Electric chain hoists - in accordance with DGUV V54 and DGUV V17

What should you look out for when buying electric chain hoists? This guide can help you to get an initial idea of which chain hoist could be suitable for your application.

1. selecting the load capacity
What load do you want to lift? 
It is better to choose the next higher load capacity level, as the automatic overload protection will stop your chain hoist if it is overloaded.

2. classification of the operating mode
How many times per day/hour do you expect to use the appliance?
The ISO (FEM) classification provides information on the maximum number of operations on the control switch per hour. The operating group classification can usually be found in the detailed view. The higher the number after the “M”, the more intensively the electric chain hoist can be used.

3. lifting height

Two factors play a role in determining the correct lifting height for your electric chain hoist:

• The pure lifting height: This is the distance over which you want to move your load.
• The suspension height: This is the height at which the chain hoist is suspended.

The suspension height is also decisive for the length of the control cable of the control block if you opt for a wired floor control system.

4. type of control

We distinguish between two basic types of control:

• Direct control
• With directly controlled chain hoists, the operating voltage of 400 V is applied directly to the control unit. Due to the simpler design, these chain hoists are somewhat cheaper, but the risk of injury in the event of a possible defect is increased. The variants with direct control can be found here: T-ECHO and ST.ECO.
  Contactor control
• Depending on the version, electric chain hoists with contactor control have 24 V or 42 V control signals on the control unit.
• The frequency inverter control. The lifting and lowering speeds can be infinitely varied. In addition, loads can be started up and set down smoothly.

5 The lifting speed
You can choose between three different types of speed control: 
- one lifting speed
- two lifting speeds (main hoist and fine hoist) by means of pole-changing.

Electric chain hoists with main and fine lifting speeds are particularly recommended for positioning heavy loads.

Infinitely variable speed
Our standard hoist speeds are 8 m/min, main stroke, with 2 m/min fine stroke. The P model can achieve a main hoist speed of over 20 m/min for loads up to 500 kg. As a rule, the greater the load to be lifted, the slower the lifting speed. The number of chain strands also has an influence on the possible speed. Chain hoists with only one chain strand generally have a more powerful motor than double-strand electric chain hoists with the same load capacity and can therefore lift or lower the load faster.