Specifications
  • Manufacturer – American Tool
  • Maximum lifting capacity – 2 ton (4000 lb)
  • Material – Hardened steel
  • Lifting range – 10 feet (3 m)
  • Pull chain length – 12 feet (3.6 m)
  • Weight – 30 lb (13.6 kg)

Check Pricing and Purchase this American Tool chain hoist

Review

American-Tool-2-ton-chain-hoist
This chain hoist is sold by a company called American Tools. It is rated at 2 ton (4000 lb) capacity, so it can be used for various of tasks, such as lifting heavy household items, lawn movers, tree limbs, car and motorcycle parts, boats and equipment in many different industries. This is a one of the most popular chain hoists and there is a good reason for it – price. American Tool 2 ton chain hoists costs just over 50 dollars, which is a very good price for a hoist with 2 ton (4000 lb) capacity. Because this is such an affordable tool, obviously it is made in China, however, most of todays affordable tools including lifters are made in China, which should not be a problem. One thing that we did not like about this product was the poor packaging it came in. We are guessing that the company that makes this tools wanted to save some more money on the packaging, which is very minimal not to say more. However, the tool was in a good condition and ready to use.

Construction

The chain hoist is made from a hardened steel, it consists of a body of the hoist where the cogs and gears are located, a lift and hand chains and two hooks – one at the top of the hoist that is used for mounting the hoist and another at the end of the lifting chain, where load can be attached. Both hooks feature a safety latch mechanism, so you can quickly attach and detach a load. Similar as with other chain hoists, hooks swivel allowing to attach the load more easily. The design of this product is pretty simple, which makes it also simple to use for lifting and lowering loads. The lifting range of the chain hoist is approx. 10 feet (3 m), it features a long 12 feet (3.6 m) pull chain, which depending on the height the hoist might drag over the ground and attract debris. The distance from the top hook to the bottom hook, when the lifting chain is pulled fully up is approx. 18 inches (45.7 cm). The weight of the tools is approx. 30 lb (13.6 kg).

Use

Usage of this American Tool 2 ton chain hoist is very simple, just attach the load to the hook with load leveler or lifting slings and start pulling the pull chain that will lift the load. This is a very slow chain hoist, which means that very little force is needed to lift a load, but lifting will take some time. Some users have reported that the chain had come off the gear when they received the hoist, so you might have to unscrew the case and put it back on, if you face a similar problem. Also the hoist came with an oil on the chain, so we recommend wearing gloves when operating the tool. One of the biggest problems with this hoist is that it tends to stuck quite often, especially if the chain is not straight when pulled. There are few tips to prevent the chain from stuck:

  1. Don’t pull too fast;
  2. Make sure that the chain is straight and don’t pull it from an angle;
  3. If the chain is stuck, make sure the both sides of the chain are level and pull it forward and back to make it fall back in the groove.

The overall built quality of this 1 ton chain hoist is good, however we wouldn’t recommend to use the hoist to lift objects with weight close to the maximum allowed capacity of the hoist.

Check Pricing and Purchase this American Tool chain hoist

Advantages

  • Excellent price for a 1 ton (2000 lb) hoist
  • Good overall build quality of the tool
  • Simple lifting mechanism and tool is easy to use

Disadvantages

  • The lifting mechanism tends to stuck quite often
  • Poor packaging of the tool
Billy Miller
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