Winchrite battery operated winch handle

[Moody Mike]

Hi All ,
Im looking at going for the Milwaukee 28 volt & cranker tool bit. I only want it for hauling me up the mast. My wife has MS so shes not to strong but as a builders daughter she can use a drill. We have hydraulic in mast furling for both masts i only need a winch handel for the sheets & furling headsail.
Now my problem is Milwaukee dont sell this drill in Australia so I could buy one online but ........ A drill charger from the US will run on 110 volts & we use 240 volts here in Australia. Now if anyone knows a way around this please let me know. Now ofcourse i do have 12 volt supply on board as well as my 6.5 kva Onan & I could get a transformer to 110 volt but thats all adding up.
Mike

[Akapeterc]

I am happy with my winchrite, I use it for mainly furling up my main sail in my in mast furler. It is 12 volt but they recommend once a month that you charge it on 240volt. It comes with different adapters so I use it on my yachts 110volt. I have a step down transformer for my yacht


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[Seman]

I have used the 28V drill with the drill chuck successfully to rise the 76 square metre main with no problem for the past 2 years. We have bought an AC 240V to AC 110V adapter on Ebay, not expensive & works well to charge the battery through the standard 110V charger.

[Seman]

I have used the 28V drill with the drill chuck successfully to rise the 76 square metre main with no problem for the past 2 years. We have bought an 300W AC 240V to AC 110V step down transformer on Ebay, not expensive & works well to charge the battery through the standard 110V charger.

[Moody Mike]

Thanks ,
Akapete & Seaman
I will go for the Milwaukee & get a drop down transforner. Im 114 kg and on my way down to 85 but thats still too much for the missus to crank up the mast. In fact i found it a bit of a task to wind the rigger up in Sydney to replace a couple of halyards & he was only around 75kg. I looked at the winchrite but the manufacturer doesnt recomend it for hauling people. Now to pick one up on ebay or similar for a good price.
Mike

[MikeFergie]

Milwaukee is also not sold in South Africa but I managed to order one successfully via Amazon and the shipping was about $200.
In total I paid $700.

Still worth it compared to a $4000 upgrade to 1 Harken winch to electric.

Pulls my mainsail up my Leopard 40 and happy to use it on my jib furler on the winch as well


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