• If You Are Having Trouble Logging In with Your Old Username and Password, Please use this Forgot Your Password link to get re-established.
  • Hey! Be sure to login or register!

Electric Chain Hoist. Anyone have a favorite?

stewartb

MEMBER
Assume 2000#, 115v. Are some better than others? Features to like? Failures to avoid? I’ve never bought one and have never paid ant attention to those I’ve used. Unfamiliar territory. Advice appreciated.
 
a few offerings at the Chinese tool store at pitman and the parks... most of the stuff there is usable... probably 90% + useful success rate.... shop there a couple times a year... some things are very good and I go back for second batches...
 
Buy a used USA made one off of CL or ebay and it will last forever. We use a half ton one at the island that I got for $200 on CL. Lifts everything sofar up to an Aeronca Sedan on Edo 2000

Glenn
 
Bought these to 2T Coffing units probably 15 years ago and installed them on some gantries I made. They haven’t missed a beat. Best advice my wife gave me was to spend the money on electric chain falls.

IMG_2589.JPG
IMG_2588.JPG


Transmitted from my FlightPhone
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2589.JPG
    IMG_2589.JPG
    115.6 KB · Views: 205
  • IMG_2588.JPG
    IMG_2588.JPG
    184.6 KB · Views: 183
I'm still using the manual version, need to upgrade so good top
ic for me as well.

I always cringed watching a paid mechanic have to use a ladder to make the hoist go up and down with the occasional slip allowing the chain to slap the side or windshield of the plane.:-x

Electric was really nice, made float changes a one man job until I had to measure for square.
 
When I finally bought an electric hoist I couldn't believe I had waited so long. Yep, the ladder, the guiding the chain, the blankets over the windshield with hand hoists... I love the electrics.
Not really advice or a great deal of experience, but simply sharing my limited experience with electric hoists. - I've had a 2 ton Coffing for about 12 years and have had no problems. Only about 2 - 10 hoists per year on it though. I bought it from AIH in ANC. I also now have a Jet 3 ton which is only used a few times a year and only twice a year with 5K hanging from it but it seems to work great as well. (So far just 3 years experience with that one) I had looked at the outfits that sell the used ones from the factories etc., and it seemed those would be fine for my limited use but it came down to the fact it was hard to find a 3 ton even from them. I decided to take a chance on Jet (it was considerably less money than any other option). I really don't see any reason to go "higher end".. unless maybe you're working it all day every day. One thing.. be sure to get the chain bag.. the Coffing didn't come with it, and until I build a proper bucket I live in fear of the chain spilling out of the tin bucket I have hanging from it. The Jet has a good bag. Also, you'll probably see (I know you are a researcher) that the expense is in the height of the chain-fall. If you can get away with a short one you can spend less money. The catch is, the short ones come with a short control cable. I have to use a ladder to use the 3 ton but that is really no problem. If I was looking today, I would buy a Jet sized slightly over my anticipated load, and with a long enough chain fall to come with a pendant that will reach the floor and provide some mobility. I hoist my pendant to the roof with a rope and pulley to get it out of the way. I'm sure a guy who does wiring could do better..
 
Not sure I can find where I bought my coffing units, but I remember I had to select control cable length. One came too long so it dragged on the ground and they simply sent a replacement out with a prewired control to install.


Sent from my iPhone using SuperCub.Org
 
I added 20' to the control cable so that if I was doing floats alone I could have the control in one hand and a drift or bolt in the other. East to cut and splice in an extension cable

Glenn
 
Thanks, 46, your comments point out that a one ton lift will probably be under capacity for my Cessna unless I drain fuel and empty the interior of the normal gear. Two ton lifts aren’t much more expensive.

If the hangar ceiling is 16’ and the hoist is hook mounted is 10’ lift enough for an airplane with a spreader bar attached? Is 15 or 20’ significantly more useful? I can add an extension strap for snowgo, tractor, etc if I want to lift one of those, right? I don’t know what 10’ in the hoist description really means. Is that maximum chain reach when dangling below the motor? 10’ seems common, as is 20’ at a slightly higher price. 15’ is less common and more expensive than 20’. I don’t get it.
 
Last edited:
Stewart, I would mount it as high as possible and be able to run it to the floor. I was limited by my door Heights to be able to roll the gantries in and out of the shop but I should’ve made them a foot or two wider for my use.
I guess what I’m saying is you’ll never regret being able to do more with them.


Sent from my iPhone using SuperCub.Org
 
Not sure what you meant. Do I need a 20' lift? Mine will be a hook mount directly to a hanging ring in the ceiling that's engineered for a hoist.
 
I have a Harrington 2 Ton in my shop. Mounted tight to 20' ceiling, very precise & slow control, but only has 15' of chain. As Farmboy said, would be handier if chain reached floor. It would eliminate having to use a 2nd rigging chain for picking things up off the floor like snow sleds, ATV's, Mowers etc.... I think around $2k 15 yrs ago.
 
I tried to edit my post and it disappeared again. It appears that this new vBulletin really does not like you to do that. The three of four times I have tried to edit a post, it disappears.

I have an old CM Loadstar that I bought cheaply from a machinery jockey friend 30 years ago that I have had mounted in two shop/hangars now. It was from a steel company and hung above a blast furnace or something. The case is very corroded and ugly but it works well. When I was farming I lifted way over it's rated capacity lots of times. It now hangs right above the Super Cub and mostly is used to lift it when I need to work on gear stuff. Three years ago I went to Central Borneo and upgraded the trusses on a floating hangar there so that we could hang a larger hoist in the peak to lift a loaded Quest Kodiak on floats in and out of the water. That one is really nice as it has a powered traveler on it so you can move it along the track with the push of a button. I have a picture of that somewhere that I will post if I can locate it.
 
Having the lift on a trolly mounted to an H beam is a very nice feature also. Being able to lift and move something (motor?) away makes life very easy. Consider being able to pull your pickup into your hangar, close the door, hoist up your new air compressor, slide it back and set it on the floor without having to take the pickup out. Or you can lift the motor off a plane and move it forward to work on the accessory case.

Long chain is very nice. Have one that goes from the hoist to the floor with a little slack. Maybe not every day, but at some point you will want to lift something from the floor, saving your back, and not want to get a second chain to hook between where the other one ends. If the 20' lift is less than 15, get the 20. Extra chain in the bucket is not a problem!

Long control cables are great. I had a pulley at the side of the hangar with a line to my control I could simply lift it out of the way when not in use.

You can also use the hoist to lift full kegs out of the truck!!

A good hoist, with a trolly can seem like a large expense at first. But it is like having a big hangar door with power opening- years of easier use making you smile every time!

Your cub looks really good tucked inside waiting for good weather!
 
Thanks, 46, your comments point out that a one ton lift will probably be under capacity for my Cessna unless I drain fuel and empty the interior of the normal gear. Two ton lifts aren’t much more expensive.

If the hangar ceiling is 16’ and the hoist is hook mounted is 10’ lift enough for an airplane with a spreader bar attached? Is 15 or 20’ significantly more useful? I can add an extension strap for snowgo, tractor, etc if I want to lift one of those, right? I don’t know what 10’ in the hoist description really means. Is that maximum chain reach when dangling below the motor? 10’ seems common, as is 20’ at a slightly higher price. 15’ is less common and more expensive than 20’. I don’t get it.

I think the lift number relates to the actual travel of the hook. It's nice to have the unit high so you don't have to concern yourself with hitting it with a floatplane tail on a trailer or whatever.
It's nice to have a long fall so you can pick something high and set it on the floor without concerning yourself with finding additional rigging, etc..
If you have a 16' ceiling with an attach point, and 20' falls are less money than 15, then I don't see any question. I certainly wouldn't buy a 10' fall for a 2T hoist if I had a 16' ceiling.
The 3T I have is an exception because the dang things get so expensive at that point. I bought a 10' and hung it exactly where it's useful range was expected.
2T makes sense for Cessnas because it's nice to not be concerned with how much fuel, what baggage in the plane, etc. I like good numbers for margin, then some overkill. I know lots of margin is already built into overhead lift specs but still....
My 2T is plugged into a regular 115 volt outlet and works fine.
I think your hangar attached to a house is really cool.
 
Get a unit that has a remote control device so you don’t have to deal with a control cable. It takes a little work to wire it up but it is worth it when u start using it


Sent from my iPhone using SuperCub.Org
 
I looked at a remote control option yesterday. It adds $1800 to the price. That’s a lot of jingle for the opportunity to misplace yet another clicker. ;)
 
This is a good reason to get a chain​ hoist.

I would not consider a cable hoist for my hangar! Having it on a trolly allows it to be stored to the side avoiding the tail conflict.

Never get under your load

Never Stand in the bite

Keep hands outside of gaps
 
Back
Top