COVER FEATURE
Wood says two very important things to keep in mind for
Automatic Winches are ensuring the gearbox oil is changed
at the correct intervals and all lubrication points on the
winch are regularly greased.
Here’s a list of some of the important recommended
intervals for maintenance of the Automatic Winch.
Prinoth
AUTOMATIC Winches Frequency
Check cable for damage Every 100 hours
Check level of winch gear oil Every 50 hours
Change winch gear oil Every 100 hours
Lubricate cable guide rollers Every 50 hours
Lubricate bearings and other
lubrication points Every 50 hours
Check bearings for noise Every 100 hours
Replace hydraulic fuel filter Every 800 hours
Check bolts and hose clamps
and tighten if necessary Every 400 hours
Wood says snow groomer operators also need to keep
a close eye on the cable, regardless of what type of winch
they’re using.
“When you go to hook on the cable, you should be always
aware and looking for damage,” he said. “The biggest thing
to look for is broken strands. Some of the small strands will
start breaking over time just through wear. You want to
catch that before too many break.”
Wood says if operators notice any issues with an
Automatic Winch or any other part of the snow groomer
while out grooming, they should always make a note that
they can pass onto a mechanic to have it checked.
PistenBully groomer winches
Rod Elwell, national service manager for PistenBully USA,
believes the task of maintaining snow groomer winches is
easier than it used to be.
“Winches have just come so far over the years. They’re
more reliable now than they ever were, but there’s still some
critical maintenance needed, especially cable inspections
and things like that, to keep them operating at the top of
their game,” said Elwell. “The winch is going to last as long
as any snowcat that it’s mounted on, as long as you do the
proper maintenance and everything.”
The PistenBully 400W and PistenBully 600W are winch
cats equipped with capstan winches to assist with alpine
snow grooming. Elwell says because of the way these
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12 January 2021 | snowopsmag.com
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