Whenever you need to lift or pull something heavy, it’s crucial you employ the use of machines to make work easier. That’s exactly what winches and hoists do. If the lifting or pulling job is a one-off task, the best option is to hire a winch or hoist. However, if your job or business entails pulling or lifting heavy objects on a daily basis, it would be better if you bought your own winch or hoist to help you with the lifting. First, however, you need to know that there is a difference between winches and hoists.
The Difference Between Hoists and Winches
Most people who use machines in their everyday lives know that hoists and winches help to make work easier by lifting or pulling heavy objects. While most people use winches and hoists interchangeably, there is a difference. The difference is that hoists use a system of chains and pulleys to lift objects with little effort from the user. Most hoists are manual. You just pull on a chain or lever effortlessly to lift objects weighing tons.
A winch, on the other hand, makes use of a system of pulleys and a high tensile metallic cable to pull heavy objects. Unlike hoists, which are mostly manually operated, most winches are motorized. They can be powered using an electric motor, engine or hydraulic power system. That said, it’s crucial to note that there are also manually operated winches.
Guide to Choosing the Right Winch
As noted earlier, if your job entails lifting of heavy objects, the best option for you is to buy your own hoist or winch. Since there are many makes and models of hoists, it can be challenging to choose the right system. In this regard, the following are a few factors to be taken into consideration when looking for the best hoist to purchase;
- Lifting Capacity
Every machine has a limit. Different types of hoists have different load limits. Before purchasing a winch or hoist, therefore, you need to consider the lifting or pulling capacity. It is uneconomical to purchase a hoist that has a lifting capacity several times higher than the average load you normally lift. Similarly, it would be useless to purchase a hoist that may be unable to lift the average load you normally lift. For this reason, proper sizing is a key factor of consideration when looking at winches and hoists.
- Mode of Operation
Many hoists found in the industry are either hand-operated, lever-operated or motorized. Depending on what you’ll be using the hoist or winch for, be sure to choose a machine with a suitable mode of operation. A hand-operated hoist would be perfect for smaller operations, But a motorized hoist or winch is the industry standard where there is plenty of lifting maneuvers.
- Lifting Height
When purchasing lifting equipment, such as winches and hoists, there are three key terms that you need to clearly understand. These are; headroom, reach and lift. Headroom is the distance between the suspension point of the winch to the hook saddle before it is pulled. The lift of a winch or hoist is the maximum height it can pull an object from the ground vertically. The sum of lift and headroom is what is known as the reach. The reach of a winch is a key factor of consideration because it determines whether or not the equipment can be used in the type of space you have.
- Lifting Speed
If you opt for motorized winches, be sure to specify the lifting speed. The ideal motorized winch should come with multiple lifting speeds, including slow, normal and fast. These options will come in handy when dealing with different types of lifting jobs.
Whatever your lifting or pulling needs, be sure to visit Super Power Winch to explore all your options. We have high-quality, durable winches for all kinds of applications. Visit Super Power Winches today.