One of the failures was certainly my fault. I didn't look at or change the
gearbox lube since I bought the
boat used (ain't broke don't fix it philosophy). The upper GB seal went bad and
water got in and rusted the worm and the ball bearings it's mounted on. The
seals go bad with age, not necessarily wear, but especially if the fiber reinforced bush at the
deck level wears thus allowing fore-aft slop to
work it.
Second failure was that the
motor field and armature windings shorted. That was caused either by
water intrusion, a bad circuit breaker or both. Insufficient size wire can also accelerate burnout with the series-wound motors, I intend to check voltage drop in operation when I get the new
windlass.
That being said, The darn thing still retrieved my all-chain
rode and 55lb
CQR on a cold start after 3-1/2 years of no use with two serious shorts, a rusted worm with one of the bearings frozen to it - it's outer
race simply spun in it's
non-press-fit bore, which is an important redundancy. This all a testament to Maxwell's durability I'd say. The Maxwell or any other solid windlass should last a long-long time if you:
1)
Service and lube your windlass regularly, replace
seals & O-rings
2) Check that breaker and install a backup fuse
3) Have an alternator/starter shop
overhaul the
motor, about $100-$150 if done before the thing goes south
I haven't decided which windlass yet, but Lewmar is off the list based on cost and a number of testimonies I've found including this thread. It looks like I can get a lot more pull for fewer $ with a Quick or Anchorlift. I have learned a great deal about the ins and outs of the various brands this week if any body is interested. Windlass Truth reasearch is very time consuming.