Man, hate to burst your bubble but that 14 stumps in a weekend didn't cover the cost, it just felt like it did because the work was easy. For a real job you're charging way more than 340 spread across 14 stumps, so that machine paid for itself way faster than 3 weeks. As for life, those little 630s can run years if you keep up on the cutters and don't let it sit with old gas.

How do you figure the wrench was fighting you the whole climb though? I ran mine flipped once by accident on a big pine and honestly it still grabbed fine, the friction was just a touch heavier on the down side. The wet noodle feel sounds more like your hitch wasn't grabbing right or your line was too skinny for the wrench, not the orientation. I've climbed with three or four guys who swear the flip doesn't matter much on a Rope Wrench as long as your hitch is dialed. Not saying you didn't have a rough climb, but two hours versus 45 minutes is a huge gap for one flipped part.