A winch is a pulling device in which a rope, chain or strap is wound onto a drum to move a load. The gearing between the drive and the drum lets a winch deliver far more pulling force than a person could apply directly.
On site you meet winches when hoisting material up a ladder lift, dragging in beams and logs, tensioning structures, and as the drive for small builder’s hoists.
Types
- Hand winch. A drum with a crank and gear reduction. Cheap and reliable, but slow. A good hand winch has a load-pressure brake that holds the drum the moment you let go of the crank — without that brake the tool is dangerous.
- Electric winch. Driven by an electric motor, with a brake that applies automatically on power failure. The most commonly used type for site work.
- Wire rope puller (rack-and-lever hoist). A winch with no drum, which feeds the rope through with gripping jaws. The advantage is that rope length is unlimited and the pulling force stays constant — on a drum winch the force drops as more rope winds on.
- Builder’s hoist. A winch with a jib or arm fixed to a scaffold or window opening, to lift material up.
Rating: pulling is not lifting
This is the most important point and it is regularly ignored in practice. A winch rated for pulling a load across a surface (such as a vehicle or boat winch) must not lift a load. When lifting, the full load hangs from the rope and nothing catches it if something fails; when pulling, the load rests on the ground. Lifting is only permitted with equipment explicitly rated for it and marked with a lifting capacity.
Check the marking for:
- WLL (Working Load Limit) — the maximum permissible working load. Never exceed it.
- The first rope layer. The stated pulling force usually applies with a nearly empty drum. With a full drum the lever arm grows and the actual pulling force drops considerably.
- Keep at least three turns on the drum. The rope anchorage inside the drum is not designed for the full load.
Rope and safety
- Inspect the rope before every use. Broken wires, kinks, corrosion and a crushed core are discard criteria. A rope with visible wire breaks is scrap, not a tool.
- Never stand in line with the rope. A whipping steel rope is the most common cause of serious injury in winching work. On heavy pulls, lay a blanket or a rope damper over the line.
- Wear gloves when guiding steel rope, and let the rope wind on evenly; cross-wound rope damages itself.
- Anchor properly. A winch is never stronger than the point it is fixed to. A window frame or a roof edge is not an anchor point.
Winch safety checks before you pull
- Check the lifting rating: Only lift with equipment explicitly rated for it and marked with a lifting capacity.
- Respect the WLL: The Working Load Limit is the maximum permissible working load; never exceed it.
- Inspect the rope before every use: Broken wires, kinks, corrosion and a crushed core are discard criteria.
- Keep at least three turns on the drum: The rope anchorage inside the drum is not designed for the full load.
- Never stand in line with the rope: A whipping steel rope is the most common cause of serious injury in winching work.
- Anchor properly: A winch is never stronger than the point it is fixed to.
Related terms
- Block and tackle
- Pulley
- Ladder lift
- Lifting block
- Steel wire rope
- Tower crane
- Lifting sling
Want to know more about building terms? Take a look at our knowledge base on fredsdiyplans.com.