# Warn 2500# Winch upgrade???



## Made-In-TX (Aug 16, 2010)

Ok, I was told by a buddy of mine that, according to Warn, the only difference between the 2500 and 3000 pound winches is just the power wires. From what he told me, all of the parts are identical but if you swap the 8 gauge power wires on the 2500 for 6 gauge wires it then becomes a 3000# winch. 

Now, I haven't verified this with Warn yet but plan on doing that this week sometime. I was just wondering if anyone else knew about this or had heard it or tried it.


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## drtj (May 3, 2009)

the 2500 isnt sealed like the 3k is


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## gpinjason (Nov 10, 2009)

I don't see how changing the gauge of wire will increase capacity... the motor is only designed for so much torque... but I could be wrong..


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## rmax (Nov 21, 2009)

i have both 2500/3000, an there is no way they are even close to the same the 25 has a plastic houesing an gear, the 30 has cast houseing an metal gear, it also has 2 sets of plantary gears , the 25 only 1set, there are 2 grades of the 3000, 1 being kind of light weight (for lack of a better description)an the other being heavy, mine is the heavy duty, you can go to the warn site an look at parts diagrams an see the differences


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## Made-In-TX (Aug 16, 2010)

Well I just got off the phone with Warn and asked the question. It seems that all you need to increase your 2500 to a 3000 pound winch is just to go to a 6 ga power wire. The winches are the EXACT same. Now I only asked about the atv line of winches (the RT and XT product line) so I don't know about the other models. This would be a heck of a mod that Warn charges $100 for and you can do it for just a few bucks in wire!


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## Roboquad (Sep 8, 2009)

I have a broken/ rusted 2500. the magnets are shot from water and the cap that holds all those together is $100. did they mention needing any modifications there? all gears are rebuilt but I couldn't save the cap as everyone knows it isn't water proof. IMO. I would have to agree on not getting another 500lbs of pull by changing wire size. You can do that with a snatch block and 2 point pulling but we won't get into any Physics lessons today.


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## Made-In-TX (Aug 16, 2010)

It's actually makes sense if you think about how an electric motor works. Each gauge of wire will only transport a maximum amount of amperage, the larger the gauge wire the more amperage it will carry. So... a 6 gauge wire will carry more than an 8 gauge wire and if you have an electric motor that is not maxed out and you give it more juice then you have increased the amount that motor will pull. 8 gauge wire has a circuit maximum amperage of 45 amps and 6 gauge is 60 amps. If you look at the two attachments, one is for the 2500 and the other is for the 3000, you will notice that the performance charts for each are identical (if you do the math you will notice that the ratios are the exact same) with the only difference being the motor current. Also, notice the battery lead difference in the specs above that.

Robo, I agree with you that snatch blocks and 2 point pulling are the most efficient way to pull a heavy load easier but this will increase the power output of your winch by 500 lbs which, with a snatch block, now gives you the ability to pull 6000 lbs as opposed to 5000.


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## gpinjason (Nov 10, 2009)

Why not up it to 2 gauge wire and increase the output by 1500# :flames:


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## Made-In-TX (Aug 16, 2010)

LOL, doesn't quite work that way but would be cool if it did! Haha :rockn:


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## filthyredneck (Feb 10, 2010)

^I'm gonna let you be the guinea pig and figure out if its gonna make a difference or not.... Then I'll make my decision lol


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## Made-In-TX (Aug 16, 2010)

filthyredneck said:


> ^I'm gonna let you be the guinea pig and figure out if its gonna make a difference or not.... Then I'll make my decision lol


LOL, well ya know I ain't skeerd!!! :aargh4:


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## rmax (Nov 21, 2009)

rmax said:


> i have both 2500/3000, an there is no way they are even close to the same the 25 has a plastic houesing an gear, the 30 has cast houseing an metal gear, it also has 2 sets of plantary gears , the 25 only 1set, there are 2 grades of the 3000, 1 being kind of light weight (for lack of a better description)an the other being heavy, mine is the heavy duty, you can go to the warn site an look at parts diagrams an see the differences


just went to the warn site an looked up my winchit is a CE3.0ci p/n 62701, the one you guys are talking about is a 3.0ci p/n 62700whick would be the same as the 2500lb warn winch, just thinking could i change wires to upgrade mine to a 3500 or 4000


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## bennapa55 (Oct 15, 2010)

RT25 and RT30 are the ones that are the same in every way except 8 or 6 gauge wire. Same part #s for everything else. Im gonna try on mine and see if there is any change...
After hunting season of course


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## Made-In-TX (Aug 16, 2010)

bennapa55 said:


> RT25 and RT30 are the ones that are the same in every way except 8 or 6 gauge wire. Same part #s for everything else. Im gonna try on mine and see if there is any change...
> After hunting season of course


Exactly! :rockn:
I plan on doin mine after the Mudaholics ride in November. :bigok:


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## IBBruin (Feb 10, 2009)

Data on the 25 and 30




















Have you ever tried to jump start a car with the elcheapo jumper cables and the engine would barely turn over, then get a heavy duty set of cables and the engine spins over like a top? Same principle.


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## MiMudder (Aug 23, 2010)

I emailed them earlier today and got this responce: Scott,
 Correct, the 2500 and 3000 lb winches are the same except for the power supplied to them according to the gauge of wires. This is the same thing we did back in the 90’s with our A2000 is 2.5ci which models. We also offer the RT30 with a hand held remote and the XT30 with the wireless remote, and all 4 come with the mini rocker switch. 

Regards, 
*Kyle Pfenning- Customer Service Representative*
WARN Industries| Toll Free 800.543.9276| F: 503.722.3000| ​Wish I had known that before I bought my XT30... I still find it hard to believe. The transmission wire doesn't dictate the current draw of the motor. If the gauge of the wire cannot handle the amperage being drawn then you get a bus failure, ie. melted or fused wire. That's why you put fuses or breakers on power buses, so you don't exceed the current rating of the bus. At least that's what I've always thought.


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## IBBruin (Feb 10, 2009)

Also notice the actual line pull by layer, you're really only getting full pull when you only have one layer of cable on the drum. Imagine pulling almost 200 amps out of the battery for a full minute. I'm surprised the batteries last at all.


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## IBBruin (Feb 10, 2009)

MiMudder said:


> Wish I had known that before I bought my XT30... I still find it hard to believe. The transmission wire doesn't dictate the current draw of the motor. If the gauge of the wire cannot handle the amperage being drawn then you get a bus failure, ie. melted or fused wire. That's why you put fuses or breakers on power buses, so you don't exceed the current rating of the bus. At least that's what I've always thought.


Yea I was about to call BS on this one myself until I thought about the jumper cable scenario. The cheap jumper cables don't melt, they just fail to provide the necessary amperage to the dead vehicle. 

When you stop learning, you may as well be dead.


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## MiMudder (Aug 23, 2010)

> When you stop learning, you may as well be dead.


Amen to that


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## Roboquad (Sep 8, 2009)

Noticed the winch slows in speed as well. This would indicate no mechanical changes to me,,, good call. Still need parts but have plenty of wire from an old base system. huge wire, and a few UN-used JL's... I have a winch in front wanted a back up as well. Never run out of options.


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