brake winch maintenance

[Mark Scott]

does anybody have advice for the yearly maintenance on brake winches, I have 2 and need to know to use oil or grease and where? a picture would be a big help.Thanks

[~Ray~Gingerich]

Hello Mark,
Here's what the instructions say: Occasionally grease gears, reel shaft and handle threads. An occasional drop of oil on the drive shaft bearings.
DO NOT LUBE BRAKE MECHANISM...parts H and J Below is a picture, part H is the black pressure plate and part J is the large ratchet wheel directly behind the handle.


Personally I do not like the brake winch due to the constant brakeing and releasing while operating ... does not allow the rack to lower smoothly, I replaced mine with a DL600 standard winch which has very smooth operation.

[Mark Scott]

Ray, I'm having the same problem with my brake winch, especially when lowering. It jerks bad. Can you give me more information on the winch you have? I will be getting two. Thanks for your help.

[~Ray~Gingerich]

Mark, I believe it's the same winch body without the brake mechanism, there's a lock out lever for the ratchet so you can stop and hold the rack if you want. When Lowering you release the lock out lever while keeping a firm grasp on the handle as you lower. It's really not that hard to do, just don't let go of the handle until you have it locked in again.

[John Barrow]

Mark,
I had a D-L brake winch that came with a gourd rack system I bought. Like yours it bounced around when being lowered, making nest checks difficult. I switched out to a Fulton winch and it resolved my problems. I have advised several others with the jerking problem to switch to the Fulton and they have all been happy.

This is the recommended winch: Fulton K650 0101 Brake Winch - 600 Lbs. Load Capacity

[Cheryl S]

We replaced 2 D-L winches with the Fulton winches that John mentions. They are very smooth raising and lowering. I ordered them from Amazon.

[Matt F.]

Mark,
I had a D-L brake winch that came with a gourd rack system I bought. Like yours it bounced around when being lowered, making nest checks difficult. I switched out to a Fulton winch and it resolved my problems. I have advised several others with the jerking problem to switch to the Fulton and they have all been happy.

This is the recommended winch: Fulton K650 0101 Brake Winch - 600 Lbs. Load Capacity

That is great info John!
Do you know if any correspondence has occurred with the manufacturer of the various gourd racks, multipurpose poles, etc. that use the D-L brake winches?
I have one of the D-L brake winches that came with the Multipurpose pole winch upgrade kit, and it too (to take a line from the old Jerry Lee Lewis song) has "a whole lotta shakin' going on".

[John Barrow]

Matt,
My initial problems were on an SS-24 system made by creative universe. I called Diana Oberlander regarding the problem and she recommended the Fulton K650 winch. I believe she was using one then and that Daryl Lindstrom in MN was using them on all of his systems at his public colonies and first recommended the K650. So there was some awareness of the problems with the D-L winches.

Besides being a more durable winch, the Fulton does not require a minimum weight load to function, whereas the D-L does (I believe 50 lbs.). That might be part of the problem for many people and/or lighter systems. I also believe the difference in cost of the two winches has narrowed in recent years with online shopping options.

[~Ray~Gingerich]

I'm wondering about the 1.0-1 gear ratio on fulton winch, does that make it hard to crank with a heavy load?

[John Barrow]

Ray,
I have not used a D-L winch for several years and I have never found the Fulton winch hard to use--to me it performs about the same as the D-L, only much more smoothly. It is also weathering better IMO. My winch is mounted just above layers of bird netting to stop snakes and I have to hold the netting down to turn the winch handle. So I am basically holding down the netting with one hand and turning the winch handle, one-handed, with the other. It has never been a strain to do this.

Here is a link to a post from several years ago that evolved into a discussion of the two winches. In that post Cheryl had just changed her system out to the Fulton winch that solved her jerking issues, but immediately after installation she stated it was more difficult to turn than the D-L. Maybe she will chime back in as to her current status of turning difficulty.

http://purplemartin.org/forum/viewtopic ... ulton++650

[Cheryl S]

Yes, it seemed to require more muscle power to raise the rack with the Fulton to start with, but either I got stronger or it got easier after being used for awhile. My husband has no problem cranking one handed, but to get it started I sometimes use 2 hands. Once started I only need one hand.

We like it so much better than the D-L. After installing it on the Super System, we ordered a 2nd one for our Gemini rack.

[Matt F.]

It would be super to start seeing the Fulton winches starting to come with all of the winch included packages in the PMCA store (3" pole gourd racks, 3" Multipurpose pole, winch upgrade kits, etc.)

[Mark Scott]

John, I took the Super System 3" aluminum pole down for the winter and brought into basement. I ordered the Fulton K650 winch, and replaced the brake winch. My Question? I have two poles laying side by side, one with DL brake winch and one with Fulton K650, the DL turns clockwise and counter clockwise but the K650 only turns clockwisee and clicks as I turn it. How do I lower the gourd system if it wont turn counter clockwise, am I doing something wrong here. Thanks for your help.

[John Barrow]

Mark,
The winch should turn in both directions. Maybe the handle or another bolt is too tight. The clicking noise is heard when cranking line in--raising the gourd rack. There is no sound when letting it out, and it does not require using any special levers on the winch. Here is a number for Fulton technical support:

http://www.fultonperformance.com/contact

Technical Service
888-521-0510
Monday - Friday 8:00am - 6:00pm

I recommend calling them. I have a photo of my winch installed that I sent to a landlord who was told her winch was installed upside down. I can email that photo to you. If you would like a copy please send your email address to [email protected] and she can forward it to me. But I suspect the Fulton techs can tell you exactly what the issue is and how to solve it.

[Steve Kroenke]

Hey Mark,

First, I want to thank John Barrow for providing information about the Fulton winch and recommending it for purple martin houses/gourd racks.

I bought one Fulton winch to replace one of my old DL winches to see how the Fulton operated. Since the martin season is now over for us, I installed the Fulton winch the other day on the pole of one of my Trendsetters with gourds underneath.

The Fulton is much better than the DL and raises/lowers my Trendsetter smoothly without all the jerking that I had with the DL winch. Perhaps you need at least some resistance to activate the Fulton so that the handle rotates forward and then backward. As soon as the cable was properly installed, I could raise and lower my Trendsetter with ease using the Fulton winch.

Now I will start replacing ALL my DL winches with Fultons! And I bought my Fulton winch through Amazonsmile and the PMCA got a donation!

Again, a big thank you to John Barrow for telling us about the Fulton winch!

Steve

[Rodger Drye]

I to agree with Steve in thanking Mark, John, Matt, Cheryl, and Ray in discussing the different winches one can rely on in Purple Martin housing raising and lowering. I have DL winches and they seem to be O.K. I am however in the process of converting all my winches to Worm Gear Winch with Hex Drive. This will enable me to raise or lower my Racks with a Cordles Drill. No More Cranking.! And with a extended Hex Bar I will be able to stand about 6 feet from directly under my Gourd Rack, another safety factor. Do not get a Worm Gear Winch with just a crank handle. They have a 40 to 1 Ratio and are very Slow. But they are one of the oldest and safest Winches out there, and remember the drill does all the work. Thanks for letting me jump into the conversation, Rodger

[Rodger Drye]

Hi Pat, The Name & Model # is Dutton-Lainson Winch - DL11001 Worm Gear Winch with Hex Drive. Sub Model #WG 1500 or WG 2000. These winches are heavy duty 1500lb. & 2000lb.. A little over kill, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Hate to see one of these racks fall on my Grandchildren or anyone.