If you have ever waited around a garage and watched mechanics transfer a new or used engine into a vehicle, then you have most likely witnessed the use of a chain hoists system. In the garage, this type is referred to as an engine hoist, because this is its purpose in this industry. However, this type of hoist has many other purposes. The chain hoist works on a system of pulleys and is made to handle a large amount of weight. It is very useful when lifting objects that normally could not be lifted by hand or that would take a large number of people to get the job done.

A chain hoist is available in three different types. There are the electric hoists, the manual hoists and the air hoists. The electric hoists are used for more industrial purposes. They have the ability to lift extremely large loads and give the person using the hoist the ability to move it vertically and horizontally. This is not true of either the manual or the air hoists. These two types also move loads much slower than electric hoists, but are able to make adjustments to the height of the load.

Chain hoists are by no means the only hoists that utilize a pulley system. Rope hoists have long been used for many purposes, and one of the first that worked on a pulley system was used for raising objects up and down by hand. An example of this is the fixed pulley system that was used to draw water from wells. The pulley was affixed to the well and a rope was run through the pulley. The bucket was then secured to the rope and lowered into the well to draw up the water. Because this system allowed for too much friction between the rope and the pulley, it did not work extremely well. However, it did serve its purpose in showing that a pulley system had great potential where hoists were concerned.

Air hoists, manual hoists and also electric hoists are all items that are commonly used to lift heavy objects and all of them fall under the chain hoists category. Their uses depend on what type of industry is utilizing the hoists and what, of course, needs to be lifted. One common use for the chain hoist is in garages to lift heavy engines in and out of cars.