Parts of a Hoist – Chain Hoist Diagram with Names

All 12 parts on the diagram

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Whole hoist 8

Top hook The hook the whole hoist hangs from. It goes over a beam clamp, a trolley or another fixed point. Also called the suspension hook.
Load chain The heavy chain that carries the load. It runs from the body down to the load block. The safety rule calls it the hoist chain.
Hand chain The light, endless chain the operator pulls. Pulling one side raises the load and pulling the other lowers it.
Load hook The hook the load hangs on. It hangs under the load block and has a safety latch too. Also called the bottom hook.
Housing The body of the hoist. It holds the load chain wheel between two side plates and carries the covers.
Safety latch A sprung bar that closes the throat of a hook. It keeps a sling or a link from slipping out.
Hand wheel cover The cover over the hand chain wheel. The hand chain passes out through its underside.
Load block The block at the bottom of the load chain. It holds a sheave for the chain and carries the load hook. Also called the bottom block.

Inside 4

Hand chain wheel The wheel the hand chain runs over. Pulling the chain turns it, and it turns the shaft.
Gears The gear train between the two chain wheels. It trades speed for force, so a light pull lifts a heavy load.
Load chain wheel The pocketed wheel that grips the load chain. As it turns it pulls the chain up or pays it out. Also called the load sprocket.
Brake It holds the load when the hand chain is let go. A toothed disk and friction disks sit next to the hand chain wheel.

How this list was compiled: Part names checked on 2026-10-01; a name is kept only when two independent sources use it. (1) A maker's owner's manuals for 1 ton and 2 ton manual chain hoists, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-7037585 and https://archive.org/details/manualsbase-id-12993 (Its labeled figure and parts list: suspension hook, hook latch, load block, load chain, hand chain, load hook, hand chain wheel, hand wheel cover, load chain wheel, gears, pinion shaft, friction disk, ratchet disk, pawl.) (2) A second maker's user manual for a chain block, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6919771 (Housing, gear unit, load pressure brake, load chain, hand chain, hand chain wheel, load hook, top hook, lower block, safety catches, chain wheels.) (3) A third maker's operating instructions for a hand chain hoist, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6332805 (Its numbered description: top hook with safety latch, hand wheel cover, load chain, bottom block, gear cover, hand chain, load hook with safety latch, chain anchorage, handwheel; also housing, chain stop, brake and friction disks, chain wheel.) (4) US Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 29 CFR 1910.179, Overhead and gantry cranes, read at the Legal Information Institute, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.179 (Definitions: hoist, hoist chain (the load bearing chain in a hoist), load block (the assembly of hook or shackle, swivel, bearing, sheaves, pins and frame), brake.) (5) Wikipedia, English edition, Hoist (device) and Lifting hook, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoist_(device) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifting_hook (A hoist lifts by a drum or lift-wheel that rope or chain wraps round; most hoists couple to their loads with a lifting hook, usually fitted with a safety latch.) No maker is named. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry; own work, no maker's model copied. Licence: own work

How it works

These are the parts of a manual chain hoist, the hand-powered hoist also called a chain block. The first view is the whole hoist hanging from its top hook. The second is the body cut open from the front.

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From the top hook to the load hook

The top hook hangs the hoist from a beam or a trolley, and a safety latch closes its throat. Under it sits the housing, with the hand wheel cover on one side. The hand chain is an endless loop that hangs from that cover. The load chain runs down from the housing to the load block, and the load hook hangs under the block.

Inside the body

Pulling the hand chain turns the hand chain wheel. Gears pass that turn to the load chain wheel, which sits between the side plates and moves the load chain. The brake sits beside the hand chain wheel and holds the load when the hand chain is let go.

An electric chain hoist swaps the hand chain for a motor and a push-button control. Its hooks, load chain and load block keep their names.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a hoist called?

On a manual chain hoist: a top hook with a safety latch, a housing, a hand chain and its wheel, a load chain and its wheel, gears, a brake, and a load block with the load hook under it.

What is the difference between the hand chain and the load chain?

The hand chain is the light, endless loop the operator pulls. The load chain is the heavier chain that carries the load. The gears between their two wheels are why a light pull can raise a heavy load slowly.

What is the load block on a hoist?

It is the block at the bottom of the load chain. The US workplace safety rule for overhead cranes describes it as the assembly of hook or shackle, swivel, bearing, sheaves, pins and frame.

What holds the load when you stop pulling?

The brake. The makers' manuals read for this page describe a load brake with friction disks beside the hand chain wheel; it holds the load in place when the hand chain is released.