There are different types of winches and one of the most considered powerful winches is the hydraulic type. However, they are also pricey and are on the expensive side. You might be wondering why is that hydraulic winches are more powerful and expensive compared to electric winches? Do not worry, as you came to the right place. In this article, we shall discuss these questions and even learn their uniqueness and how they work.
Advantages of Hydraulic Winch Over Electric Winch
As mentioned earlier, Hydraulic winches are more powerful than electric winches. They have more pulling power and they have great applications which go beyond the normal vehicle recovery. They also have consistent raw power for indefinite period of time. Unlike electric winches, hydraulic winches do not have nor include a motor to operate. This means, they will not experience any overheating problems. Moreover, they also do not have to stop and rest for it to cool down in the middle of operation.
Another advantage of having and using hydraulic winch is that they could run even when it is completely submerged as they do not have any electrical components that you have to protect in order to prevent damages. This why marine industry prefer to use this kind/type of winch.
These are just some of the many reasons as why hydraulic winches are more expensive compared to electric winches. They are considered by many as more adept, impressive and accomplished especially with their superior mechanism.
How Does A Hydraulic Winch Work?
As mentioned earlier a hydraulic winch does not need nor use any kind of motor and this might have you ask how do they work and operate if they do not have any motor? Hydraulic winches actually use hydraulic fluid. This is your vehicle’s power steering unit. Hence, in short, it is connected to your vehicle which means, your winch would not operate if your vehicle is not running. This factor could be a downside as in case your vehicle wont work or run, your winch will also not work.
A hydraulic winch also uses a pump for it to be able to create a differential in pressure in a confined space. Yes, unfortunately, it is a bit difficult to understand as there are a lot of thermodynamics and engineering principles involved. But, do not worry, as in this article, we shall try to simplify it as simple as we could.
Hydraulic winches as mentioned, would create the difference in pressure and then it would transform it into a pulling force. This is how hydraulic pumping jack actually works when it is used to lift cars.
Hence, through the mentioned process, hydraulic winches run longer and could produce more power.
Lastly, both synthetic rope and steel wire cables could be used on hydraulic winches.
Choosing Hydraulic Winch
However we mentioned earlier that hydraulic winches do not need any electrical components to work, they still need electrical system to control their functions. Hence, it is still important to ensure that the electrical parts work when you choose a hydraulic winch.
We also recommend that you use some sort of protection for these electrical components. Consider as well replaceable parts as fluid could wear down over time.
Another factor that we suggest that you consider is the installation process. Is it okay and easy for you to do it? and lastly, are they within budget and are worth their price?
