Hoists are an important part of any manufacturing or industrial operation. The trouble is, that there are so many hoists to choose from, it can be hard selecting the right one for your needs. It is important to take the time to choose the hoist that is going to work best with your operation so you save money and make your operations more efficient.
Hoists are a crucial material handling device. They allow you to lift and lower heavy loads. Electric hoists use a combination of chains and gears to do the lifting. The chain is spooled around the drum which is connected to gears that are driven by an electric motor. The operator can control the hoist easily by operating the controls.
The chain will wind around the drum to lift objects and unwind around the drum to lower the objects. At the bottom of the chain is a hook which is used to attach the load. Loads are attached directly to the hook or to a sling that attaches to the hook. The hoist also needs to be mounted to a jib crane or I-beam to work.
Electric hoists are the most popular type of hoist because they are easy to operate and can handle huge loads. Some electric hoists can carry up to 100 tons. The electric motor on these hoists is strong and most electric hoists are operated with pendant controls. These controls make the hoist go up or down and also feature an emergency stop.
Some hoists have to be hard wired to an electrical source while other electric hoists can be plugged into an outlet. With an electric hoist, you have to keep the duty cycle in mind. This means the motor can only work for a certain amount of time before it needs to rest. If you ignore the duty cycle, your hoist will fail prematurely and you will have to spend a lot of money to repair it. You can’t use electric hoists for continuous production work.
When you are choosing your electric hoist, you have to think about the capacity you want to lift first. Think about the highest amount you will need to lift and select a hoist accordingly. You also want to think about if the hoist is going to be used for lifting other objects.
The distance that the load is going to be lifted is important as well. The most common amount of lift is ten feet, but electric hoists can go up to 99 feet and even more. You have to make sure to take into account the height of the object that is going to be lifted. It is always best to err on the side of more lift.
Buying an electric chain hoist is a big buying decision and you want to make sure you know exactly what you are getting when you make your choice. Take your time and make sure the specifications are exactly what you need.