Hey guys, does anyone know where to get some chains and if so how much I should expect to pay?
Hardware store. It all depends on how serious you are wanting to get with your chain system. Probably a couple bucks per pound, maybe a little less. (But you’ll buy by the linear foot)
I have bought hundreds of pounds at home depot.
What is the recommended size of chain to get? What length(s)?
[quote]HUNTER13 wrote:
What is the recommended size of chain to get? What length(s)?[/quote]
Half inch or 5/8", typically a 5 foot length, but depends on your stroke, exactly how you’ll be using them, etc.
Thanks guys
I’ve never been able to find 5/8 chain in any hardware store or tractor supply, your best bet is to buy online. Black Widow has 44 lbs of 5/8 for $92 shipped which is the cheapest I’ve found: 5/8" Weight Lifting Chain (Pair) Powerlifting, Strongman
Depending on where you live, Craigslist.
Example from a quick search:
[quote]IronAbrams wrote:
I’ve never been able to find 5/8 chain in any hardware store or tractor supply, your best bet is to buy online. Black Widow has 44 lbs of 5/8 for $92 shipped which is the cheapest I’ve found: http://www.blackwidowtg.com/product_p/chain-58.htm[/quote]
Yikes. Did you tear something?
Google “industrial slings/ chain” for your area. In Nashville, I found a place that sold me 3/4" chain for $3 a foot. It was “used” but I couldn’t tell. They had all kinds of chain there. They told me rock crushers use the chain as safety screens and it came in 10’ lengths. They cut it in 1/2 for me and I was GTG. Buy local if possible and you may have to drive across town but you’ll help your local economy and not get eaten alive with shipping costs.
McMasters-Carr if you live in SoCal.
I went with 5/8" because of the cost to weight ration, 5 foot length.
This allows me to set up the chains with two links on the floor at the beginning and the whole pile on the floor when I ATG Squat.
Oh, that in Adidas Powershoes and a 33" inseam …fwiw.
Some numbers:
5/8" chains are between 3.6 and 3.9 pounds per foot
3/8" chains are about 1.5 pounds per foot
1/4" chains are about .7 pounds per foot
You can take two 3/8" chains and one 1/4" chain, clip them together in the middle, and use them as if they were a single 5/8" powerlifting chain.
3/8" and 1/4" is easier to find, but at retail prices, it’s going to cost you around $100 per 5.5’ long pair. This is still cheaper than the ~$135 that buying 5/8" chain from Fastenal would be.
Buying online or “used” chain will probably be the best bet, but those were the local options when I was shopping before.
craigslist by far is the cheapest. I went to the hardware store to get leader chains and carabiners
then I barely ever used the chains