Lofrans Royal manual windlass - maintenance

musketk

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I have inherited a LOFRANS Royal manual windlass and no user guides/manuals, so no ideas about maintenance. Have been washing it down with fresh water periodically, but it has never been very easy to work the lever (even with no load), and it is becoming increasingly difficult to move. There is a plug hole on the top of the body of the windlass which looks like it should be for the addition of oil, but I can see no sign of oil inside the casing. I have found the (laughingly called) user guide and an exploded diagram on the Lofrans site, but these do not help much. I still don't know whether this winch should have oil in the body etc., or how to take it apart,

Can anyone tell me whether this winch should have oil in it, and if so, what grade of oil? Also, any information on routine maintenance would be appreciated, as would any advice on stripping it to try to remedy the problem.
 

davehu

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I have a lofrans royal winch which came with my boat. There was oil on the deck around the winch and I contacted the importers Ec Smith and they said that there should be no oil, the plug is not for oil. I removed the oil and mine works fine. Suggest you contact the importers I found them helpful
 

jfkal

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Do not use oil. The "oil filler" is for the electric winches which apparently use the same cast as the manual.
Disassemble the thing, clean and grease it. Mine worked fine ever since.
 

Superstrath

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[ QUOTE ]
Do not use oil. The "oil filler" is for the electric winches which apparently use the same cast as the manual.
Disassemble the thing, clean and grease it. Mine worked fine ever since.

[/ QUOTE ]

The "oil filler" is actually the stub axle that holds the bevel gears - there is one on the bottom of the case as well.
Once the mechanism gets very stiff, it becomes almost impossible to dismantle. The problem is that the handle-wheel is pressed onto the shaft of the drive gear inside the casing, and this assembly runs on a nylon bush on the main shaft. The casting begins to corrode, swells, and jams everything solid. I ended up cutting the gear off the shaft and buying a new one. In the end it cost over £100 in parts and it's still not right. You also need a press to get it apart and back together.
If ours seizes again we'll replace it. There is no easy way to get regular lubrication into the bits that count, and frequent dismantling is not really possible.
 

musketk

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Thanks everyone - Superstrath's news is what I was afraid of looking at the exploded diagram on the Lofrans site. Not good news! I certainly wouldn't think of replacing it with another LOFRANS product - I don't think much of a company that designs a system which cannot be properly maintained and protected against its standard operating environment!
 

guernseyman

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Try the knowledge base of the USA distributors of Lofrans winches: www.imtra.com
Here you will find 1. the mounting, maintenance and operating instructions; and 2. a note on annual maintenance.
Sometimes your American cousins get it right.
 

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