Sticky Chain

[Andy G]

I have just bought 220' of new 3/8 chain. It is quite sticky and tends to jump going over the Lofran Tigres gypsy. It also binds occasionally when dropping into the feeder tube to the locker. I have dropped & retrieved the anchor about 10-15 times now.

Is this a common occurrence with new chain or do I have a problem. The chain is from a reputable supplier, so no ultra cheap knock off.

 

[High Wire]

You don't say what size chain your windlass requires or what size you bought. It matters.

 

[Circumnavigator]

There are four different gypsies (wildcats) for 3/8" chain, see Lofrans Tigres Molinete - Windlass. Are you sure you have the right combination?


When you say "sticky", do you mean literally so, as in molasses or honey? Or just that it sticks in the gypsy?



Jim

 

[C lectric]

It sounds to me that there is a mismatch between the gypsy and the chain.
Did you take the gypsy with you and test several feet of the chain on it?

It could well be that the chain, although good chain, is simply not quite correct.
It does not take much of a mismatch and the chain will NOT readily match the pockets. The jumping especially when retrieving sounds very familiar.
Mine was a different windlass but the problem was similar, jumping out of contact with the gypsy and roaring out which is dangerous.

I do now have a Tigres with the chain matched , no more trouble like that.

 

[BruceK]

The binding going into the recovery feeder tube makes me wonder if it is the gypsy. Or, just the gypsy.

 

[Andy G]

Mine was a different windlass but the problem was similar, jumping out of contact with the gypsy and roaring out which is dangerous.

Yes I did not put that in my original post. With the new chain it does now 'roar' out at a great pace, it never did with the old chain.

Maybe I have mismatched the chain....dam!

 

[Andy G]

The binding going into the recovery feeder tube makes me wonder if it is the gypsy. Or, just the gypsy.

That problem Bruce is I think the chain slightly sticking together with the new gal. Not that I would really know, never having bought new chain before.

 

[jgwinks]

You have to physically match the chain and gypsy. Can't even go by what the manufacturer days. When I bought my Lewmar windlass, the label on the box, manual, and website all said "5/16" G4 or BBB." So I bought G4. Didn't fit. The links didn't drop all the way into the pockets and it would skip out on retrieval. Tried BBB, now a perfect fit and no more skipping. Both work, but the BBB works better. You'd think they would list the better one first, but they didn't.

 

[Woodland Hills]

The fit between chain and gypsy is critical. I had my gypsy rechromed and the plater put it on a bit thick, so while the first 100’ of chain with worn galvanizing worked OK, the following 150’ or so did not. The chain kept sticking to the gypsy and wouldn’t release to drop down the hawsepipe.
I eventually removed the gypsy and used my Dremel tool with a sanding drum to remove the excess chromium. Now it all works fine.
Your problem could just be a heavy coat of zinc on new chain and it will get better each time you use it.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Common theme here, gypsy. I replaced my windlass a few years ago and they sent me the wrong gypsy. The chain was jumping out of the gypsy. Call the windlass company for the correct gypsy.

 

[Woodland Hills]

If, as you said in your first post, you bought your chain from a reputable vendor, they will replace it if they sent the wrong chain. That’s going to be cheaper for you than buying a new gypsy to match a chain you did not order.

Get a caliper or micrometer and carefully measure your new chain links for length, width and diameter then call your vendor.

Now, if you ordered the wrong 3/8” chain, that’s a different situation and it may be cheaper to just replace the gypsy.