winch vs alternator advice

[slickemhoundd]

Today i picked up a 12k badlands winch from harbor freight. Tomorrow i i hope to order an rlc bumper. But ive been wanting to pick up a mechman alt for my 1600wrms stereo but if the alt needs to wait will the factory alt be sufficiant to run the winch? Granted the winch AT 12k its supposed to draw 320 amps, is it realistic? Hell my amp at full tilt pulls 160 amps. Whats the best route to run

 

[1996BLKBauer]

You should be fine for a little while, but an alt upgrade is for sure needed in the long run. Maybe just have somebody in the truck keeping the engine at 1,500 RPM so that the alt is making the max output. My stock 130amp is keeping up with my stereo, and off road lights, but the voltage does drop pretty low, I plan on getting a Mechman alt in the Fall some time.

 

[slickemhoundd]

as I stand now with my amp only a third of the way up and my head unit on negative 24 I still get a major voltage drop obviously I maybe cranking it up in the woods but not while I'm winching but I want to make sure that I don't go out have something happen and then the stock without enough power to make the winch function. As I have been planning for a while to pick up a Mechman but want to make sure that if I do indeed intsall before hand i wont be left stuck

 

[1996BLKBauer]

Well, it seems that you are drawing a lot more power then me, and If I think I am scraping by, you are just strait up lucky. Soon then later may be a little better for you. Especially if not doing it means that you can be stuck somewhere without anywhere to go.

 

[Flash]

Do you have a dual battery sett up? That might be a good idea.

 

[slickemhoundd]

Ive been putting off the 2nd battery until i had the alternator. Now that im getting and and will be running the winch theres now way to run that much cable off my fancy terminals so im going to have to i suppose

 

[YoungMounty]

I'm running stock alt with winch and 1600 watt sound system. Mine holds up well, probably not the best setup right now. But I have a yellowtop.

 

[J_Train]

I would do the dual battery setup, with a better alt. that's what i plan on doing when i get a winch and finish my audio set up plus I will be having a Olympus LED spot light bar and round LED flood lights with others on my safari rack later.

 

[bobsquatch]

You can run your existing set up indefinitely. Your winch will get hotter because it will be drawing more amps at less voltage so it will need more time to cool between pulls. This is a good time for your alt to catch up. More battery capacity (duals) and a higher output alternator will run your winch longer and cooler due to higher voltage. Very few charging systems (even high output) can keep up with a winch. This does not matter as no electric winch that I know of has a 100% duty cycle. So as your winch cools, your charging system recovers. Remember even the biggest alternator/battery combo in the world will do you little good if your cables are not large enough. Good luck.

 

[slickemhoundd]

That pretty much sums up my other question. My 270amp mechman is already ordered as well as the kinetic hc2000 as my second batt. Havent decided on a replacement main which the winch will run off of. And judging by the stats of the winch the alt outta increase the pull power incredibly