Fucking mud. Not what I was planning to do today.
Unstuck with the help of a tree and some ratchet straps.
Must remember not to park there, between the #UnWinter cycling between freezing and thawing a lot and the soft ground there, the car sunk in on its own, just standing there.
@yngmar You did that on purpose because you miss getting anchor gunk all over you, didn't you?
@withaveeay The part where you do that in your swimwear, throw a few buckets of ocean over the deck and then jump into the warm sea to clean yourself off is sorely missing right now
Instead I got my nice winter work gloves full of frozen muck
@yngmar
Always worth having a good reliable hand winch.
I have four of these old 80s Telco mini hoists (among many many other winches and hoists...). far more effective than the modern versions.
These are rates at 250kg single, or 500kg double line for lifting.
The cheap modern ones are the same rating but only for pulling so they are crap.
The first one I bought rescued my Land Rover many times back in the 80s and is still my go to winch/hoist for many small jobs, including getting our new washing machine up a flight of stairs recently!
@Maker_of_Things Heh, guess which browser tab I just closed seconds ago: https://www.kainos.lt/automobiliu-keltuvai-domkratai/yato-3tony-grandine-gerve-1-5m-v3084645
@yngmar
3 Ton is a lot of winch!
6 ton is even more winch!
I have just been repairing a Yale PT 750kg lever hoist I bought at an autojumble.
Someone has taken it apart and put the chain in the wrong way around, so the hook is at the wrong end.
@Maker_of_Things Well, the 1.5 ton looked a bit feeble and like on the boat, it must have more than one use to be a justifyable expense! :)
Like hanging on the garage ceiling to lift an engine block or a chunk of concrete out of the garden. I'm sure I'll find use for it!
That Yale looks a lot sturdier than the Chinese thing
@yngmar
Yeah, more can always be justified a few decades down the line.
But a hoist is only as strong as the support you hang it from.
I am never quite sure if a second hand Yale would be better than a new Chinese brand. It depends on how abused the used one is.
But I am sure that weight is a good give away for how 'strong' it will be. The Yale 3 ton is a kilogramme heavier than the Yato
Having said all that, a Yale 3 ton with 3 metre lift is about £950+VAT new.
My 6 ton is 33kg, and I paid £45 for it on Ebay.
No idea if it is still safe at 6 tons lifting, but it very safe at 3 tons pulling.
@Maker_of_Things Well, that's the other reason to buy a size up :)
I go by what I know (from anchoring), which is the size of the chain links. Hopefully the gears are made to match that!
@Maker_of_Things Oh, another use I had in mind was convincing a certain tree to fall this way and not that way, without needing a massive old bulldozer
@yngmar
I used to do that just by pulling with the car and had the back wheels off the ground a few times.
A small 12V winch is also useful with tree moving.
@Maker_of_Things Yeah, I don't need to fix a crushed car roof
@yngmar
Yeah, use longer ropes to solve that issue.
@Maker_of_Things Looking at your photos, that's a proper Ants Pants sketchy setup worth making a youtube video from
@yngmar
Haha, yes, but that was back in the days when phones didn't take good video.
This was the tree, dying and covered in ivy. It was right down on a steep slop at the bottom of the garden by the steel fence, so I was dropping it up hill. Beyond the fence was a shear drop to a river, and I really didn't want it going that way. But I did it without roping it, just dropped it the 'natural' way.
I promised the client I could drop it without hitting the shed or the bench, which I managed. There was one barrel planter that had rooted solid and wouldn't move and I told her the tree would land on it. And it did. But that was just luck.
@Maker_of_Things Ah, very tricky stuff!
Mine is tricky too and I can't use a longer rope because that would mean running it across the road, which could interfere with traffic! ;-)
So the lever hoist would be ideal, because it can probably handle being hit by a tree better than a car.
@yngmar
This is where I suggest a small 12V electric winch, with wireless remote control, and a battery.
That way, you don't need to be standing there working the winch as the tree falls towards you!
Well, it's an excuse for more toys....
@yngmar Was that what the concrete block was for?
@Filomel What concrete block
@Filomel Oh, the one in front of the house? No, too small for a car, might've fit a motorcycle :)