Winch Gear Ratio

The gear ratio is the relationship between the number of teeth on two gears that are meshed or two sprockets connected with a common roller chain, or the circumferences of two pulleys connected with a drive belt.  In the case of a winch, there are gears and the gear ratio numbers are written as a larger number to the number 1 such as 156:1.  This means the motor rotates 156 times for each revolution of the spindle.  The higher the number the more torque that is applied, but the trade off is a slower line speed.