I wish that load ratings were more transparent. This Fusion Contigua carabiner is rated as having a 23kN yield strength. According to online calculators, that’s equivalent to ~5170 lbf (pound-force).
With a little research and math, it can be clear how much weight this carabiner can safely support.
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Black Diamond, another climbing and sporting goods maker, discusses some of the differences between industrial and recreational carabiners, describing how recreational carabiners might be rated at their breaking strength, while industrial products might be rated with a safety factor.
When it comes to consumer and even professional tools and equipment, load ratings sometimes are not well defined, at least to the point where they are not well understood.
How much weight can a ladder hold? There are usually safety factors built into weight ratings, and there are even some safety standards that require a certain multiplication factor.
What about portable workbenches? Can their weight limits be directly compared, or do different brands rate their products with different safety factors?
When shopping for pulleys, I came across no-name products. This cheap pulley block is said to have a 400 kg (881.8 lbs) load rating, but the seller can’t answer questions about what diameter and type of rope it could be used for. They answer such a question with: This item flexible sliding pulley with heavy load capacity for numerous application.
Another product, a pulley hoist system, is said to have a 4000 lb load rating. It comes with a 50-foot polypropylene rope of uncertain size. Looking online, similar-looking 3/8″ hardware store polypropylene rope has a working load rating of 215 lbs. So that pulley hoist system’s rating is likely for just the hoist component, and not when using the included rope.
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I recently bought 2 pulleys for an equipment-lifting application, and spent more than I wanted to, because I needed the greater confidence of going with a brand name whose ratings I could place greater trust in.
When a portable or stationary workbench brand says that their equipment can hold X-amount of weight, I am usually very confident that they can. Bigger brands’s lawyers often verify such claims before they can be publicly marketed.
But with other types of products, most notably the lifting and hoisting products and components I recently looked at, I had a hard time sorting out the load ratings. It’s hard to tell which load ratings are theoretical limits, working limits, or safety limits.
I can understand why more detailed information isn’t provided. Let’s say you have a work platform that’s rated 250 lbs. If a user knows the “failure” limit is higher, they might think it’s okay to exceed the working load rating.
There’s a certain responsibilities of buyers to know what they’re getting and using. Some information is readily available, such as OSHA’s ladder guidelines. But do any of the cheaper non-usual ladder brands confirm to OSHA or other safety regulations or standards?
The Loiusville Type IA ladder, shown above, has a 300 lb capacity. I would trust that working weight capacity without much second thought, because they’re a long-standing and much-respected name in the industry. The same with Werner and several other brands.
On Amazon, this Best Choice Products ladder is said to have a 330 lb capacity, and this OxGord ladder is said to have a 300 lb max load capacity. I’m not in the market for either, but both are examples of vague load ratings. Where are these and other load ratings coming from, and what standards do they meet?
I observed the same imported hoists being marketed by different brands, each with a slightly different load ratings. With some of the products, different load ratings seem attributed to differences in wire rope diameter, but with others, there was no indication as to what or why identical-looking products were rated differently depending on the seller or brand.
I learned long ago that brands can get creative with marketing claims. Once, a flashlight brand changed their marketing claims from weather-proof to water-proof, and then back to weather-proof once we started asking about IP ratings to help answer a reader’s question.
But load ratings are much more serious, with personal safety at risk.
Personally, I plan to stick with brand names I know I could trust, but in some cases that’s harder to do. What if there’s a large pricing disparity, or big difference in availability?
There are countless no-name products flooding into Amazon, with many gaining lots of positive reviews in a short amount of time. Are these brands as accountable as reputable long-standing brands, when talking about hoists? Ladders? Other industries?
It scares me when products are marketed with load ratings and there’s no clear indication as to where those load ratings come from. A lot of times, there’s nobody to even ask.
I want to see greater transparency in how these products are rated and marketed, but I unfortunately don’t see that happening, nor do I see retailers being held accountable in any way. In today’s “3rd party marketplace” environment, retailers tend to be reactive, rather than proactive. When offensive items show up in their sales catalog, action isn’t taken until news stories start shaming them into.
Looking at some of the reviews for unfamiliar-branded ladders, I see images of broken ladders and reports of falls, even when the user says they’re well under the max load ratings.
So when we see these ladders rated at 300 lbs, 330 lbs, or whatever they’re rated at, are those absolute maximum load ratings, working load ratings, or something else? Maybe they’re legit, but if so, transparency would still be nice, especially when there are industry standards that might apply.
This is just something I’ve been thinking about.
Josiah M Callison
Somewhat off topic but do you know of a ladder with a 500lb rating?
Stuart
Type IAA goes up to 375 pounds.
This Dewalt ladder is said to have a 500 pound load capacity. There might be others. If you have specific needs, you could try emailing Werner, Lousville, or other ladder manufacturers, to see what options they might have available.
fred
If you buy a twin step ladder type IAA then each side is rated at 375 lbs. for a total of 750 pounds.
While these ladders pretty sturdy – you are not supposed to mix and match the loads – say have a 350 lb. guy with a 100 lb. load on one side and a 200 lb. guy with a 100lb. load on the other side.
Nate
Seems ridiculous to think you’d have the same load on both sides if your were utilizing both.
fred
You don’t need to have the exact same load on both sides – but each side is rated at 375 pounds – so 200 and 375 would be OK – but 200 and 500 would exceed the limit as an example.
A W
I totally agree, Stuart.
We purchased some tie down nets for use in general aviation aircraft, and needed to ensure that the nets and hardware were rated to the baggage capacity of the aircraft x the certification crash deceleration that the fuselage is rated to. It took a while, but the company had a US sales rep who was able to get the engineering data to us.
fred
Then there is the consideration of ratings for live loads versus static loads. A box of bolts on top of a bench is not likely to jump around (earthquakes not considered) – but a 250 pound man climbing a ladder might accidently bounce onto a rung or step.
For climbing ropes and appurtenances one has to consider falls and a log should be kept to know when a rope should be replaced. Some ropes, pulleys etc. will come with packaging that warns against use for overhead lifting – but I don’t recall any giving information about dynamic load ratings.
Chris
You specifically mention load ratings, but there are all kinds of safety ratings / rules these imported (pretty much universally from China) products disregard.
I bought some outdoor string lights recently. They are much cheaper on Amazon from a third party seller than at a retail store, and they look exactly the same. Is there a difference? – Well the difference I found is that the set from Costco has a holographic UL sticker, but the Amazon one does not. (The wire may have UL lettering – which may or may not be counterfeit – but the whole assembly was never UL tested). The UL rating gives you some assurance you won’t be electrocuted in the rain.
I had a power brick fail recently. The OEM part was $72, so I swallowed hard and bought a cheap Chineese replacement for $20. It chirped when load was applied and would not power up my equipment, so I spent the $72 and bought the OEM (also made in China, but presumably with some quality oversight the cheap one was lacking). There are all sorts of Youtube videos where people dissect cheap, Chinese power supplies that externally look identical to name brand parts, but internally there is no isolation between the high and low voltage sides, filtering components are missing, etc. The lack of isolation means these parts could kill you given the proper failure mode.
I bought a safe a few years ago and the manufacturer had a UL RSC rating. Today, the same manufacturer dropped the price a couple hundred bucks, but there is no UL RSC rating or ETL fire rating anymore. The product is advertised with the same fire rating. Is it the same? Maybe, but who knows. Without independent testing you have no idea.
There has been a race to the bottom on all of these items. I try to buy UL, ETL, inertek, etc rated products to support companies that take the time, effort, and cost to get the ratings, but I imagine most consumers don’t know the difference or don’t care. If we all buy the cheapest product, it won’t be long before the companies that do design, test, and certify their products for safely and function go out of business.
Finally, the products you listed are on Amazon with third party sellers – who in all likelihood are based in China. The “fulfilled by Amazon” program has given these Chinese sellers direct access to the US market. The sellers bulk ship to Amazon, and then Amazon warehouses and ships the product to you and me. Now the Chinese sellers can sell to the US market without the hassle / delay of 3 to 4 weeks for delivery through China Post, which is what these sellers used to do through eBay. By and large, these are inferior products with no accountability or guarantee of fitness for use. Maybe that is ok if you are buying a throw away item, but beware if the item can kill you (anything that plugs into a 120 volt circuit can).
JoeM
I’m going to echo much of this, to save time.
If it is a consumable, daily gadget accessory, or totally harmless/impossible to get wrong because the laws of physics won’t let you get it wrong type of item, then the “Fulfilled by Amazon” program Chinese Knockoffs are perfectly fine. Half the time, the language translation alone gives the whole thing problems, let alone the unit standards. So, it’s really best to keep these purchases to things that don’t matter one bit. Spare charging cables for your electronics (notice the SPARE in there) and decorative cases for mobile devices… hey… go for it.
It’s when you get into safety gear and actual mission-critical items, you have to buy the ones with the clear definitions and numbers. It doesn’t matter if it’s from your favourite brand or not, and it doesn’t matter if it’s on sale or not. If you can’t clearly see the numbers you need to see, you don’t buy it. Electrical standards, weight standards, and break/fail points all matter to a job getting done. The problem usually lies directly with the people who have compromised their safety or work for the sake of their wallet, and ended up buying these cheaper items for that purpose only. If there wasn’t a market for people who can’t afford the exact item they need, these Chinese Knockoffs would have no product to sell.
Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world, and some perfectly honest, hard working people sometimes have no other choice but to get a temporary item to make enough money to buy the one they really want. In this unfortunate world, we get all these failure rates, and so many industrial accidents, and the “Fulfilled by Amazon” stores making lots of money off of it. To get quality, you really have to pay for it, and there is a massive want for an economy strong enough for those who can work for it to earn enough to buy what they need. We talk on ToolGuyd a lot about the low quality of a lot of things from “Harbor Freight” having a “Burnt Rubber” smell to them, and for several other companies to “Feel Cheap”… well, the reality is we don’t really discuss the reason ANY of us has even walked into one of these stores, or looked at them online, in the first place. Sometimes our budget for what we need is far too small to get the things that actually do the job.
The underlying point I’m making here is really… if you’re going to buy things, accept your own reality. Balance your budget, yes. But do the corner cutting on things that don’t matter, never when your safety is on the line. Blow up a cheap USB charger that cost you $1, or cut a cable that cost you about the same, and it isn’t a major loss, no matter how much it did the job. Step on a ladder that can’t handle you and your tools and supplies, and that could mean you don’t earn money to replace it at all. In fact it may mean you’re on the permanent disabled list. On these safety items, and major work items, it’s always necessary to look before you leap, so to speak. If you can’t figure it out, or it doesn’t say what you are looking for, then walk away from it. Your safety is worth paying a little extra for, if for no other reason than properly posted safety information.
So… STAY SAFE OUT THERE! Invest in the right equipment, not just whatever is cheapest. And if you’re unable to afford any other options, make sure you have some backup of some sort in case of emergency.
PatrickD
The load ratings ARE all pretty straightforward, IMO.
Remember with your pulley block example it’s actually a block and tackle – the load between the pulleys and on the rope is distributed to *6* ropes. So with a 215lb safe working load limit (SWL), thats nearly 1300 lbs. Figure in your typical 1/3 SWL and you’re at 4000lbs break strength or so. Now, a 3/8″ rope you’re not going to be able to pull hard enough with your hands to lift 4000 lbs with that… so they’re not super concerned that the SWL is less than 4000lbs.
Loads are rated based on standards and manufacturer testing to determine what is best. A 300lb ladder is rated for a 300lb person to use it under normal conditions. This means exerting more than 300 lbs of dynamic force. Equipment subject to shock loads is not rated based on a lb rating, but based on force… as you experienced with your carabiner. A 300lb person who falls and has their safety gear catch them produces WAY more force on the equipment than simply holding 300lbs, so things like drop height are part of the equation.
Cheap pulleys like you experienced are rated for a “safe working load”, which is usually based off an industry standard like 1/3″ the breaking point. These are static loads… it’s impossible for them to rate it for everything. Lifting 400lbs into your attic is one thing, throwing a 400lb steel ball off the roof and having something catch it requires calculations.
Diplomatic Immunity
Lack of this type of information always bothers me as a consumer.
Slightly off topic are consumer electronics when it comes to this sort of information. Story time… quite a few years back I was helping my parents buy their first hdtv. I was with my father going to various stores looking at picture quality when it came to different manufacturers and their models. I looked up reviews and from viewing in store we agreed on a good tv for the price range they were willing to pay. I ended up finding a deal, online, for the tv and bought them it. So I set up the tv and a few months later I’m like, “this picture quality looks like trash vs what was set up in the store considering it’s the same exact model.” Well after some research it turns out that even though tv models can be the same, the panel itself can be sourced and made by a totally different manufacturer in something called “the panel lottery”. So even though you buy a tv from a specific manufacturer and a specific model there is another model number on the back of the tv with the specific panel and THAT is what you need to look at because each panel itself is of various quality. Turns out that looking up the one I bought for them we screwed in that lottery with the worse panel and it was indeed noticeable even though the manufacturer would claim otherwise. Extremely aggravating to have to even research that in order to not be deceived.
It would be like driving a V8 Mustang, being thrilled by the performance, buying the Mustang, and then driving it home only to find out it has less power and sucks because the dealer sold you a 4 cylinder one marketed under the same model. Really feels like bait and switch.
ToolOf The Trade
The term load capacity is a very broad term when it comes to the load bearing potential for just about anything that it’s printed on. There’s more gray area than black and white. Take a pulley or hoist for instance. The pin that’s holding the mechanism together and the strength of the housing is what the rating is based on. They’re not going to mention the limits of when those parts become compromised and begin to fail. But more importantly is how well it is anchored. In other words if your pulley is anchored to a ceiling joist or an I-beam, which do you think will support the load more efficiently? Although it’s very difficult to snap a joist, it will being that it’s wood. And something I’ve never used when working with a hoist or pulley is rope. Chain or cables always. And technically, they don’t have to mention load capacity specs on everything that is manufactured outside of the US. And I certainly wouldn’t take osha’s word for load capacity because they don’t test the limitations of what a ladder can or cannot support. Their ratings are only based on which they deem to be safe. I got a step ladder for Xmas 2016 with a 225lb osha load capacity. I’m 253lbs not including my toolbelt. No issues whatsoever with supporting my weight. There’s potential for failure in just about any type of load bearing tool or machine. But you have to understand structural load limitations and proper procedures for anchoring as well as what to use to lift and support the load to avoid potential problems. What is printed on these items may not be pertinent to the manner of which you are trying to apply for use. Just have an idea of what your doing.
Justin
As someone who is near or above many of those weight limits, I too wish those things were spelled out more clearly. I can find a properly rated 6 ft A-frame, but what about one of those handy step stools? If you can even read the tiny sticker anymore you’d probably see it is around 200 lbs.
Side note, did you know office chairs also have weight ratings? They might be a lot lower than you think.
FD
You know what I wish was straight up?
ladder length
I hate that one brand of ladders that lists them all as xx feet, but they’re all actually x feet shorter because they figure you’ll stand on rung x, with your torso x feet higher and another foot or two of arm reach.
Andrew
Ladder lengths generally tell the total section length. A 6′ step ladder has one 6′ section. A 24′ extension ladder has two 12′ sections, but there is overlap so it’s not 24′ long extended.
Multi-position ladders are confusing because they give numbers to compare to traditional extension ladders.
Andrew
I believe ladder weight ratings have a 3x or 4x safety factor. But if you were to fall down a rung or two and catch yourself, you’ll be approaching that sort of load.
herbert fellows
Yes, ladder ratings are done at 4x the stated weight rating, but that is for a static load.
I can’t imagine being able to even approach 800 lbs. on a Type 3 200 lb. ladder.
The weight capacities are done with an abundance of caution.
Pete
You think thats bad?! Try truck raitings. The ad on tv says it can tow upto XX,XXX#s. If you actually look at their spec sheet there is one model that can tow that much weight. Even then it can only tow that much weight when using a weight distribution hitch, other wise the truck is only rated to tow half that weight. I hate how stupid it is, and the sales people have no idea nor care.
David Funk
Buy a 3/4 or 1 ton
Adabhael
I think the only answer is to adopt this approach:
https://calvinandhobbesagain.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/ch861126.jpg?w=500&h=157
mac
Amen. Love Calvin and Hobbies 🙂
The yeti
Any commercial hwy straps for big trucks are usually rated at 3 quarters actual strength. Giving some room for error.
Lifting slings we use on the rigs are all rated to half . For the same reasons.
More important is looking after them.
fred
Knowing what you are doing in lifting, inspecting slings, hooks and shackles for wear or damage and having personnel protection procedures in place are all very important. We had a travelling crane in one shop and took great care with its use. In over 30 years of operation we had no accidents – and that was not “by accident”.
A gouge in a lifting hook or shackle can cut into a lifting sling. Having the slings sit in the hook at greater than 45 degrees or having bunched-up slings can result in an unstable and deadly lift.
Greg
Totally agree with you Stuart. I’d also like to open it up in general to most tools and equipment ratings. It’s almost a guarantee these days that some level of marketing bs is involved with most of every piece of equipment or tool. I can’t stand companies that advertised somehow unattainable “lab tested” ratings in big bold letters which make you think that’s what the given tool or equipment is capable of. Math will show you that it’s bs but I don’t want to be doing math when I’m at the store trying to find a tool I need. For example air compressor companies (I’d say the ones catering more to consumer and prosumers) tend to over inflate the HP rating of the given compressor. I saw a Craftsmen not long ago that boldly advertised being capable of 6hp on 120v but didn’t elaborate that this is probably 6hp for a split second when maxed out given the power consumption at that moment. (There’s no way you can continuously run a 6hp electric motor on 120v the maths don’t add up).
This beef goes hand in hand for my hatred (yea it’s a strong word but that’s how much it annoys me) when companies decide to sell combo packs of tools but skip sizes (the second I see I don’t care if’s Snap On I’m not buying it).
But yea back to your point there really needs to be a lot of transparency on a lot of ratings especially ones that deal with safety these days. I feel like though if were to happen you’d be calling the bluff of the marketing departments.
Jeremy
It’s not just the no-name brands that are doing it either. A few years ago I bought a 700$ sliding hoist from the biggest name in industrial suppliers for a gantry crane. Advertised as having a safe working load of approx 4000 pounds. I lifted a 700lb engine/transmission with it, and moved it over to drop into the engine bay. I noticed the chain for moving it along the track starting to hang so to be safe I dropped the motor back on the skids, and took it back to the store. They refused to warranty it, when I took it apart, I found that the central pin was only held to the outside faces with three little spot welds… Two had failed, if the third had failed the best case scenario is that it would have destroyed a 30, 000$ engine and a boat, if not causing a massive collapse of the boat supports and injuries or a fatality if it dropped the motor 6′. I documented it with photographs, and chased it all the way until I got someone who cared. They agreed to refund me the money as soon as they saw the photos long as I agreed not to mention the name of the company. But they are supplying many companies and industries, if this had been an overhead gantry instead of at eye level across an engine bay, I wouldn’t have noticed until it fell. Scary stuff.
I bought a 150$ korean version that had a bolt with nuts through the two plates to hang the load from and a 900lb SWL. No problem whatsoever, crude but effective, after that I trust little in what companies claim about their equiments fitness for use.
William
In the end there’s really NO reason for company’s to overstate the load rating on something. Should something catastrophic happen when using a certain ladder or apparatus and it’s due to a failure of the apparatus, that company will be liable.
MtnRanch
“This item flexible sliding pulley with heavy load capacity for numerous application”
This phrase alone should be your sign to not risk life and/or limb on this product.