Harrington CB020 2 Ton Chain Hoist: Pull, Falls, Weight

What are the hand pull and chain falls on a 2-ton hoist, and what does it weigh? On the Harrington CB020, the pull to lift the rated load is 72 lb on the hand chain, the load rides a single 8.0 mm chain fall, and the hoist weighs 41 lb net and about 43 lb as it ships. Every number in this article belongs to that model, 2 ton capacity at 8 ft standard lift, taken from Table 2-1 in the CB owner's manual. Do not carry them across to a CB010 or a CB030.

Most people who search this question are checking one thing and get surprised by another. The capacity tag is the number every catalog line quotes, and it decides almost nothing on a Tuesday morning in a pick aisle. What decides whether the tool actually gets used is whether one person can pull 72 lb through the arc of a lift, and whether the beam overhead was figured with 41 lb plus chain plus load sitting on it.

What a 2 Ton Hand Chain Hoist Is

A hand chain hoist is a lifting device driven by a person rather than a motor: the operator pulls the hand chain, which turns a hand wheel and a gear train, and the gear train draws the load chain up over a sprocket. Three of its terms do the real work. Hand pull is the force you apply to the hand chain to raise the rated load. Chain fall, or chain fall lines, is the number of load chain strands carrying the load. Net weight is the bare hoist, no packaging, no extra chain. On the CB020 those come out to 72 lb of hand pull, one strand of 8.0 mm load chain, and 41 lb of hoist.

What a Single Chain Fall Changes

The specification entry reads 8.0 x 1: an 8.0 mm load chain, one fall. Multi-fall blocks exist for the reason that splitting a load across several chain strands lets a thinner chain carry the same tonnage, which means a single-fall 2-ton unit puts the whole load into one 8 mm chain, and that chain becomes a matched part of the load path rather than generic hardware pulled off a reel. That is why the manual states any lift of chain is available on request, specified when you order, and that because Harrington chains are specially heat treated, only authentic Harrington chain belongs on the hoist.

A multi-fall block buys a lighter chain in exchange for more sheaves and more chain to inspect; a single fall buys simplicity in exchange for one heavier strand doing all the work. Against electric and lever hoists the split is different again, because those change who supplies the pulling force and how often the tool can cycle, so treat hand pull and duty cycle as separate questions.

Why the Hand Pull Is 72 lb, Not a Tug

Work is force times distance, and a hoist trades one for the other. The hand chain you pull travels several feet while the load rises a few inches, which is how a person lifts 4,000 lb at all. The exchange is not free: friction in the gear train, the hand wheel and the chain joints eats part of it, and that loss is the reason the figure lands at 72 lb rather than at something you could hook with two fingers. Run the division yourself and it comes out near 1.8 percent of the rated load, which is my arithmetic and not a line from the manual: 2 tons is 4,000 lb, the pull is 72 lb, the ratio is what it is.

What matters on the floor is the feel of it. Seventy-two pounds is a lean-back, both-hands, feet-set pull, repeated for every lift of the shift. If you can carry only one number to a work cell to screen whether the tool fits the job and the person, carry the 72 lb instead of the 2-ton label. The rating stays the compliance floor you cannot go under, and the hand pull moves with the model, so read the table for the hoist you are actually buying.

41 lb Net, 43 lb Shipped, 1.6 lb per Foot

Three weight columns, three different obligations. Net weight, 41 lb, is what the hook and the person carrying the unit up a ladder deal with. Shipping weight, roughly 43 lb, is what the freight label and the receiving clerk deal with; it is packaging, not structure. The third column is the one that gets missed: 1.6 lb for every additional foot of lift. Take an 8 ft standard unit out to 20 ft and you have added 12 ft of chain at 1.6 lb per foot, about 19.2 lb hanging on the same beam before a single load is picked up.

What sits on the suspension point is the hoist plus the chain you ordered plus the load, and the manual is explicit that before attaching the hoist you confirm every attachment point, suspension component and supporting structure is adequate to support the hoist and its load, and that the fixed suspension point rests on the center of the hook's saddle with the latch engaged. The 41 lb figure is the one printed on the spec sheet. The roughly 60 lb version is the one your beam meets.

Ordering a Longer Lift Without Joining Chain

Standard lift on the CB020 is 8 ft, and anything longer is ordered rather than added later; the manual allows any lift of chain on request as long as the length is specified when the order goes in. The prohibition that follows is the practical half of the same fact: never lengthen the chain by attaching additional links or by any other means. The reason is metallurgical. The chain is heat treated as a matched length, so a connection improvised in a maintenance aisle is no longer the part the hoist was built around, and the splice becomes the exact point where the load path would fail. Lift length is a decision you make at requisition, not a modification you attempt when the standard chain comes up short.

What to Confirm Before the Requisition Goes Out

The requisition lines write themselves once the model is fixed: CB020, 2 ton, 8 ft standard lift, 72 lb hand pull, 8.0 mm single-fall chain, 41 lb net, 1.6 lb per additional foot of lift, about 43 lb shipped, authentic Harrington chain only. Two more questions are mine rather than the manufacturer's, and they belong on the same sheet as practical checks. First, who is on the hand chain for a full shift, because 72 lb repeated all shift reads very differently at hour seven than at hour one. Second, which lift length the overhead rating was evaluated against, because a beam cleared for an 8 ft unit is being asked a different question by a 20 ft one. It comes down to what the spec sheet cannot tell you: every number above is from the manual, and the rated capacity of the point overhead is the one item nobody at the hoist factory can confirm for you.

The One Check Before Anything Is Hung

Verify the rated capacity of the fixed suspension point against the hoist net weight plus the chain weight for the exact lift length you ordered plus the rated load. That is the check worth the extra phone call, because it is the only figure that changes quietly after the order leaves your desk: added lift length never shows up on a capacity label, and the support structure, not the hoist, is what the manual makes you responsible for proving adequate.