Man Riding Winch Problems

Having the wire rope wound onto the drum backwards is a fairly common problem that most winches can suffer from. This usually takes place if all of the winch wire has been taking off the drum to perhaps check the condition or the fact that the entrant has got to the maximum rope length.

If the top man then continues to wind the recovery handle in the same direction as for lowering, the wire will be recovered the wrong way onto the drum.

This can cause all sorts of issues, even the possible death of the wearer! This is because all the pawls and stops are now running in the wrong rotation. So the wearers weight is now completely taken on the handle and drive with no ratchet to hold them if you let go. This will result in the wearer being dropped the full height that they has been recovered.

The results of back winding should be totally apparent to the top man and usually causes damage to the outer casing of the winch. But this has not stopped many from managing to cause such damage.