Dan, et. al:
Also be sure to watch the fiber "brake" pads on the
1550. The first 1550 I had, the pads almost
"dissolved" after just a couple years outside
weathering. When I tried to change them it was almost
impossible even with Fulton's directions on changing
the pads.
Ended up having to buy another 1550, which I still
have. Since, I've bought a 2550 and hope to install
it soon on a TriEX W51 crankup. Not sure yet if the
bolt pattern is the same on all 3 bolts that secure
the 1550/2550 to the tower.
Tom, WW5L
--- Dan Kovatch <w8car@buckeye-express.com> wrote:
> With all the talk of winches I thought I'd pass
> along my winch story. I have
> a Tx-455 which uses the Fulton K1550. I had noticed
> recently while cranking
> it down that it was sometimes hard to start and then
> very hard to pull. I'm
> a big guy (250) so I can crank it usually with no
> problem. I finally looked
> closely at it after arriving back from vacation
> before cranking it back up.
>
> What I found is scary. The frame of the winch had a
> slight bow out in the
> lower right section where the racket pawl is
> attached. When I looked at the
> pawl it was BARELY engaged in the teeth of the
> ratchet!!!. The bend in the
> frame was allowing the pawl to cant out and away
> from the ratchet teeth.
>
> Luckily the tilt over fixture also uses the K1550
> and I just finished
> swapping that one out and all seems fine again. I
> ordered a new K1550 from
> Amazon (not ready to go the K2550 route yet)
>
> On closer inspection the bolt that holds the cable
> drum in place is frozen
> or bent so the bolt will not come out. Also, the
> smaller gear that engages
> the larger one on the cable drum seems to be out of
> line. I am going to tear
> it apart and see what's what but it surely is junk
> now as the frame is bent
> and other parts may be frozen. The winch is not even
> 7 years old and looks
> good upon first blush.
>
> Just a warning to others (and I did find a few
> references in the archives
> about the same problem). I don't know if I bent the
> frame while cranking it
> down or it happened in some other manner. The tower
> is not overloaded and
> usually before storms and such it is cranked down.
>
> Check those winches -especially if you notice some
> strange operation!
>
> Dan W8CAR
>
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