winch Qs, ropes types interchangeable?

[pjtoledo]

I'm familiar with fishhooks and deadly whiplash on the wire ropes, and the extra cost of synthetic ropes.
can wire ropes be replaced with synthetic?
are the same load rated types the same diameter so you can put the same length on a drum?

good 'ol HF has a deal on 9500, but its wire, I would prefer synthetic rope.

thanks.

 

[Blmpkn]

I'm familiar with fishhooks and deadly whiplash on the wire ropes, and the extra cost of synthetic ropes.
can wire ropes be replaced with synthetic?
are the same load rated types the same diameter so you can put the same length on a drum?

good 'ol HF has a deal on 9500, but its wire, I would prefer synthetic rope.

thanks.

You could put straight up twine in place of a steel cable and it would "work".. so no worries with interchangeability in that regard.

The rope would have a bigger diameter than a cable to achieve the same load capacity though.. IIRC.. my buddy replaced the cable on his ATV winch with a rope earlier in the year and I'm pretty sure he said he couldn't fit quite as much on the spool..

 

[sgtsandman]

You'll probably need to change the fairlead as well from a roller type to the solid block type. I'm not sure on the why but wire rope winches get rollers and synthetic rope winches have the block.

You also have to watch on the cleanliness of synthetic rope more than wire. Dirt will embed in the fibers and accelerate wear. But synthetic is less likely to kill you or lop off a limb.

Bags made to force the rope to drop as soon as possible should be used with either since synthetic will still injure whoever is in the path of the rope when it does snap.

 

[snoranger]

Wire rope is better in resisting abrasion, if you’re going to be using the winch a lot in really rocky terrain I’d recommend staying with wire.

If you really want to switch over to synthetic rope, @sgtsandman is right about the hawse fairlead. The rope can get over the ends of the rollers and destroy itself in seconds. Synthetic is also lighter, less likely to hurt you when it breaks ( it will break eventually), and easier to repair on the trail.

Synthetic rope requires more maintenance. You really should fully unspool it and wash it periodically… with wire, as long as it’s spoiled right, you can just spray it down with wipe rope lube still on the spool.