It seems that it is a fairly common problem that a chain hoist lifts nicely but has a frozen braking system that won't allow the hoist to lower the load - sometimes not at all, or in come cases, not without excessive effort.
My inherited unit was totally frozen, and after taking it apart and getting it working nicely again, I thought I'd share the solution.
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bVTxnbOlEHU/maxresdefault.jpg)