# Controlling a winch with a series motor controller



## JRP3 (Mar 7, 2008)

I've been wanting to put a winch on my AMPhibian but of course the cheap ones are 12V and my pack is 48V. I was wondering what would happen if I used my Alltrax motor controller to control the voltage going to the winch, which is a PM DC motor:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200381900_200381900
Thoughts?


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## major (Apr 4, 2008)

JRP3 said:


> I've been wanting to put a winch on my AMPhibian but of course the cheap ones are 12V and my pack is 48V. I was wondering what would happen if I used my Alltrax motor controller to control the voltage going to the winch, which is a PM DC motor:
> http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200381900_200381900
> Thoughts?


As long as you don't get carried away and keep it limited to 12V you should be o.k. The winch motor is PM so won't have series field inductance but should work with the PWM, I think. 

You might be better off using a small 12V battery with a DC/DC to recharge it in between winch pulls. I think the winch is 90A max. And obviously you can't pull for long. And if the Alltrax is your traction inverter, you'll have to switch it from the traction motor to the winch motor and be able to set the control somehow. I don't know if the Alltrax will react well being set to a 12V output and then have the winch motor switched in and out  Who knows? Might work.

BTW, Santa brought me a winch which looks just like that. She got it locally at Tractor Supply on sale for $49. It has rollers for the rope guide and bracket. Other than that.....looks the same. I'm mounting mine to a receiver hitch tube so I can move it from truck to tractor. Planning to mount an Anderson and just take a 12V battery along when I need to use it. I have two 48V tractors but they have 12V aux systems.

major


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## JRP3 (Mar 7, 2008)

What about leaving the Alltrax hooked up to my traction motor while running the winch motor? I can leave the transmission in neutral, or put it in gear if I want to use the wheels to assist the pull. I was thinking of just using the Alltrax throttle to control the winch speed, including "off". Also I assume the winch motor can handle some over voltage?


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## major (Apr 4, 2008)

JRP3 said:


> What about leaving the Alltrax hooked up to my traction motor while running the winch motor? I can leave the transmission in neutral, or put it in gear if I want to use the wheels to assist the pull. I was thinking of just using the Alltrax throttle to control the winch speed, including "off". Also I assume the winch motor can handle some over voltage?


None of those ideas sound good to me. But it's your equipment


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## JRP3 (Mar 7, 2008)

Can you get more technical than that, or am I so far off the beaten path you don't know what might happen   As long as I'm not going to damage my controller I'd be willing to give it a shot.


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## major (Apr 4, 2008)

JRP3 said:


> Can you get more technical than that, or am I so far off the beaten path you don't know what might happen   As long as I'm not going to damage my controller I'd be willing to give it a shot.


I don't know, but it might not be so nice on the controller. I wouldn't risk it.

And pulling with the wheels is a good way to break the wire rope or strip the winch gears.

And I wouldn't be in the vehicle when winching. I'd be off to the side.


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## JRP3 (Mar 7, 2008)

But other than all that....I guess I'll just use another 12V battery. Or tap in to one from the pack since I charge them each individually, and never discharge them deeply.


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## Woodsmith (Jun 5, 2008)

I have a similar winch, but a 1500kg one, for the back of my car. It has an Anderson socket and a mount for the tow hitch. Great for pulling logs onto the trailer and hauling cars out of snow drifts.

I would reckon on the 12v winch battery being the better option then messing with the costly controller. If things went wrong with the switch over, or the winch motor melted the controller may not like it much.

Another method, which I was thinking about for my tractor , was to use the club car motor on a wrecker truck mechanical PTO winch and run that from the controller. The whole system will be 48V and I will have speed control and a bigger motor.

I might need a very big ground anchor and some ballast weights though.


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## JRP3 (Mar 7, 2008)

I could make one of my axles into a winch drum and attach a cable to it when needed. 48 volt winch with gear reduction and variable speed 
I tried something like that once when stuck in the woods in the winter. My truck was stuck, my come-along broke, so I took the cable and wrapped it around the tire and hooked it to a tree. It sort of worked but I didn't have a locking axle so the other wheel would slip. I spent the night in the truck and ended up walking about nine miles to the nearest house the next day


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## bjfreeman (Dec 7, 2011)

JRP3 said:


> But other than all that....I guess I'll just use another 12V battery. Or tap in to one from the pack since I charge them each individually, and never discharge them deeply.


any major aux power should run off a independent 12 volt pack. Then that pack should be charged off the Traction pack with a programmable charger, so it will not charge the 12 to the point of making the Traction pack totally discharged.


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## JRP3 (Mar 7, 2008)

I'll have to see how much power I actually draw when using it, and how often. I'll just start with an old 12V battery and see what happens.


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