Re: Promark 15000 boat trailer winch
I just purchased one of these to replace a Powerwinch 915. I like you, was skeptical of the low price figuring I'd be getting what I paid for, but then again, I wasn't really happy about paying over $600 for the 915 either
In 3 outings this summer, I broke gears in the 915 twice. I was not abusing the winch at all. When the bow eye stopped at the bow roller, the gears sheared teath. After paying $112+shipping for a gear set the first time, I decided to take the $110 gamble on the 15K Promark. Here are a list of observations when comparing the constuction of the two: Note: I realize it's not apples to apples on the pulling power - That comparison would be better between the Promark 10K and the Powerwinch 915, which if you take a good look at them, they look surprisingly similar...almost like parts would interchange, but I can't confirm that. I'm just talking about the construction in this discussion.
The Powerwinch shaft bearings are open ball bearings with too much slop in the bearings and in the machined holes in the housing. My trailer is stored inside and there was plenty of grease in the bearings, so wear wasn't an issue. This winch was less than a year old and had only been used a few times before the first gear set broke. Thie excess slop caused problems with gear mesh and therefore resulted in broken gears. It was very obvious when I took it apart to figure out what really went wrong. The Promark, however, uses sealed bearings with no appreciable play or slop. I don't anticipate any problems with gears shearing with the Promark.
The 915 housing is plated, where the Promark is powder coated. I don't know if this will ever be an issue in my case, but it could be in a salt water environment. Both winches use the same design, with the same types of gears in the same places. The 15K winch as you would expect has heaver components. The holding clutch is 4" dia. on this where it was 3" on the 915, so this should help my case where I was continually adjusting the clutch tension to hold the load without being so tight that you can't power out.
Both winches came with cable but I converted both of them to straps, which required machining a flat spot on the shaft, then drilling and tapping two holes to bind the strap to the shaft. Cable is a real pain if it binds on you.
As for the electrical wiring, it was sloppy in the 915 and wires were easily pulled out of the set-screw sockets they were placed in after I removed the covers. No heat shrink tubing was used to seal up the connections. The Promark, however was very nicely wired with heat-shrink used on all connections.
So far, this appears to be a really nice unit, regardless of the price. I can't find anything at this point that makes me regret the decision to buy it.
Hope this helps.
