere, or the alternator isn't working enough. I'm going to possibly take the alternator in today to have it tested. Electrical problems are a pain in the ass. New starter, alternator, battery, positive battery cable, and cleaned the ground point on the frame for the negative.
 
That shouldn't kill the truck and if it does the battery should recover, I'd expect an alternator and a battery at the same time
 
I've seen Chevy alternators get to the point you couldn't pull start the vehicle, just locked the engine up!
To run that winch off of 110v, it's gonna be a PITA! You will need something like this, http://www.essentialhardware.com/sc...paign=google&gclid=CPGX4L6co8ICFQuLaQodCQUABg or bigger, and another 12v battery, maybe a deep cycle for this use, as well as a good extension cord.
If it were me, I'd replace the alternator on the truck with at least a 120 amp unit, add a second battery tied to the first battery, positive to positive and ground both to the chassis and hook the winch directly to the second battery post. This will give you double the amperage on starting but still maintain 12v and give the winch some breathing room.
Per Warn, their 12k winch needs 67 amps just to run, then maxes out at 440 amps, that's a whole lot of current! Not something you will be able to run constantly under a full load! http://www.warn.com/truck/winches/src/M1200.shtml Then you will have an even shorter run time running it off a charger as the battery will get VERY hot quickly!
Get the specs on your winch and get back, but I really think a second battery and better alternator are a much better option.
 
sotc said:
That shouldn't kill the truck and if it does the battery should recover, I'd expect an alternator and a battery at the same time
Click to expand...

Not always, if the alternator can't keep up with the demands on it these new cars wont run! Remember everything is computer controlled now days! In fact that's an easy way to test an alternator now days. Disconnect the positive battery terminal while the car is running, if it dies, the alt is toast! Many times the battery can be saved, it's life might be shortened because of the abuse, but they can work for a while.
I had a '67 F250 that would run for a week or more with a bad alt, but it drew little current when running, other than the lights, my '04 F150 wont run for two days just off the battery because there is so much current draw from the computers etc.
 
First and foremost, are you keeping the vehicle engine running whilst using the winch? I didn't see that point mentioned in your post. And if so, are you bumping the idle speed up to increase the alternator output during the heavy winch pulls?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8
Yes and no. I thought about this. The remote control for the winch doesn't reach to the drivers seat. Two groundies required. Hadn't thought about that. I'm use to a hydraulic winch that is really powerful.


This troubleshooting help is a big help.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #10
stehansen said:
You could put a battery charger on it.
Click to expand...

This was my original thought.

I have a 2a/ 6a/ 50a switch on my charger. I could at least unwind and rewind it for storage in the mean time. With the last stump, I just wanted to get home, so the cable is sorta could and strapped under the winch cover. I must have had other fires to put out.
 
Lots of ways to get the idle up on the truck, you can put a board under the gas pedal then a brick on top of it and adjust to get the idle speed you want, around 2kRPM. Use a choke cable to adjust it where you want etc. keep it simple.
The battery charger would be my last resort, but that's me.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #12
If the heart of the matter is just not having it revved enough, that'll be easy enough to remedy.

The battery charger will be good just to get it wound cleanly for now.

I like the idea of running the batteries together. We'll see if all that is in the cards on this truck.

I'd never considered that the power steering pump is a source for hydraulic pressure for a hydraulic winch.
 
Our emissions stations use what is called a gas pedal depressor.
Simple fix Sean....
LIL-48700_xl.jpg

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/lil-48700?seid=srese1&gclid=Cj0KEQiAwPCjBRDZp9LWno3p7rEBEiQAGj3KJrQrboN4kZtkfqsIu-ntQyxE6ePx-Ye6Bm1VQv1qvFYaAunx8P8HAQ
 
The winch control doesn't reach the driver's seat??? That's dumber than dumb. Fix it. If you can't put a foot on the brakes to lock all 4 wheels in a hard pull, you're missing out on pull capacity big time, Sean.

Hell, many's the time I've chained a rig down from the tow hitch to something substantial, once I put multiple blocks in play to bring up the MA on a tough pull, let alone do without friction from all 4 tires on the ground.

Using a winch properly, and to full advantage, is not rocket science, but it's not as simple as many seem to think either.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #16
Burnham, you're right. If I had more time and resources, then a lot of things would be different.
 
It shouldn't take a lot of time or resources to make the winch controls reach the drivers seat.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #19
Resources are still finite. Action happens when opportunity, resources, and motivation all line up. My truck hasn't been home in the weeks either, and I'm short one out of two groundies.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #21
Thanks. Ramsey winch. I'll get to it. Skipped work, by and large today, sick nanny, slightly sick kid dripping her off with mom in a bit.

I can get more restful sleep without a cuddling, flip flopping toddler in bed.

I won't likely get back over to my truck until Friday, at best.

I'm coming to a slow down of winter prep work. Dahlia will be visiting family out of state for a week at Christmas. So I might get some maintenance done..
 
Winch control wiring is easy to extend...4 strands of the same diameter as original, 8 solder joints, and a bunch of electrical tape to close it up. Easy peasy, and cheap. You can go fancier, but needn't.
 
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