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Hawse Fairlead for Steel Cable??

Tynewlon

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Recently got myself a winch with cable that comes with a roller fairlead. I prefer the way the hawse fairleads look, but I’ve seen somewhere that they should only be used with synthetic line.

Anyone run a hawse fairlead with cable? Or have any input on if it’s a terrible idea to swap it out??
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GATORB8

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Recently got myself a winch with cable that comes with a roller fairlead. I prefer the way the hawse fairleads look, but I’ve seen somewhere that they should only be used with synthetic line.

Anyone run a hawse fairlead with cable? Or have any input on if it’s a terrible idea to swap it out??
It’s the material of the Hawse, steel eats up the aluminum most are made of.

IIRC Warn has a cast iron Hawse.

It will limit the angle of the pull compared to a roller.
 
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Tynewlon

Tynewlon

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It’s the material of the Hawse, steel eats up the aluminum most are made of.

IIRC Warn has a cast iron Hawse.

It will limit the angle of the pull compared to a roller.
I’ll take a look then and see if I can’t grab a hawse made out of something other than aluminum. I just think they look so much better but don’t want to sacrifice functionality
 

omnitonic

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I’ll take a look then and see if I can’t grab a hawse made out of something other than aluminum. I just think they look so much better but don’t want to sacrifice functionality
I had my doubts about that advice. Cast iron with steel cable? What about eating the cable? Every man in my family from 1742 to present has had a roller fairlead dadgummit.

So Warn says, "WARN offers two types of hawse fairleads: black cast iron and polished aluminum. The black units are good for use with steel or synthetic, on winches with a 6,000 lb. (2722 kg) pull capacity or greater. The polished aluminum fairleads are designed to be used with synthetic rope only, and minimize the possibility of fraying."

Learn something new every day.

I have synthetic line, and a Factor 55 hawse fairlead anyway, and as far as I know, I'm the only man in 10 generations of my family to ever own a winch. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
 

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omnitonic

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Not a big problem. Steel is harder than cast iron. The steel will actually wear the iron but nowhere near as fast as it would eat aluminum. For steel cable rollers will last longer.
Yeah, I can see that. Cast iron has a lot of carbon, and that gives it a sort of self-lubricating quality.

Come to think of it, that's why I despise aluminum tables on shop tools. I don't care what you do to it in terms of polish or surface treatment, wood doesn't slide on aluminum worth a tinker's damn. It just glides across cast iron.

Interesting in an intellectual sort of way. I'm definitely Team Synthetic™ on winch line. My old company used to deliver fuel to a coal mine, and they had to winch you down and winch you back up. Cable snapped, a big ass cable, and cut the top of a driver's head rest off. He came that close to instant death. Steel cables scare the shit out of me.
 

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Yeah, I can see that. Cast iron has a lot of carbon, and that gives it a sort of self-lubricating quality.

Come to think of it, that's why I despise aluminum tables on shop tools. I don't care what you do to it in terms of polish or surface treatment, wood doesn't slide on aluminum worth a tinker's damn. It just glides across cast iron.

Interesting in an intellectual sort of way. I'm definitely Team Synthetic™ on winch line. My old company used to deliver fuel to a coal mine, and they had to winch you down and winch you back up. Cable snapped, a big ass cable, and cut the top of a driver's head rest off. He came that close to instant death. Steel cables scare the shit out of me.
I'm synthetic too. For that reason and that the nearest city is literally named after salt and there are large areas where you can use salt as pavement. Cleaning a synthetic line ain't so bad.
 

omnitonic

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I'm synthetic too. For that reason and that the nearest city is literally named after salt and there are large areas where you can use salt as pavement. Cleaning a synthetic line ain't so bad.
Now I'm daydreaming about ripping through Bonneville in a 392 XR. Can I borrow like $80,000? I'll pay you back tomorrow. I promise. 😜
 

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In the 80's and 90's I had a Warn winch with steel cable and it came with an iron hawse fairlead. Over time it was installed on 4 CJ's and a Dodge Dakota. I used that set up hundreds of times and never had a problem.
 
 



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