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Breaking Down the Values of a Lever Chain Hoist

Lever type chain hoists have been around for decades and the base design is continually being advanced to improve traits such as weight to lift ratio, durability, and many other features. With so many different brands of lever hoists on the market it is difficult for the normal user to research which brand and model fits their application best. It’s also typical for consumers and companies to select their hoist based on a familiar brand name; when, in reality, there is a different hoist that fits their lifting needs and budget better. With this blog I am here to breakdown the different components of a lever hoist source. And, of course, I will specifically highlight the benefits of a MAGNA lever hoist.

The value of a hoist can be broken down into the following categories, each category may be valued more or less, depending on the consumer’s needs:

    • Quality/Durability
    • Price
    • Ability to Repair
    • Delivery Time
    • Service & Support of the Supplier

Quality/Durability

Quality is defined as, “the standard of something as measured against other things of similar kind”.

Durability is defined as, “the ability to withstand wear, pressure, or damage”.

Taking these definitions into consideration below is a breakdown of lever hoist quality and durability:

Manufacturing Location -> “I want a U.S. product!” A common and preferred request for most products; however, with lever hoists you will be paying a premium for a U.S. made one, but unfortunately will probably not be getting much of a benefit, if any at all, in terms of quality.
Over 95% of lever hoists sold globally are manufactured in Asia, and a majority of that 95% in China. I am not here to knock the countries of origin, so I will let you use your personal knowledge on Chinese manufacturing to decipher quality level.
Some Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea, are known for their excellence in manufacturing. Luckily there are lever hoists on the market that are manufactured from each of these countries.
In addition to quality, the country of source has an effect on the price. MAGNA hoists are manufactured in South Korea (ISO certified facility), which offers similar quality standards as Japan, but at a much lower cost to the market.
Machined vs. Stamped Gears -> A main component difference between hoist suppliers is the quality and size of gears. Lever hoists, such as MAGNA’s, are designed with machined and case-hardened gears. Other lever hoists on the market may contain similar machined gears or may have gears that were stamped. Stamped gears used in hoist products are typically thinner and therefore carry less strength (given the same grade of steel).
Component Size and Material -> There are multiple components of a lever hoist that vary in size depending on the manufacturer. When referring to durability it is safe to assume that larger is better (given same material). Based on a sample of six major manufacturers of lever hoists, MAGNA lever hoists are over 18% more robust throughout a combination of hooks, gears, disk brakes, handles, and major bolts.
Load Test % -> Per ASME & ANSI standards a hoist design is load tested prior to the sale. Typically, a hoist will be listed as load tested at 125% OR 150% of rated load capacity. MAGNA’s hoists are load tested to 150% of rated capacity and will commonly exceed that value.
Environment and Application -> As a current or potential user of a lever hoist it is important to understand the environment and application the hoist is being used in, and to select the hoist that fits your needs. Is the operator likely to overload the hoist? How often is the hoist being used? Do I want it to be repairable or is it a throw-away? Is there anything corrosive near the usage or storage of the hoist?

Price

The first thing to know about pricing on lever hoists is that a higher price doesn’t necessarily mean better quality, and vice versa with low price-low quality. A good way to check quality is going through the items listed above.

A couple other items to think about regarding pricing:

    1. Am I paying for the brand? Similar to products in all industries, there are more recognizable hoist brands, but are you paying for quality or for the name?
    2. Is the hoist repairable? A majority of the higher cost hoists are repairable which makes the long-term cost similar or less than that of a hoist that can’t be repaired (have to throw away and purchase a new hoist if it can’t be repaired).

MAGNA offers a lever hoist that meets all of the highest quality standards on the market but for a much less cost than those of similar quality and performance.

Ability to Repair

Not all lever hoists on the market are designed to be repaired after a part breaks or wears. If you are looking to keep your costs down over time, confirm the hoist can be repaired.

Not all repairable hoists are the same either, so whether you perform hoist repairs yourself, as a qualified person, or send them to a certified repair shop, each brand and model has varying difficulty and cost levels to repair.

MAGNA’s lever hoist design allows for most repairs to be done within 15 minutes and all parts are repairable.

*Common repair parts are disk brakes, latch kits, top & bottom hooks, and for some brands, the hand wheel (MAGNA’s hand wheel is made of steel and rarely needs to be replaced).

Delivery

How quick do you need your hoist(s) to arrive? Do you need a consistent, dependable source?

MAGNA prides itself on shipping orders the same day as received, including hoists with special lift lengths. With its expanding geographical distribution area most products will arrive at your door within 1-3 business days.

Service & Support of the Supplier

As with delivery, do you value quick responses on service, support, and pricing? Hoists are wearable products and commonly misused; ensure you have the support of a supplier that can act fast when production is down or issues arise.

The team at MAGNA aims to respond to all requests within 15 minutes of contact and we also offer a before/after hours number in case you cannot wait for normal business hours.

If you have any questions regarding the above topics or wish to explore using a MAGNA as your next lever hoist, please contact us at sales@magnalifting.com or 1.888.48.MAGNA

Written by Adam Ballester, the National Sales Manager at MAGNA Lifting Products, Inc.

2024-03-15T08:46:47-07:00August 1st, 2019|Blog|