Hoists and winches are similar products, although many people use them interchangeably—but they shouldn’t be. Despite their similarities, a hoist shouldn’t be used as a winch, and a winch shouldn’t be used as a hoist. Let’s look at each product and you’ll understand why.
Hoists Are for Lifting Loads Vertically
If you’re looking to lift a heavy load (lift = vertical motion), you want a hoist. The reason is because a hoist has the design features required to do the job safely.
For example, a hoist does not have a free-spooling clutch that can get mistakenly bumped (or that could fail) causing the load to fall. A WARN hoist has a higher stall rating than a winch, too. Additionally, the hoist’s drum must be powered in and out to raise and lower the line, increasing the product’s safety factor over a winch. WARN hoists have more robust automatic load-holding brakes to keep items from falling when suspended as well as larger drum diameters to increase line strength.
A typical winch drum is pictured at top. The larger hoist drum is shown at the bottom.
Hoists Have Larger Drums for Greater Safety Factor
While most people understand the risk of a clutch, few take into consideration the hoist’s drum diameter. Simply put, as a rope passes over a curved surface, its strength is reduced. A smaller drum creates a sharper rope bend which is harder on the rope and can create a lower line breaking strength. A hoist’s drum is enlarged (compared to a winch) which further increases its safety factor. This is another consideration added to make hoists more robust for lifting. (FYI, Warn has made the drum on the new ZEON XD and ZEON XP winches larger for better rope durability.)
Hoists Are Generally More Overbuilt than Winches
In general, hoists are more robust and overbuilt compared to a winch. WARN hoists have a 5X structural safety factor above the working load, and a 2X line safety factor above the working load. This is due to the hazards associated with lifting heavy objects off the ground, and unlike a winch, you’re not dealing with a rolling load. Warn makes hoists in hydraulic and electric variants with capacities ranging from 800 lbs.–4,000 lbs. for a variety of tasks. All feature permanent grease lubrication, proven two-stage planetary gear trains; DC models are available in 12V or 24V.
WARN hoists comply with a variety of stringent safety standards for lifting. All this leads to a higher price than a winch, too. However, the WARN PullzAll, which can lift up to 1,000 lbs., is an economical choice for many utility options.
Remember: lifting = hoist.
Winches Are for Pulling Loads Horizontally
Needing to pull something heavy (pull = horizontal motion) like a vehicle, a pallet of supplies, or something else? You’ll want a winch. All WARN winches have a free-spooling clutch allowing the operator to pull the line out quickly and easily, rig it to an anchor, engage the clutch, and pull. They’re excellent for use on the front of a vehicle for self-recovery; mounted on a trailer for loading vehicles; or even as a portable unit (such as the Drill Winch) for utility tasks. WARN winches range in capacity from 750 lbs. to a massive 30,000-lb. capacity for our Series 30XL industrial hydraulic winch.
However, because a winch has a free-spool clutch, it should not be used to lift objects. And while we rarely see people using hoists as winches, we often see people utilizing a winch as a hoist. As previously mentioned, if you’re using a winch to lift a heavy load and the clutch gets moved to the frees spool position or the clutch were to fail, the load can crash to the ground and potentially cause harm.
The bottom line? Don’t use a winch as a hoist.
The versatile WARN PullzAll is rated as both a hoist and a winch
There Are Products That Can Be Used as Hoists and Winches
Now that you know not to use a hoist as a winch or a winch as a hoist, there are products that can do both. For example, the WARN PullzAll is a hand-held lifting and pulling tool. It’s rated for hoisting and winching. It has a 1,000 lb. pulling capacity and is an excellent utility tool for jobsites, farms, shops, and more. While it’s not intended to pull a vehicle out of the muck, it can be used for many other scenarios and is exceptionally versatile. Plus, it can be had in 120V corded, 120V CSA corded, or 24V cordless rechargeable variants.
Early WARN winches, such as Belleview winches and the M8070 did not have a free spool clutch. While this required powering the winch in and out when needing to run the line to an object, due to the lack of a clutch, it could also be employed as a hoist. Warn no longer offers these winches, however.
Use The Right Tool for the Job
Always use a hoist for lifting and a winch for pulling, unless you’re using a WARN PullzAll. Make sure you get the right capacity for the items you’re pulling, too. We have a great article on How to Choose the Right Winch to help take the guesswork out of choosing the right winch for your vehicle. Since hoists are a bit more customizable for specific tasks, we recommend calling our customer service at 800-543-9276 to discuss hoisting needs with one of our experts.
