Briefly introduction of the characteristics of electric hoist. The difference between chain hoist and wire rope hoist in volume, work requirements and lifting height are presented for your reference to find your best fit electric hoists.

What is an electric hoist?

The electric hoist is a compact and small lifting equipment integrating motor, reducer, rope drum and so on. It can be used alone. In addition to operating alone, the electric hoist can also be connected to electric trolleys and various manual vehicles for combination assembly. The inherent weight of the electric hoist is not heavy. Its volume is small, and the structure is compact. There are many accessories and specifications. The category is very complete. For the electric hoist, a manual button is arranged to operate it on the ground. In the driver’s cabin, it can also be controlled remotely and wirelessly. In general, the life of design of the electric hoist is 10 years. In other words, electric hoist can be used for ten years under normal use. This requires frequent repairs and maintenance.

Chain hoist vs. Wire rope Hoists

Commonly, the electric hoists are divided into two types: Wire Rope Electric Hoist and Chain Electric hoist.

They have three main different points.

1. Different size: The winding of the chain on the sprocket can be set any directions, with high flexibility and reasonable structure, so the volume is small. The lifting direction of the wire rope is required. The volume of the rope drum increases as the height increases, so the wire rope hoist with the same lifting height is several times or even ten times the volume of the chain hoist.
2. Working environment requirements: The chain has higher resistance to oblique pull. The cross section of the chain hoist is relatively large, and the core material is generally resistant to high temperature and oxidation. Thus, there will be no major changes in the harsh environment. From the above, the life of chain hoist is longer. The wire rope of the wire rope hoist is rigidly connected. So, when the diagonal tension is too large, the wire guide is easily damaged. If the operation is not stopped in time, it may cause the click to break, which may result in the destruction of the entire device. The wire ropes of the wire rope hoist are relatively thin. If the equipment is often operated under humid, high temperature, acid and alkali fog conditions. Thus, the wire rope is easy to break. Therefore, the service life of a wire rope hoist is not as long as a chain.
3. Difference in lifting height: The electric wire rope hoist relies on the rotation of the drum to drive the wire rope up and down. In this process, one side of the wire rope close to the drum bears pressure and the other side bears the tension. Under the action of the two forces, the wire rope is easy to deformation. This deformation is inversely proportional to the diameter of the drum. Thus, according to the design specification, the diameter of the drum is at least 20 times the diameter of the wire rope. The chain hoist is different from this. Because it relies on the rotation of the sprocket to drive the chain up and down, the chain is mainly subjected to tension. For this reason, more sprocket sockets can be used to reduce the extrusion strength. Generally, the sprocket sockets are set 5 or 6.

From above, electric chain hoist has many advantages, and the scope of application is becoming more and more extensive. It is more suitable for lifting small tonnage cargo, and electric wire rope hoist for large tonnage cargo is more suitable.

You can choose according to your actual needs. If you want to know more about the differences of electric chain hoists and wire rope hoists, please feel free to contact us. For years of experiences in electric hoist design and fabrication, we are capable of providing your customized electric hoists for your specific application. Contact us to get your tailored hoist design and drawing today.