winch and battery setup

ben85 · Feb 5, 2012

I plan to fit a winch in the near future, it will probably be a tigerz11 12000 pounder.

I'm currently running a standard single battery.
The winch is recommended to be run on a battery with a minimum with 650CCA. The battery I am running says it has 600CCA.

I don't have anything else to run off a battery at this stage, will probably get some lights down the track. Probably wont ever have a fridge.
So I'm not really keen to install dual batteries if I dont need to.

Can anyone give me some adivce on an appropriate solution?

Krankin · Feb 5, 2012

well,
either dont worry about it, youll be fine, just have the engine running while winching,
or'
get a bigger batt,
or'
fitt a dual batt system

equipt · Feb 5, 2012

I would say look at what sort of driving you plan on doing, if the winch is just there for "in case" You can probably just keep the battery as is until it needs replacing and then pick up something a bit bigger then but make sure the car is running and try to keep the revs up a bit when winching so the alt is charging your battery.
If you plan on heading out and tackling the tougher tracks and will be using the winch in anger every 2nd trip you may want to get a heavier battery.

Old.Tony · Feb 5, 2012

I wouldn't worry about the battery.

First, the Tigerz 12000lb winch draws 450A max. Your starter draws 500-550A. The difference (that you MUST be aware of) is that your starter only runs for a few seconds, your winch will run for up to a minute or two in order to get you out of trouble.

Let's say you're going to run it for 2 minutes. That's 1/30 of an hour, so the total current drain on your battery is 450/30 = 15Ah. It's not really all that much.

Just leave your engine running while you're winching - and as much other stuff turned off as you can manage.

If you DO have to run the winch for more than 2 minutes, then I'd suggest you try and winch to a point where you can stop for a moment, let the battery "take a breath" before you continue again.

bods · Feb 5, 2012

as above, you will be fine. also, if you can't sit in the car while winching to keep the revs up, just flick the heat switch and it will raise the idle to around 1200rpm which will also help.