By John LEspoir
Winches and Drill Rigs
Were going to change things up a bit
this month. This entry into the series is
T
an addendum for the Transfer of Tech-
nology Chapter 13, which was pub-
lished in the January 2010 issue. Health
issues prevented the writing of this at
presstime. Next month, we will get back
to the series with Chapter 16.
he first Braden winch, now a
part of PACCAR Winch Divi-
sion, was an attachment for a
Ford Model T pickup truck for
use in the oilfield. Therefore, it should
be no surprise that many of the innova-
tions for efficiency and safety in the
winch and hoist industry came about
to address the requirements found on
drill rigs.
A specialized winch called a draw
works continues to be one of the major
components on most mobile drill rigs,
and standard winches and hoists are
used in many auxiliary functions in all
types of drilling operations.
Before discussing specific applica-
tions, it should be understood that
although both winches and hoists are de-
signed to move a load by spooling rope
onto a drum, the terms winch and
hoist do not have the same meaning.
A winch is designed to drag a load
across a surface or up a ramp at a rela-
tively low speed. Winches are designed
John LEspoir has enjoyed a 40-year career in
portable drilling equipment design. He holds
a bachelor of science degree in mechanical
engineering and was formerly the director of
engineering for the George E. Failing Co. in
Enid, Oklahoma. John was born in the Nether-
lands and moved to Enid in 1969. He is the
founder, owner, and president of Enid Drill
Systems Inc. He received the 2003 NGWA
Technology Award.
34/ April 2010 Water Well Journal
They were made for each other.
for intermittent operation and usually
have a provision to unspool the rope
from the drum by allowing the drum to
free spool.
A hoist is designed to hold a sus-
pended load and operate continuously
at a relatively high speed.
Winches are rated according to speci-
fications written by SAE, which gener-
ally deals with vehicles and hoists and
are rated according to ANSI and API
specifications that usually deal with
construction cranes or onshore and off-
shore oil rigs.
Holding a load is just as important
as having the power to pull the cable in
the first place. Almost all early winches
were designed with a worm gear reduc-
tion and mechanically driven from a
PTO that required little if any additional
brake. However, that same load-holding
friction in the worm gears creates a lot
of heat when pulling a heavy load for a
long time, limiting the speed and duty
cycle of worm gear winches.
Many current winches use a hydrau-
lic motor in place of the PTO driveshaft,
which improves the operation of worm
gear winches by being able to power
the cable both in and out, but the heat
generation is still there. Consequently,
worm gear winches will have a thermal
rating chart that shows how fast you
can pull a given amount of weight.
There are also a lot of new winches,
usually referred to as planetary recov-
ery winches, that use a planetary gear-
box for higher efficiencies, but then
require a spring-applied, hydraulic-
released brake. Unlike hoists, these can
declutch the drum from the drive to pull
off cable by hand.
The common hoists found on drill
rigs all have planetary gear reduction
and are driven with hydraulic motors.
Most have an automatic internal brake
and some of the large winches used on
offshore platforms have external, redun-
dant brakes or other holding devices as
well.
The definition of horsepower
(33,000 ft-lbs per minute) is based on
how much weight a draft horse could
hoist 1 foot in one minute. Winches still
deal with this power definition, which
is basic to calculating how much input
power you need to raise a given load at
a specific speed.
Horsepower can also be calculated
from rpm and torque, pressure and flow,
volts and amps, or other measurements
that quantify both speed and power.
With hydraulic winches, that horse-
power can be connected to the load with
different types of motors. There are vari-
ous displacements of motors driving dif-
ferent diameters of cable drums through
different gear ratios to get faster speeds
or higher line pulls. But if both speed
and line pull are required, you will need
more input horsepower.
It is important to understand these
differences when choosing a winch/
hoist for a specific purpose because
while winches and hoists look similar,
they are actually different in speeds
and operation. A winch advertised at a
12,000 lb rating would be great to put
on the front bumper of the rig carrier,
but not on the rig floor as an auxiliary
winch. Likewise, a 12,000 lb hoist is
probably the industry standard auxiliary
winch, but would be a horrible choice
for a bumper winch.
However, the common name people
use for both hoists and winches is
winch and that is the word that will be
used in this discussion unless a compari-
son is being made and individual names
are required.
NGWA.org

Two truck bumper winches scope the upper section of this Gardner Denver 3000
up and down. Photo courtesy of Grosch Drilling Co., Nebraska
Winch Ratings
Once the most suitable type of winch
or hoist has been determined for a spe-
cific function, the first question is
always How much pull is required?
The answer to that question is the start-
NGWA.org
Upper Section
Scoping
section
Winches
ing point for determining what strength
of wire rope is needed. That will narrow
the choices to a small range of wire rope
diameters.
The cable drum core diameter must
be matched to the wire rope size so that
the cable drum is never less than five
times the diameter of the wire rope on
a winch and not less than 18 times the
rope diameter on a hoist, to stay with in-
dustry standards. This is normally listed
as the d/D ratio. Winch designers
match the pulling ability of a winch to
the rated strength of normal wire rope
sizes and design a cable drum core
diameter to provide the correct d/D.
Using oversize wire rope will shorten
the life of the rope, decrease the actual
line pull of the winch/hoist, and can in-
terfere with the rope spooling correctly
on the drum.
Winches and hoists are both rated
with a first layer line pull rating that
will be specified with a stated diameter
of wire rope. That should be the highest
load the winch/hoist will ever be expect-
ed to move with a single line and is sim-
ply the force that will be produced by
the wire rope spooled onto the drum
core at the maximum rated pressure dif-
ferential across the winch motor.
This rating also considers the holding
capacity of the brake as well as the
strength of the mounting bolts and other
parts of the structure. As more wire rope
is spooled onto the cable drum, the line
pull will be less on each layer or wrap
of cable on the drum, so it is also impor-
tant to determine if a required line pull
is required for all layers.
Line speed ratings are also stated on
spec sheets and will be listed in feet per
minute at a given gallons per minute
(gpm) through the winch motor. The
line speed will increase as wire rope is
spooled onto the cable drum on multiple
layers. The last consideration when de-
termining the correct winch for an appli-
cation is cable capacity or drum size.
Once a wire rope size requirement and
the minimum drum diameter are calcu-
lated, most winch/hoists will have a few
drum size options of width and flange
diameter to be able to store the required
length of cable required.
Winch Installation
Winches are the anchors for heavy
pulling loads, static loads, and shock
loads that are sometimes several times
the rated capacity of the winch. Conse-
quently, a winch rated at 12,000 lbs of
line pull should never be mounted on
TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY/continues on page 36
Water Well Journal April 2010 35/

TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY/from page 35
any base plate that will not withstand
at least 36,000 lbs of pulling force.
The hardware used to secure the winch
to the base plate should also be rated to
handle at least a three-time shock load
on the cable.
Winches on drill rigs are often
mounted on a removable base or a
swivel base, so it is important that every
part of the mounting system have suffi-
cient strength to make sure the winch
stays where it is mounted and not be-
come a projectile when a mount fails
while suspending a very heavy load.
Winches are designed to have the
load from the wire rope be applied to
the cable drum at close to perpendicular.
This sometimes requires a guide sheave
be installed out from the drum to direct
the wire rope straight onto the center of
the cable drum so that it will spool on
the drum correctly. The centerline of the
cable drum should also be close to hori-
zontal when the winch is in use to en-
sure that the internal lubrication of the
gearbox goes where it is designed to go.
Winches operate through some form
of gearbox. Gears require relatively pre-
cise alignment to prevent unusual wear
or premature failure of the individual
gears. Worm gear winches are com-
monly mounted on base angles that are
often welded to a deck or between frame
members. It is important that these base
angles stay parallel and the frame mem-
bers to which they are attached be rigid
and not flex so that the drive end and
the outboard bearing, normally called
the bearing leg, stay aligned. Planetary
hoists are almost always bolted down
to a flat plate that should have no more
than 0.020 deviation from perfect.
Mounting either type of winch out of
alignment can cause the gears to thrust
to the side under load and prematurely
wear out the gears, bearings, bushing,
and thrust washers as well as reduce the
efficiency of the gear set.
One last issue to consider when
mounting a winch is that gearboxes
should be filled with oil to a specified
level, have a drain plug so the oil can
be drained and changed, and have an
atmospheric vent to relieve pressure
which will cause seals to leak. Most
winches have several options for the
location of the drain, vent, and other
36/ April 2010 Water Well Journal
related items to make certain that the
running oil level of the gearbox is at the
manufacturers recommendation, with
the vent well above that level.
Winch Hydraulics
Once a winch has been installed,
it has to have a supply of horsepower,
which with most drill rigs today means
a supply of clean, controlled, high-
pressure oil to make it operate. Usually
this comes from a spool valve that is
part of the complete rig hydraulic sys-
tem that uses a common reservoir and
one or more hydraulic pumps to provide
the flow and pressure required. The
input of the winch will be a hydraulic
motor, and all hoists and a lot of current
winches have a counterbalance valve to
help control the speed of a lowering
load.
The common motors used for
winches are gear motors; low-speed,
high-torque torque motors; or high-
speed, high-pressure axial piston
motors. Radial piston motors and vane
motors are less common, but also will
be found in some specialty winch appli-
cations. Most winches can be equipped
with several different types and sizes of
motors to match the desired winch per-
formance with the existing hydraulic
system.
Winches that use a counterbalance
valve to help control the load while low-
ering will usually have a minimum flow
requirement to prevent cogging of the
winch. Consequently, low flow systems
tend to work better with a torque
motor, while high-speed, high-pressure
systems usually have axial piston motors.
The valve that controls the winch
should be a four-way, three-position,
spring-centered valve with good meter-
ing characteristics. The valve assembly
has to match the operating system,
either variable flow or variable pres-
sure, but the spool operation must be a
motor spool with both work ports
open to the tank line in neutral to pre-
vent trapped pressure inadvertently
opening a brake.
The control valve is usually operated
by a handle mounted directly to the
valve spool. But if operation from sev-
eral locations is required, the control
valve can be operated with several kinds
of remote operatorspilot hydraulics,
pneumatics, and electric solenoids,
including radio remote controls.
The hydraulic power available must
be adequate to provide the line pull and
line speed expected. The actual line pull
of a given winch has a direct relation-
ship to the pressure drop across the
winch motor. Lowering the pressure
available with a pressure relief valve,
pressure reducing valve, or the pressure
compensator of a variable displacement
pump will lower the actual line pull
available and should be regulated to a
pressure that will prevent operating
the winch with a load that exceeds the
winch rating. Likewise, the actual line
speed of a given winch will have a
direct relationship to the positive flow
coming out of the pump/valve combina-
tion. Increasing the flow (gpm) of the
oil going to the winch will increase its
speed of operation.
Winch Applications
Both winches and hoists are often
used to raise and lower masts, extend
telescoping masts, as well as drag and
position everything from BOP skids to
dog houses when a drill rig is being set
up or getting ready to move. Multiple
winches are often mounted on rig-up
and various other oilfield trucks, but
lots of rigs have winches mounted on
the drill rig itself to provide the same
function.
It is common to have front bumper-
mounted winches on some or all of the
vehicles that operate in unimproved
drill sites to do self-recovery operations
when the field gets muddy and slick.
Auxiliary deck winches are used to
raise and lower drill pipe from the pipe
racks to the drill rig floor. These same
hoists can be used to hold large heavy
tools in place around the drilling opera-
tion and are often used as part of the
setup and teardown process when mov-
ing large portable rigs. Man-rider
hoists (API spec) are also often used to
hoist a hand up in the derrick to perform
maintenance or other work on some-
thing up in the mast.
Jib booms that mount on the upper
part of the mast also use hoists that han-
dle the drill pipe as it is added to or re-
moved from the drill string. There are
also lots of systems to handle drill pipe
in magazines or carousels that re-
quire a winch with the power to handle
the weight of several pieces of drill pipe
NGWA.org
as well as the mechanism that handles
the bulk package of drill pipe.
Winch Operation
and Maintenance
Safety should be the guiding principle
whenever any winch/hoist is being in-
stalled, operated, or having service per-
formed. A heavy load on a winch line
has to be kept in control at all times, and
that requires a trained winch operator
with a well-maintained winch filled with
undamaged wire rope. All winch manu-
facturers provide an operator instruction
manual that also will include the mainte-
nance recommendations for grade of
lubricant and service intervals to be fol-
lowed for safe operation.
Likewise, the suppliers of wire rope
will have inspection guidelines for
measuring and grading damage and
wear on the different types of wire rope
commonly found on drilling equipment.
No one should operate or do service on
any winch unless they have read and
are familiar with the procedures recom-
mended by the factory manuals for that
specific winch.
In addition to knowing how to oper-
ate the winch controls, it is important
that everyone working in the area where
things are being hoisted and moved
knows and uses the proper signals to
communicate with the person at the con-
trols, using common industry hand sig-
nals. The operator should operate the
winches in a deliberate manner that pre-
vents shocks to the winch line or the
winch load. In addition to being unsafe,
slam-bang operation of a winch shortens
the working life of brake discs, Sprague
clutches, valve handles, and the winch
line and terminal tackle.
The winch line should be cared for
following the vendors recommenda-
tion, but some common sense practices
will go a long way in keeping wire rope
in good shape. Keeping the wire rope
clean and stored on the cable drum is
obviously better than leaving it under-
foot in the dirt. Avoid kinks in the line
and regularly inspect for damage such
as whiskers or deformations that
indicate weak spots. When damage is
found, replace it as new wire rope is less
expensive than the damage caused by a
dropped load.
The maintenance required by
winches and hoists is usually just regu-
NGWA.org
lar inspections for condition and opera-
tion as well as oil changes according to
the manufacturers recommendation.
Take note, it is very important to use the
proper fluid without any unauthorized
additives. The primary brake on most
hoists uses a Sprague-type overrunning
clutch to hold the load. Putting an anti-
friction oil or oil additive in a hoist will
certainly cause that brake to fail under
load, causing a dangerous situation. The
only fix is to replace not only all of the
oil, but also the Sprague clutch and both
the friction discs and separator plates
inside the gear train. A $2.00 can of
STP can immediately become a $2000
repair bill before the hoist can safely be
returned to service.
API-rated winches, including man-
rider winches, are required to have a
specific test of the brake system on a
regular basis and a full teardown inspec-
tion at longer time intervals. These in-
spections as well as all repairs made on
API-rated winches have to be done by a
factory-trained qualified person. That
is a good idea for all hydraulic planetary
hoists, as testing to recertify a unit after
it has been opened up for service re-
quires some specialized equipment that
is not very portable.
Resolutions to Make Today
1.Find and read the maintenance and
operation manuals of all the winches
on the rig.
2.If you cant find the winch manuals,
find the model numbers and serial
numbers on your winches and then
contact the manufacturer of the
winch to get new manuals and go
back to step 1.
3.Check the service log books on the
rig and verify that the lube oil in the
winches is not past due for an oil
change. Check the level of the lube
oil if it doesnt need to be changed
and add the correct type of oil to
bring the level up to specification if
required.
4.Check the service logs of API or
man-rider winches and make sure the
brake inspections have been done per
schedule. Contact a qualified person
to have this inspection done if it is
out of date.
5.Inspect the winch for signs of dam-
age, leaks, and looseness around
the winch mount. Inspect the drive
chains on mechanical input winches
for wear and replace any chains,
sprockets, or couplers that look to be
questionable.
6.Pay out the wire rope to the maxi-
mum working length and inspect that
there is the minimum number of
wraps left on the drum to provide the
full load rating of the anchor.
7.Pay out the wire rope onto an area
where the entire length can be in-
spected. Carefully inspect for
damage, wear, kinks, or any other
condition that could create a danger-
ous situation. If the wire rope has to
be replaced, ensure that the lay of
the new rope is correct for the winch
application and that the terminal
equipment on both ends of the rope
is correct and properly installed.
8.Inspect the hydraulic hoses including
pilot lines, case drain hoses, and
brake lines for damage, cracks, over-
bending, or leaks and replace with
new assemblies made by a certified
hose shop.
9.Test the working pressure at the
winch and verify that the pressure
available has not been adjusted be-
yond what is required at the winchs
full rated load. Adjust as required,
then lock or seal the pressure adjust-
ing valve.
10.Operate the winch with a moderate
load and verify that both the winch
and the controls operate smoothly,
both lifting and lowering a load, and
the winch is not making any unusual
noises. WWJ
The author thanks Jim Davis of
Tulsa, Oklahoma, for his substantial
technical input in the material written
here. Thanks Jim.
Waiver: The views expressed in this
article are the authors opinion and are
based on the engineering education,
skills, and experience gained in a life-
long industry commitment. No part of
this article is intended to replace or
supersede any information supplied by
others. The contents of this article may
not be used in any type of legal action.
Note: All pictures taken by John
LEspoir unless otherwise noted.
Water Well Journal April 2010 37/