Lewmar hydraulic winch running hot

[willyritch]

Our primaries are Lewmar 66 hydraulics. We just started using a top down fueling Gennaker. We fuel it using one of those primaries. It takes a LONG time to furl such a big sail from the top down with the winch cranking away at high speed. The top of the winch got quite hot after that operation (and after it had been used to trim the Gennaker pretty aggressively for half an hour.)

What do do you think—something to be concerned about?

[skipperpete]

Originally Posted by willyritch

Our primaries are Lewmar 66 hydraulics. We just started using a top down fueling Gennaker. We fuel it using one of those primaries. It takes a LONG time to furl such a big sail from the top down with the winch cranking away at high speed. The top of the winch got quite hot after that operation (and after it had been used to trim the Gennaker pretty aggressively for half an hour.)



What do do you think—something to be concerned about?

Without knowing anything at all about your specific hydraulic system I can only suggest that you consider these few starting points.
Is the oil in the hydraulic system the correct grade?
Is the level in the tank correct?
Is the system filter clean?
Is there an oil cooler in the circuit and how is it cooled?
Do you always use the same primary?
Is there any foaming in the tank?

[Bycrick]

The "top" of the winch? Do you mean the winch drum? That sounds like friction in the winch bearings. Otherwise, only the motor would be getting hot.