To ensure the highest quality, every one of our products is designed, tested, and built in our Houston, Texas facility. If one of our standard winches or options does not meet your specific requirements, we can provide custom drums, shafts, mountings and accessories to match your exact specifications.
High Quality Features
> Aluminum bronze worm gears
> Hardened steel worms
> Tapered roller bearings on wormshaft
> Fabricated steel drums will not break
> Hundreds of standard configurations
> Available for any power source: mechanical, hydraulic, electric
> Oil-cooled plate type worm brakes
> Line pull up to 30,000 pounds
> Standard options include capstans, roller assemblies, drum guards, drum-shaft extensions, worm brakes, drums keyed to shaft
> Custom drums, shafts, and mountings available to meet your individual needs
Note: Not all features apply to all winches.
Superior Pulling Power
Many industries use our winches for everyday jobs or incorporate our winches into products to serve their special applications. Utility companies use our winches to tension cable for power line installations; mines and cement plants use our winches to run conveyers; and loggers use our winches to load trees for transport. In Texas, many of the light towers that line our major highways have an RKI winch installed in the base that is used to lower and raise the light rings for easy maintenance.
Choosing a Winch: Things to Consider
1. Maximum Line Pull
The maximum line pull of a winch depends upon
which cable layer is being used, as shown in the
charts on the following pages, and must not be
exceeded. For example, if you need to pull 8,000
pounds with 75 feet of cable on the drum, a Series
12 winch would be required since a Series 8 winch
is only capable of pulling 6,020 pounds with that
much cable on the drum.
2. Line Speed
Do not exceed the line speed shown for mechanical
winches without first consulting the factory.
3. Power Source
Be sure your power source can meet the winch’s
requirements as shown in the tables on the following pages
.
4. Worm Brake
Applications that involve holding a suspended load should have a worm brake. Some applications, such as using a winch to free a vehicle that is stuck in mud, do not need a worm brake. Winches with brakes must have the cable wound according to the brake setting. Winches with brakes can be ordered either “overwind” cable spooled over the drum in the direction of the brake housing or “underwind” cable spooled under the drum in the direction of the brake housing.
5. Drum Clutch
If you wish to pull rope off the drum by hand, a drum clutch is needed. If such freespooling is not needed, a keyed drum will be more reliable.
6. Duty Cycle
Winches are rated for intermittent duty only. Excessive use will cause high oil temperature resulting in rapid oil deterioration, lower efficiency and increased wear.
7. Mounting
Winch should be mounted with the worm shaft
horizontal and below the drum. Other arrangements
may not provide adequate lubrication. Worm brakes
must be mounted below the oil level or they will fail.
8. Special Requirements
Extra cable capacity, higher line speed, grooved
drum barrel, divided drum, galvanizing and stainless
steel shafts for improved corrosion resistance,
custom mounting, special shafts and power sources
are some of the modifications we have made.
Call us with your needs.