Trailer winch install.

[NIsaacs]

Just installed an 8,000# Smittybilt on my gooseneck. Seems like an okay winch in this size, lifetime warranty on the winch with 1 year on the motor, made in China Instructions said to use a 650cca minimum battery so I bought the biggest deep cycle one CarQuest had (650) but my smaller Dodge batteries are 900 cca, whats the deal? Will I need 2 of these, bigger but lower rated deep cycles? My dump has a smaller 550 cca but I have two Optima's on my other trailer that my son installed so I don't know the cca on them. The way they are mounted I can't read the top. It has been trouble free for years. I do have room for another one if need be.



Nick

 

[JR]

Ill have to check later when i get home but im pretty sure my battery is a 650cca as well for my trailer winch, i do know it is a good bit smaller than my truck batteries are. I dont keep either battery or winch on my trailer permanent, the battery goes on a tricle charge every month or so and when i put it on the trailer it is hooked into the aux wire coming from the trailer plug so its getting a charge. Its always been sufficient for me.

 

[JHumphries]

Deep cycle batteries are designed for a long deep discharge, not a quick discharge like starting an engine, hence the lower CCA.
Since it's a winch it should be fine, but 2 batteries wired in parallel, will be more than twice as good. and last more than twice as long. If you plan to charge them through the plug, you may have issues depending on the size of the wire recharging two batteries.
Also, make sure there is an isolator between them and the break-away battery, you don't want it draining with the winch. !

 

[NIsaacs]

Deep cycle batteries are designed for a long deep discharge, not a quick discharge like starting an engine, hence the lower CCA.

Since it's a winch it should be fine, but 2 batteries wired in parallel, will be more than twice as good. and last more than twice as long. If you plan to charge them through the plug, you may have issues depending on the size of the wire recharging two batteries.

Also, make sure there is an isolator between them and the break-away battery, you don't want it draining with the winch. !

Thanks for the advice, I will try it with just the one battery. I do have it wired to the charge wire, 12 guage. I also need to wire it to the brake-away system since the little battery is dead. Since I am only going to use one battery will the heavy dis-charge of the winch bother the charge wire? I have never unplugged the truck on my dumps or the other winch trailer but I have always wondered if it could act like a booster cable and overload the charge wire/system.



Nick

 

[jelag]

I have a winch almost like that on a car hauler... I used a single battery but always put a pulley on the load and run the end of the cable back to the winch... actually a lug welded to the frame. . The load comes up at half speed, and the winch runs at 1/2 the current draw... For me this has worked... . slower, easier to control what was what I was after in the first place...

 

[JHumphries]

If it is still plugged into the truck, yes, it will draw from the truck as well. Unless you are raising and lowering the trailer several times, it shouldn't be an issue.
If you tried to run the pump just from the truck batteries, that would most likely result in a big problem.
I would still look for an isolator. Here's why: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kykG8KUsiw
Here's one possible source. http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-converters/rv-battery-isolator.htm

Also, depending on your state's regulations and trailer inspection possibilities, using one battery for everything may not be legal. They usually say you have to have a battey capable of locking the trailer brakes for xx minutes. A discharged battery due to dump runs, might not meet that criteria in some people's eyes.

 

[NIsaacs]

Jim, using a snatch block might be an option, I carry one in the pickup but rarely use it. I would think 5 minutes of full power would be the same as 10 minutes of 1/2 power?



JH, my dump only has one battery. The brake-away uses the big one so I figured I could do the same thing on the new winch trailer. My bumper pull winch trailer is older so it doesn't have the brake-away system.



Nick

 

[JHumphries]

... I would think 5 minutes of full power would be the same as 10 minutes of 1/2 power?...

Amazingly enough, that is not true. The heavier a battery is discharged the faster it drains.
i. e.
if a battery has 300 Amp hours of capacity, at a three hour discharge rate:
at 300 Amps, it will last significantly less than an hour, about 200 AHrs
at 150 Amps, it will last close to two hours, about 250 AHrs
at 100 Amps, it will last 3 hours. 300 AHrs
at 50 Amps, it will last well over 6 hours! 350 AHrs
At slow discharges, there is time for all of the active material in the plates to be converted. At heavy discharges, the surface of the plates is the only part that will convert, hence the lower AHrs.
I maintain a 10,000 Amp Hour battery at work, this is a big point in how we maintain it.

That is also why starting an engine drains a battery really fast, while leaving a dome light on is real slow.

 

[NIsaacs]

Amazingly enough, that is not true. The heavier a battery is discharged the faster it drains.

i. e.

if a battery has 300 Amp hours of capacity, at a three hour discharge rate:

at 300 Amps, it will last significantly less than an hour, about 200 AHrs

at 150 Amps, it will last close to two hours, about 250 AHrs

at 100 Amps, it will last 3 hours. 300 AHrs

at 50 Amps, it will last well over 6 hours! 350 AHrs

At slow discharges, there is time for all of the active material in the plates to be converted. At heavy discharges, the surface of the plates is the only part that will convert, hence the lower AHrs.

I maintain a 10,000 Amp Hour battery at work, this is a big point in how we maintain it.



That is also why starting an engine drains a battery really fast, while leaving a dome light on is real slow.

Thanks for the info JH, sounds like jelag knows what he is doing. I will remember this, especially if I encounter a hard or long pull.



Nick