Ideal 3 Vertical Windlass

[mattdana78]

Who has the Ideal 3 vertical windlass? we are getting the a foot switch and reversing solenoids to make it go down as well, but Schaefer marine wants 362 for the solenoids. Anyone have a more affordable source? Don't think the solenoids are Schaefer proprietary parts.

[gjordan]

I am going thru the same issues right now. I assume your model is the V3C which is a newer version of the ACW that I have. I agree that Schaefer is very pricy. My project came with a Maxwell Dual Direction Solenoid but I am not sure if it is the correct one. The defender Catalog sells them but a different model # for a permanent magnet motor or a series wound motor. Defender sells them for much less than Scheafer but the catalog doesnt list its current rating. There are a couple of threads going right now about Ideal windlasses and I think I have found out that mine is a series wound motor. The reversing solenoid that i have is not listed in the catalog so I will call Maxwell tomorrow and see what they say about it. I had emailed Schaefer a few days ago and they could not tell me what type of motor was on my winch. Pretty poor for a company that bought the rights to one of the best windlasses made. Schaefer still has listed all of the different wiring diagrams that you can download, but none of the diagrams indicate the type of motor. If you try anything before you get better information, just remember that the ground on all of them goes to the case, not a post. The two posts are up and down. Please let us all know what you discover. ___Grant.

[gjordan]

I emailed and then talked to Maxwell today and the reversing solenoid that I have is for a series wound motor which seems to be what Ideal used on almost all windlasses since the 1970s. The phone number that is listed on the Maxwell web site goes to a retail outlet and a fellow that barely spoke English. It sounded like it was an overseas phone center. Check with Defender Industries and see what current rating the solenoids that they sell have. The one I have says 140 amp and 560A/5 seconds. That is a whopping big starting current but these are pretty big 12 volt motors and it is only for the first few seconds. Defender is less than half of the price of Ideal/Schaefer. Something else to think about is that you really dont need to buy a dual solenoid if you already have the up solenoid. You need one more solenoid that is 12/24 volt DC and rated to whatever the up solenoid is rated for. The Ideal drawings AL-967-A shows how to wire it. Contact a commercial electrical supply and see if they sell something like that. The foot switches are not too pricey from Defender. ____Grant.