What are the Differences Between Grade 70 Chain ...

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A common question our sales team hears from customers about our chain products is &#;What are the differences between grade 70, 80, 100, and 120 chain?&#; We explain the differences between these categories and which chains you should use according to your needs.

Note: to view a complete chain grade comparison chart and WLL chart, see our recent chain grade overview post.

Grade 70 Chain

Grade 70 chain is manufactured in heat-treated carbon steel. Also known as "trucker's chain," people use grade 70 as tie-downs on over-the-road trailers. Never use this chain for overhead lifting.

This type generally features a gold chromate finish so it&#;s easy to recognize.  It also meets California Highway Patrol and DOT requirements. The uses for this chain, apart from transportation, include towing, logging, oil rigs, and safety applications.

This chain includes designs embossed with 7, 70, or 700.

Grade 80

Grade 80 chain is a heat-treated steel chain with a high strength to weight ratio. Its strength makes it safe for overhead lifting and lifting slings. It&#;s also excellent for uses such as recovery, safety, and towing chains.

This chain is also becoming more common in the flatbed trucking industry to secure heavy-duty industrial loads. Because these types of chains are generally equipped with a specific type of clevis grab hook, chain assemblies are not approved for overhead lifting.

This chain includes designs embossed with 8, 80, or 800.

Grade 100

Grade 100 chain is a newer product and is becoming increasingly popular as a replacement for grade 80 chain. Considered premium quality by manufacturers, it provides about 25% higher working load limits than grade 80 and works for overhead lifting applications.

More people use grade 100 over grade 80 to seure flated loads. This chain contains an added strength and smaller size that does not go against the working load limit.

However, because these chains are generally equipped with a specific type of clevis grab hook, chain assemblies are not approved for overhead lifting.

This chain includes designs embossed with 10, 100, or .

Grade 120 Chain

Grade 120 chain is also a newer category of high performance chain, offering the highest strength in the industry. The square link style creates more contact between the bearing surfaces on the links, which reduces pressure on the chain.

Are you interested in learning more about G100 Chain? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!

This translates to working load limits that are 50% higher than grade 80, and 20% higher than grade 100. Chain grade 120 works for overhead lifting. It's important to note that as with Grade 80 tie down chain assemblies and Grade 100 tie down chain assemblies, chain assemblies are also not safe for overhead lifting due to the type of hooks used.

This type of chain has a bright blue finish to make them easily recognizable.

Regardless of the type of chain, all must adhere to standards set by the National Association of Chain Manufacturers (NACM), which include:

• Never transporting or suspending lifted loads over people.
• Inspecting chains periodically for cracks, gouges, wear, elongation, nicks, and suitability.
• Excessive temperatures or exposure to chemically active environments such as acids or corrosive liquids or fumes can reduce a chain&#;s performance.
• Consult with the chain's manufacturer if chains will operate outside the reommended temperature range ( -40 °F to 400 °F).
• Remove chain from service if the thickness at any part on the link is less than the listed minimum value.
• When mixing chain or component types, all should be rated at the working load limit of the lowest-rated component or chain.
• Browse our selection of grade 70 transport chain, grade 80, 100, and 120 tie down chain, as well as chain slings.
• Learn more about transport chain and load binders

 

Questions? Give our sales team a call at (877 595- or by emailing . They will be happy to help or place an order for you.

Industrial chains are the most used for overhead lifting, towing and tying downs applications, because they are extremely strong, super durable and flexible, in this article we will explain what and how to choose the chain grade for your rigging applications.

What is chain Grade?

In the past, people may use any type of chain, but in recent years, the ASTM (American Society of Testing & Materials), ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) and OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) have began to publish safety standards and regulations for the manufacturing, testing, use, inspection and repair of chain to differentiate between various materials and grades of chain and the specific applications they should be used for.

According to the Standards, the chain grade&#;s number or rating refers to the ultimate breaking strength it can handle per millimeter squared. There are five grades of chain: G30, G43, G70, G80, and G100. Grade 120 is a more stronger chain with a a bright, blue-coat finish and rectangular links, designed to fit the most extremely heavy duty application, but it is less common in the rigging industry. The higher the number, the stronger and the higher the WLL is, and the higher the strength-to-weight ratio.

You may heard &#;Grade 80 Alloy chain,&#; &#;Grade 70 chain&#;, &#;Grade 43 chain&#; or &#;Grade 30 chain&#; but don&#;t know what they meaning. It&#;s important to know the Grades of chain, for each Grade of chain is in several different strengths, and different applications, you can easily know which is better, for the higher numbers the grade is, generally there are six Grades of Chain and into three main steel materials: Grade 80 chain, Grade 100 chain, and Grade 120 chain for overhead lifting uses, Grade 70 chain for load securement and tie down applications, and Grade 43 chain and grade 30 chain for flatbed trucking industry .

Type of chain Grades

• Grade 100 chain, and Grade 120 overhead lifting chain

They are both made of high strength, heat treated alloy chain.
but the Grade 120 chain is a high-performance alloy chain, with square links, as opposed to the Grade 100 chain rounded links. We don&#;t sell these chain grades on our website, you can always send us an to order them.

• Grade 80 alloy chain

In the majority of cases, either Grade 80 or Grade 100 chain can be used for a lifting application. However, there are some situations in which Grade 80 is the better choice.
Grade 80 chain is made of heat-treated alloy steel, in some situations the Grade 80 chain is the better choice than Grade 100 chain for it has a high strength to weight ratio.
You can easily identify Grade 80 chains for they are embossed with G8, or 80 marks, they can be used for overhead lifting and chain slings, Hilifting can supply EN818-2, EN818-4, and ASTM or NACM Grade 80 alloy chain, please click here for more details.

• Grade 70 Transport Chain

Grade 70 transport chain is a binder chain for load securement, towing, logging and tie down applications. It is easy to identify for the golden chromate finish and embossed G7, or 70 marks.
It is not approved for overhead lifting, although it is manufactured by heat-treated making them high strength, the galvanization degrade its grade. If you need more details, please click here.

• Grade 43 High Test Chain 

They are both made with low carbon steel but Grade 43 high test chain has a higher strength-to-weight ratio than Grade 30 proof coil chain, both of them are used in the bundling, logging trucking, and tie down applications, but are not approved for overhead lifting.

• Grade 30 Proof Coil Chain

Different Chain Grades&#; Size & Working Load Limit Charts

Grade 30Nominal Chain SizeWorking Load
Limit (MAX.)Proof Test
(Min.)Breaking Force
(Min.)Inside Length
(Max.)Inside Width
(Max.)IN.MMLBSKGLBSKNLBSKNIN.MMIN.MMhltG/8&#;..20..90.256.4hltG/16&#;5...40..80.37.7hltG/4&#;..21..50.389.8hltG/16&#;..81..80..2hltG/8&#;..21..hltG/16&#;11...81..60..6hltG/2&#;..50..2hltG/8&#;..62..hltG/4&#;..62..hltG/8&#;..23...5hltG&#;..23..91..7Grade 43Nominal Chain SizeWorking Load
Limit (MAX.)Proof Test
(Min.)Breaking Force
(Min.)Inside Length
(Max.)Inside Width
(Max.)IN.MMLBSKGLBSKNLBSKNIN.MMIN.MMhltG/4&#;..61..50.389.8hltG/16&#;8...80..2hltG/8&#;..hltG/16&#;11...60..6hltG/2&#;..61..50..2hltG/8&#;...hltG/4&#;..42..hltG/8&#;..63...5Grade 70Nominal Chain SizeWorking Load
Limit (MAX.)Proof Test
(Min.)Breaking Force
(Min.)Inside Length
(Max.)Inside Width
(Max.)IN.MMLBSKGLBSKNLBSKNIN.MMIN.MMhltG/4&#;..50.389.8hltG/16&#;8...61..80..2hltG/8&#;..41..hltG/16&#;11...41..60..6hltG/2&#;..81..50..2hltG/8&#;..82..hltG/4&#;..22..Part No.Chain Dia.PitchInner WidthOuter WidthApprox WeightW.L.LP.LM.B.Ld(mm)p(mm)a(mm) Minb(mm) Maxkg/mtonstonstonshlt±0.±0.57.822.20.81.122.804.48hlt±0.±0.69.125.91.11.503.756.00hlt±0.±0.710.429.61.42.005.008.00hlt±0.430±0..23.157..60hlt±0.±1.216.948.13.85...20hlt±0.±1.420.859.25.78...00hlt±0.954±1.623.466....80hlt±12.560±1....00hlt±1.166±2.028.681.410.815...00hlt±1.378±2.333.896.215.221...80hlt±1.696±2.941....00

Conclusion

The alloy steel chain Grade 80, 100, 120 are designed for overhead lifting, not for bundling, logging applications, while carbon steel Grade 70, 43, 30 chain are for load securement, tie downs, and bundling applications, not for overhead lifting purposes.

We hope that this article help you have a base level understanding of what chain grade and the differences of chain grades. We also carry a variety of galvanized, stainless steel chains, please contact us or leave your comment below and if you are interested in learning more about chains knowledge.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of Rigging Services. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.