I wrote Warn with a few questions...
--What is the major cause of solenoid failure?
ANS: Solenoid's don't fail per se, but under extreme running (which this winch will do), the coils heat up to the point that they drop the contacts out until they cool off...which would defeat the purpose of the Endurance winch. The Endurance uses a 3 Coil industrial style contactor made to run continuously.
--What temp does the 12.0 turn on at?
ANS: 100°C/212°F - Turns it off at 80°C/176°F
--What temp does it try to keep the winch at?
ANS: Keeps external motor case temperatures sub 200°F, which is about half of the critical temperature (internal is very variant due to the "hot spots" in the motor...meaning it depends on where you measure.
--What temps does a typical winch get to while under load, and how fast doe it get there?
ANS: The fan kicks on after about 80 ft of "field winching" (3000 lbs or so...so 212°F), which is about one spool of rope. The endurance does this pull in about 6 and a half minutes although most winches are in the 8 minute range. At these loads, many winches won't do but one or two pulls before seriously degrading and/or destroying the motor. The Endurance will pull this load for thousands of feet without issue.
--Does heat impair amperage and voltage flow?
ANS: Heat equals increased resistance which impairs current (amperage) flow. Higher current flow due to excess heat causes voltage suppression which in turn causes more current flow, causing more heat, which impairs current flow more causing more voltage suppression, etc, etc. Keeping the motor cool keeps the mechanism from entering into this downward spiral.
--On the new D-shaped connector, will that be on all Warn winches from now on?
ANS: It is now the standard on new designs for full size trucks. Eventually, we hope to get it across line for all truck winches.
What I'm getting from people is they don't think heat is a problem. What does Warn's research or Warn say to that?
ANS: Heat is one of our largest service claims, we sell and/or service a lot of motors due to heat damage. Our 9.5ti winch which warns the user that they are reaching critical temperature has saved many a user from damaging the unit due to heat, but it requires they stop and let it cool prior to continuing. The Endurance allows them to keep going, no longer worrying about it. This product was developed through talking to users about this issue and recognizing their needs. We've seen users that have wrapped copper coils around the motors plumbed to their AC units, packed ice around the motors from their coolers, plumbed in their vehicle air compressors to the motors and on and on. Heat buildup is the primary reason that hydraulic winches are preferred for some applications where duty cycle is key......batteries are certainly more common than hydraulic pumps and infinitely easier to install and service. (here's an answer for question below) - We've also tested our own product and most others in the field and found that most will only pull between 80 and 300 feet prior to melting down, the Endurance pulled over 2000 ft without any issue and upon inspection looked new afterwards.
