There are three sizes of Brano hand
winches available. The smaller size is quite suitable for use with all smaller
sized 4x4s, including SWB Land Rovers, Ninetys, Range Rovers and Discoverys.
Though I recommend you carry a Superwinch Swingaway snatch block with this size.
This smaller unit is known as the 'Brano 800,' which refers to it's lift capacity,
namely 800 kilograms (about 3/4 of a tonne) The nominal 'pull' rating is nearly
one and a half tonne making this unit ideal for small to medium sized 4x4s.
Should you be in the process of being recovered from thick mud, remember to
have your wheels turning slowly in first gear to not only take the strain off
of the Brano, but also to assist the recovery.
The 800 model takes up very little space in the vehicle as its size is only 535mm x 260mm (21" x11") This unit comes complete with 20 metres of 8mm galvanised wire rope, which incidentally comes on a very neat metal carrying rack. At just under £200 + VAT this is an inexpensive piece of essential equipment to carry.
The second most popular size is the 'Brano 1600.' This refers of course to it's 1600 Kilogram lifting capacity. That's a shear lift of 1.5 tonne. This unit is for the more serious off-roader, especially if the vehicle is a LWB Land Rover, One Ten, 127/130, 101 or a heavily equipped Ninety, Range Rover or Discovery.
The nominal pull rating is nearly two and a half tonne for this model, which is more than enough to extract even the most stuck vehicle from the mire. Again however, always assist the recovery with wheels slowly turning whenever possible. This larger model measures 630mm x 365mm (25"x15") and comes complete with 20m x 11.2mm galvanised wire rope, again on a handy cable carrier. This model is very good value at just under £300 + VAT.
The largest model is not really for normal off road use, unless you are taking a four ton 4 x 4 lorry on a major expedition. This 'Brano 3200' will lift nearly 3.25 tonne, pulls about five tonne and uses a 16 mm wire rope. As a matter of interest this big Brano is priced at just under £400 + VAT complete with 20M of wire rope.
Each unit is subjected to a 50 percent overload test to ensure safety.
The 800 & 1600 models have a bronze shear pin situated on the main operating/lifting lever. A spare shear pin is hidden in the base of this lever to which the operating handle is attached to.
As a matter of interest, in all the years of using these two models, I've never blown a shear pin yet. And we've done some pretty crazy things! Only twice have we supplied some spare shear pins. I know that in one of these cases the client was attempting to physically drag tree stumps out of the ground with the 1600 anchored to an even larger tree. Well there are limits! And that's what the shear pins are there for.
The shear pin is installed in this position
(c)Goodwinch Limited 2006
