Spooling Winch Cable Properly: Tips to Prevent Cable Problems

While spooling is certainly not the most exciting part of operating the winch, doing it incorrectly is the surest way to run into problems and even lose a winch cable altogether. Luckily, the proper procedure is far from complex once learned.

 

Why Spooling Is More Important Than People Realise

By far the majority of winch cable damages occur not during winching per se, but while spooling it. Ineffective spooling of the winch results in cable kinking, uneven wear and bird-caging; in some cases, the outcome can be a complete failure of the cable under heavy load.

The problem is caused by improperly spooled cable, which creates pressure points on itself and reduces its integrity long before it reaches its lifespan.

 

Proper Spooling Helps to Protect Your Investment and Operation Safety

The importance of correct spooling cannot be overestimated.

Keep Tension Throughout the Whole Process

Maintaining consistent tension throughout the whole process of spooling is the most important thing for successful spooling.

Never spool any cable back onto the drum under zero load – that's when most issues arise.

Every time you use the winch for some purpose, you have to re-spool it under tension. The best way to achieve this goal is to connect the hook to some kind of anchor point and create light resistance while spooling cable back on.

Some tree, fence post or anchor point would serve perfectly well as the source of light resistance needed for this purpose – you're not supposed to actually lift anything, only provide some amount of resistance that makes cable lay tight and even.

In case of loading new cable onto the drum, the process is identical – it should be supplied to the drum with constant light resistance applied to it.

Layering and Direction

Winch drums are built to take the load in several layers in a cross-winding pattern. Every next layer of cable winds in the opposite direction from the preceding layer.

To start, make your way to the inside anchor point and lay the first layer of cable as tight and even as possible, pressing every following wrap onto the previous ones without leaving any gaps. The next layer of cable winds in the other direction, fitting into the grooves made by the previous one.

Continue following the same procedure, creating every next layer as tight and even as possible. Remember that even small gaps left between the layers in the first layer result in problems with further layers.

How Much Cable Should Be Left Outside

It is quite common but very costly mistake to spool all the cable onto the drum prior to winching. In this case, the outer layers of cable are loaded with the heaviest load because they have the smallest number of wraps and therefore have the lowest mechanical advantage.

In order to operate a winch successfully, keep at least 5 to 8 wraps of the cable outside of the drum – they bear the load coming from the cable on the upper layers and therefore have to be solid enough. Less number of wraps leaves a risk of pulling out the anchor point, which can be potentially dangerous.

Things to Watch While Spooling

• Loose first layer

The integrity of further layers depends directly on the integrity of the first one. Take your time to create a good foundation first.

• Cross-loading

The cable that jumps across the layers instead of laying down next to them is the source of uneven loads. In this case, slow down and guide the cable manually if needed.

• Shock loading during re-spooling

Any sudden movements during the process of re-spooling put additional load on the cable, which has already suffered a challenging load.

Make sure to re-spool your winch carefully and slowly.

• Misaligned fairlead

Fairlead (hawse/roller) helps the cable to go around the drum. Make sure it's perfectly aligned and not damaged, otherwise, it will lead to wearing out every section of the cable passing through it.

Start Right Away and Keep Going

Whether you're spooling the brand new winch cable or re-spooling it after a recovery, the basics of spooling are always the same – constant tension, patience and careful layering distinguish the cable, which works well for years, from the cable, which will need to be changed after a couple of uses.

The quality cable spooled properly is a reliable piece of equipment. In case your existing winch cable shows signs of wear and damage caused by incorrect spooling, visit our web store to pick up the appropriate winch cable.