Winches for sale at Aldi supermarkets

[scratcha]

Winches for sale at Aldi supermarkets, Tonight I went through the mail and Aldi is selling winches for $600, look like the repco/ironman/internet ones

Thought it was cheap enough, I know you get what you pay for but they have a great return policy.

any way FYI

[LBD]

He the good'ol chinese, identical to my Brawn 9.5 that just died, cept for the wireless remote (nice if it works without los).
Will pick one up for parts at that price.

[luxa]

Most of these chinese winches look identical - but there is a lot of variation with the intenal hardening.

The more reputable brands such as Ironman, Terrain Tamer etc... specify hardened internal gearing and are worth the little bit extra....

Luxa

[LBD]

I'll let you know how the $599 Aldi compares to the identical $1400 Brawn. A chinese winch is just that. They all came from somewhere, most likely one big factory i doubt that they would modify their manufacturing process or standard simply to supply ironman with superior metal for their gears, hehehe. I know once they land each manufacturer tends to pull them apart and make thier own little changes, i've stepped through the process with the Brawns a number of times and have made a number of upgrades to my own more than once to try and extend the usable life and performance. In the end, they always crap themselves.

Best guess is what your seeing on EBAY are most likely the factory seconds! Ironman / Repco / Terrain Tamer and hopefully Aldi, get the JohnWest, Ebay get the rest.

[fourbyboy]

hmmm, reckon it would be worth buying? whats its towing capacity.

[MUDRATGQ]

Let ya all know soon enough i just bought one

[LBD]

Awe.. no fair, we cant get them until Thursday.
I believe with the 8mm wire they are rated at 9.5 tonne.

[jergalea]

Originally Posted by LBD

Awe.. no fair, we cant get them until Thursday.
I believe with the 8mm wire they are rated at 9.5 tonne.

Probably 9500 lbs not tonnes, but still it's a decent sized winch.
Just gotta use a snach block and double your line with these cheapies to make them last a bit longer!!

[luxa]

How much they selling for ?
Buy a second one for spares - you'll need it !!!!!

The cheapo winch question is a reappearing one - check out this thread....

http://www.4wdmonthly.com.au/forum/s...t=25716&page=3

Luxa

[luxa]

Check out the Autumn 2006 article on winches!!!

http://autumn2006.4wheelingoz.com/autumn%202006.htm

If that link won't work work try:

http://www.4wheelingoz.com/

Luxa

[LBD]

OK, well done, you have convinced me that the EBay models are basically crap. It's almost as if the Ebay items have ended up as factory seconds that have somehow made there way out of the factory and onto ebay. what a suprise.
I'm actually after a replacement motor for my 9.5 Brawn, which has had a hard life and until the last trip been there when I needed it.
If the Chinese winches that are being supplied to Ironman and Terrain Tamer are up spec, there's nothing yet to say the Aldi ones wont be the higher spec units as well.
Only one way to find out I guess. I'll be your guinee pigs and will report back on this thread with a tear down and a trip report when available.

If it all goes to the $hitter then I'll replace it with a brand new M8274-50 as pennance

[50RTD]

Hmm, those dodgy chinese ones are a joke, probably work fine if you dont:


-Remove winch from Box
-Go offroad
-Drive in rain
-Go within 150km from salt water
Etc.

The Magnum/Tabor winch has to be the best bang for buck out there. At least its made by Warn, and 90% of the componants are identical to the XD9000.

Return policy is one thing, but that aint gonna do shit when you gotta get yourself unstuck!

[luxa]

LBD - can you get a replacement motor for your brawn, or rebuild the current one ????

At least we didn't talk you out of buying the Aldi one.

Thats the bugger with winches, they don't get you in the shit when if they fail - THEY LEAVE YOU THERE !!!!!

Luxa

[LBD]

Nah Brawn has since closed down, think it was the 2 year waranty and the claim of waterproofing that eventually killed them...
I'll get the Aldi do a motor swap, then rebuild the old donk and keep it for a spare.
I had upgraded solenoids and up rated the wires and re-soldered all the connections. @ $600 its not worth loosing sleep over.

[martz8]

Apperently you get a 3 year warranrty with the Aldi one????

[LBD]

Originally Posted by martz8

Apperently you get a 3 year warranrty with the Aldi one????

Really, hehehe, problem is they never have swap stock, so if and when it breaks then I'll only get my money back not a new winch.

Like I said I'll tear it down, and take some pics. I'm to grab one now.

[whiteknight]

so whats the feedback on the Aldi one? someone bought and tested one yet?

[LBD]

OK before anyone starts on at me about how great WARN's are. I know. I'm not trying to compare these to Warn (I'll let you do that), I'm simply testing a BANG for BUCK alternative.
Anything that's almost 4 times the cost (9.5XP) is always going to be faster and stronger and I would hope lasts 4 times longer. Please dont turn this thread intoa WARN WINCH war.
My direct comparison for the Aldi winch is the Brawn 9500 I purchased 2 1/2 years ago. Which cost me around $1400 and if you believe the hype is a HIGH END version of the Chinese winches, as are the Ironman and Terrain Tamer brands and no doubt a few others.
So far I'm pretty impressed. Got it home last night and everything "looks" well made. certainly the instructions and packaging and external components are better than what I got with my Brawn. And it's BLACK so matches the bar . If you read the marketing hype, its desgined for Aussie conditions, whatever that means? it is however backed by a 3 YEAR replacement warrantee no less!!!! I cant think of ANY winch manufacturer that offers this. Even my Brawn was only 2 Years, which is probably the reason they went out of business.
All I can suggest at this stage of testing is to keep the original box and packaging AND your reciept handy and in a safe place.
Full pics can be founfd here......
http://picasaweb.google.com/LilBlkDuck/AldiWinch

Here's what you get in the Box. I'm tempted to replace the 30m of 8mm cable with Synthetic rope right away however have issues with the rope being worth more than the winch!!!!

The little sealed black box is the RF reciever for the wireless switch. Nice.

The solenoid pack is the sealed type, two cans and all terminals. No pissy little crimps like in my Brawn..

All the cables are 2guage, I already have 0Guage to the Battery so will be bolting mine in.
The solenoid wires have this funky rubber coating on them, and feel really durable and have a quality feel to them.
Like I said, so far the build quality is exceptional compared to my Brawn..
The proof however will be when I crack it open this arvo. I need to rotate the gear box for my winch bar, so will take a peak and pics then.

[sco_aus]

Looks good, let us know how it goes doing what it does.

[LBD]

OK PART 2:
Pulled the thing apart this arvo, again it looks ok.
They appear to have used a generous amount of moly grease throughout the gear internals and some lighter grease on the ring gear.

The motor side has sealed bearings at both ends.




So again everything looks as it should be. While I had the housing off gave both ends a bead of permatex blue RTV silicon. This I've learnt only slows the ingres of moisture.
I dont bother trying to keep water out of the gears, its impossible, maintenance is the key to longevity here. Assuming the gears themselves hold up and dont have a meltdown first.

All back together with the Gearbox rotated clutch up for my winch, ready to go on for some winch abuse.
The recommended duty cycle for this winch is 2mins on 1 min off. More of that next during the testing phase.