Safety Tips for Using Hand Winches

Whether you are pulling vehicles or trucks out of dirt and muck or hoisting up hay bales, hand winches are very useful tools. There are many different kinds of hand winches used for many different situations. Though they are one of the safest ways to lift or pull heavy items, you should still be extremely careful when using one. Here are a few important tips to learn if you are thinking of using a hand winch.

You should know just how much weight your winch can handle; you don't want any catastrophic event to happen just because you were not careful enough to check how much the weight limit was. If the object you want to lift or pull weighs more than your hand winch with automatic brake, then the best thing to do is have two winches so the weight will be divided equally between the two. Anyway, most winches you buy come with a shear pin that breaks the line if you've overloaded your winch.

Before actually purchasing your winch, you have to already know if you are planning to use it for lifting objects or pulling them, because there is a difference between lifting winches and pulling winches. Remember that you can't use a lifting winch for pulling objects and vice versa. Lifting winches are made specialized for lifting objects only. They have more safety features and a better locking mechanism to make sure the object you are lifting doesn't fall and smash to the ground, either destroying the object or hurting someone nearby.

Another thing to remember when using the winch is to make the line as straight as it can go to reduce stress on the winch and the cable. Also, if the line is at its straightest it will be much easier for you. It is very important that you or anyone around stay far away from the winch cable when using it.

Finally, whenever you are winching make sure you wear heavy working gloves. These gloves will prevent you from having blisters while winching, prevent any cuts from wire strands that have frayed a little, and it will also give you have a better grip on the winch handle.

If you follow these tips, you will keep you and everyone around you safe while you are using your hand winch. If you want more information about winches or instructions on how to use it properly then you can pay a visit at your local hardware store. Read stuff winch reviews for more details.