Which is the more powerful windlass of these two?

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Just me, but surely weight of chain on a 70 Ton boat is not much of an issue?

not an issue at all, never implied that it was

However it would seem that a Maxwell 3500 is maybe a bit on the small size for a boat of that size?

Yeah, annoys me that in her original form as a working prawn trawler she had some big ugly hydraulic beasty on the bow but it didnt suit the white boat look, especially when it had a spa bath up front as well.

I ditched the spa bath long ago, bring back the big ugly hydraulic beasty

Your back up ground tackle may not need to be the same as your primary, mine is combo chain and nylon for instance and has never been used, and I don’t expect to.

100m of one inch silver and 100lb plough pulled with the capstan side as yet never seen water.

[sailorxyz]

Originally Posted by redhead

We just installed a vertical 24 volt Maxwell VWC3500. We also bought the chainwheel to take our 5/8" chain. We didn't do much comparison shopping becasue we had a Nillsson prior to this, so we pretty much knew we wanted a Maxwell.

We tested it this past summer on a 1300 mile trip. I can tell you that it was able to handle our 300' chain and 110 lb anchor without losing it's breath. Not once did it give us any problems. The support from the company during installation was great. I wasn't thrilled with the price initially, but after seeing what it was capable of, I was satisfied that it's a great windlass.

Another very happy Maxwell VWC3500 owner.... had it on two boats now... on neither did the winch ever miss a beat. 100% reliability. Of course they were installed correctly and maintained.

[john manning]

Electric winch power is determined by three factors. Available motor power, gearbox ratio and gypsy diameter. A more powerful motor will provide a more powerful winch. A higher ratio gearbox (slower gypsy) will provide a more powerful winch. A smaller gypsy/windlass diameter will provide a more powerful winch.

There is a direct conflict between gypsy diameter and chain size. Bigger chains require larger diameter gypsies and consequently have less pull for the same motor and gearbox.

Electric motors are designed and built with duty cycles in mind. In short that is how long they can run at maximum current before internal damage begins. This complicates the motor power factor. A motor with a longer duty cycle does not provied more power when new but will usually have a longer lifetime. The performance of low duty cycle motors can deteriorate in the medium term.

The size of the motor power leads and condition of high current relay switches also affects available power.

When thinking about anchor winches it is important to remember that load comes from the anchor, the chain, rope and resistance to motion from the hull. The winch is reacting to that and trying to match the load. Fixing your anchor position with a GPS marker and motoring toward it when retrieving the achor is the best way to overcome high loads.

[DumnMad]

Watts = VxA but V=IR = Ohm's Law. So high resistance from the anchor leads to high VA/watts.
I guess they've designed for a certain amount of break-out resistance and therefore high peak wattage. So high wattage jerk on the taught chain. Once it breaks out it speed control automatically reverts to a lower 'normal' wattage for hauling it in. Weight of chain and anchor not too critical.
If the jerk doesn't do the job you tie the chain and use the engine to break it free.

Strength, size and weight of chain is not about hauling the anchor in, its about the chain being being tied off to something other than the winch and strong enough to hold your boat in storm conditions.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, John.

Well said!

Originally Posted by john manning

Electric winch power is determined by three factors. Available motor power, gearbox ratio and gypsy diameter. A more powerful motor will provide a more powerful winch. A higher ratio gearbox (slower gypsy) will provide a more powerful winch. A smaller gypsy/windlass diameter will provide a more powerful winch.

There is a direct conflict between gypsy diameter and chain size. Bigger chains require larger diameter gypsies and consequently have less pull for the same motor and gearbox.

Electric motors are designed and built with duty cycles in mind. In short that is how long they can run at maximum current before internal damage begins. This complicates the motor power factor. A motor with a longer duty cycle does not provide more power when new but will usually have a longer lifetime. The performance of low duty cycle motors can deteriorate in the medium term.

The size of the motor power leads and condition of high current relay switches also affects available power.

When thinking about anchor winches it is important to remember that load comes from the anchor, the chain, rope and resistance to motion from the hull. The winch is reacting to that and trying to match the load. Fixing your anchor position with a GPS marker and motoring toward it when retrieving the anchor is the best way to overcome high loads.

[Manateeman]

Hi. We have a Maxwell 3500 -24 volt vertical on a 60’ sail boat. Lifts a 120 lb anchor and 3/8 ht all chain no problem. Leaks a few drops of oil. Somewhere I read a suggestion to drill a pipe plug in the plastic oil window so you can fill it without taking it apart. We have the chain stripper forward so we can use two anchor chutes. It likes ACCO chain but make sure you have enough drop into the locker. If you are going to use it fwd and reverse, remove the flipper arm. Tef-Gel the little screw under the cap. Be very careful greasing as parts can drop off . It’s an ok unit but now I really, really wish I had bought a Lighthouse. You might want to talk with Lighthouse owners especially given the size of your boat.
Kind regards.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by Manateeman

Lifts a 120 lb anchor and 3/8 ht all chain no problem

Lifts our 150lb and 1/2 inch all chain no problem as well.

I reckon it'd lift a hell of a lot more than that given it can pull 3500lb at the chainwheel.

You might want to talk with Lighthouse owners especially given the size of your boat.

Probably not given our location.

[olaf hart]

Originally Posted by iann

Dont forget speed of lift the faster the better Have a Maxwell and very happy

That’s assuming you don’t jam the chain in the back edge of the hawse pipe, it’s a painful and expensive experience to do that at full speed.

If the chain comes up too fast, it doesn’t drop as quickly as the chain locker fills. The distance the chain falls decreases as the chain pyramid builds in the locker, so it tends to arc backwards as the downwards force decreases.

Too much chain speed is not a good idea.

[chouliha]

Been extremely pleased with our lighthouse 1501. 16 years onboard with 14 of full time cruising. Never a breakdown. Anchored at times in 100’ of water and no issues pulling the anchor and chain onboard.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by DumnMad

Watts = VxA but V=IR = Ohm's Law. So high resistance from the anchor leads to high VA/watts.......

I see this statement often when discussing windlass and starter motors but I do not understand the logic behind the statement.

I agree that high loads on the motor will lead to it developing higher power draw (i.e. higher watts) but this isn't because of a simple application of Ohms law as stated. Unless I am missing something basic - always possible .

[jamhass]

Lighthouse 1500 pulled this up. I was wondering why it was a bit slow.

[DumnMad]

Originally Posted by Wotname

I see this statement often when discussing windlass and starter motors but I do not understand the logic behind the statement.

I agree that high loads on the motor will lead to it developing higher power draw (i.e. higher watts) but this isn't because of a simple application of Ohms law as stated. Unless I am missing something basic - always possible .

Me too, I have very limited understand if this stuff. Battery cars have great break-out torque but I don't know how the controls work.

However, I do know that the weight of the chain and anchor is way below the load capacity of the DC driven winch.

Omh's law can be seen at play in this article explaining the interplay with back EMF;
https://www.motioncontroltips.com/fa...-output-speed/

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by DumnMad

Me too, I have very limited understand if this stuff. Battery cars have great break-out torque but I don't know how the controls work.

However, I do know that the weight of the chain and anchor is way below the load capacity of the DC driven winch.

Omh's law can be seen at play in this article explaining the interplay with back EMF;
https://www.motioncontroltips.com/fa...-output-speed/

Thanks for the link, it explains in part what occurs with a DC motor. In fairness, it does good job of the maths involved for common DC motors especially when speed is controlled by voltage.

It doesn't fully cover the finer points series and compound wound DC motors which are typically used for windlasses but really, who cares except pedantic posters (erm....that's me ) and I already know enough to be dangerous

Thanks again for finding it.