Chain hoist

[PSi]

Hi there,

 

just posting to see if anyone can recomend a good place to buy chain hoists at a good price. they will be used for lifting line array systems and small lighting rigs,

 

thanks

[SteveAATW]

I got a Clarke 500kg one from CPC last month for about £35 and it seems to do the job, I only use it for getting stuff in and out of a ceiling rig though, not for holding loads up for any duration, not sure if that affects the SWL rating?

[PSi]

I got a Clarke 500kg one from CPC last month for about £35 and it seems to do the job, I only use it for getting stuff in and out of a ceiling rig though, not for holding loads up for any duration, not sure if that affects the SWL rating?

cheers I'l look in to it.anyone have any info on electric hoists I don't know what would be more usefull and worth the money

[Pete McCrea]

Obviously your aware of the relevant documents that you should get with the hoist, such as certs of conformity that enable you to use it correctly under the relevant LOLER and HSAW regulations.

 

Personally for the events industry, I'd be looking into something supplied by someone like Lift Turn Move or AC Lighting.

[leofric]

You may want to goggle Lodestar as there range of motors seem to be becoming the industry standard outside of the major rigging houses who stock a wider range of motors for more specialist applications.

 

Lodestars' are favoured by many due to there outstanding safety standards. They produce a wide range of motors for a variety of different applications and if you opt for the three phase motors you have the added advantage that you cabling and control will be easily utilised if you need to hire additional motors.

 

There are several other makes to choose from and a trip to Plasa next week would provide you with a wide range of options alternatively most of the main trade mags' have adds for other brands. The companies above will be able to guide you with all your rigging needs but of course unless you go to Earls Court to see them they are going to be a bit busy for the next couple of weeks.

 

Hope this points you in the right direction

[PSi]

thanks for all the help I will go to plasa and speak to some people.

Thanks again.

[andylights]

Hi Si,

 

I would recommend DarkSide Industries at..

 

www.riggingsupplies.co.uk

 

I had two of their chain blocks in our tent at The Haze.

 

(Did you get that PLI info you were after?)

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

[cedd]

The topic had me looking at the possibility of getting a small hand operated chain hoist for myself. I noticed that a lot of the smaller (and cheaper) ones only had 3m chains on them. Now firstly to say mine would only ever be used to hoist a moving head or speaker into position prior to fixing, so no length of time loaded really and very little load there.

 

The question is, why such a short chain length?

 

arguments I can think of -

 

Cost of the chain - Surely can't be that much!

 

Weight of the chain - Which I can take account of with my far lower than rated loads.

 

Distance the item can fall if the hoist breaks - Surely if it breaks at any height it's dangerous

 

possibility of the item starting to swing - careful winching and maybe a guy rope could prevent this

 

 

Anybody think of another reason or know of a cheap (i.e. non-industrial but still safe for rigging a few moving heads a couple of times a year) chain hoist?

[Seano]

The question is, why such a short chain length?

Its because chain hoists are used for quite short lifts in every industry but ours, manually operated ones especially. For example, for lifting the engines out of cars in a garage. (And because having a longer chain than you need is a real pain in the butt with a manual block.)

 

Anybody think of another reason or know of a cheap (i.e. non-industrial but still safe for rigging a few moving heads a couple of times a year) chain hoist?

Nope. There is no cheap, safe option, sorry. If you cant afford to buy, hire. If you can't afford to hire, find a way to do the gig without flying what you wanted to fly.

[J Pearce]

Do you really need a chain hoist for lifting movers into position?

I've always used rope, and sometimes a ratcheted pulley block. Unless you're rigging Synchrolites, I should think a rope would be fine.

[cedd]

Do you really need a chain hoist for lifting movers into position?

I've always used rope, and sometimes a ratcheted pulley block. Unless you're rigging Synchrolites, I should think a rope would be fine.

 

 

Yes fair point, we have used rope before, but a Robe575 can get pretty hairy, especially if it's a nasty swing over a bar. The ratcheted pulley block is a nice idea. It would however (in my eyes) be a useful piece of kit to have in the arsenal if needed but a 3m lift really isn't of much use to us in our trade. I know those listed at the cheaper end are mainly for home workshop and garage use, so 3m is probably adequate to reach a garage roof beam or whatever.

[Sam Jelfs]

machine mart do a range of chain hoists with up to 10m lift heights, dependent on load capacities...

[Jivemaster]

Chain is heavy! Most shops wouldnt sell hoists if they couldnt send them out the door! So you only get 3m of chain. Most car yards only need to lift the odd engine or gearbox. This is why hoists come in wheeled cases!

[alex_kyuss]

hi all.

On short chains + manual hoists. I have seen them used to alter the shape of line arrays and to hang them in frames for transport.

[soundo26]

Northern tool company do them at reasonable cost with longer chainfalls. I buy the chain buckets from Flints although I'd like to find more reasonably priced units as these cost almost as much as the hoists themselves!!

 

Another problem I have is that LOLER testing also is prohibitive in cost, this is a yearly test but it usually works out that I could buy new hoists for the same cost.