Electric car jacks - any good?

[stevensfo]

I just saw an ad for this:

https://www.roranova.com/products/elect ... price_trlc

I have a heavy Volvo XC60, I think about 1.7 tons. Are these electric things safe, and do they work? Excuse my cynicism, but, assuming it's made in China, I have the impression that the life of devices like these is getting shorter every year. As my colleague says 'Built in obsolescence'.

Steve

[PhaseThree]

Plenty of reviews here
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Powerbuilt-620 ... =8-10&th=1

[stevensfo]

Plenty of reviews here
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Powerbuilt-620 ... =8-10&th=1

Thanks for that. As I expected. I will rely on the old but trustworthy jack to lift the car.


Steve

[bungeejumper]

I have the impression that the life of devices like these is getting shorter every year. As my colleague says 'Built in obsolescence'.

Aye, and there's the rub. If its best-before date arrives unexpectedly while you've got a quarter of your car up in the air - or maybe half - it won't be so great. A friend dropped his Land Rover's offside wheel hub onto the ground after something gave way, and he was fortunate that it only cost him a new hub and braking assembly. It might have been a one-way trip in an ambulance.

I might be paranoid, but it strikes me that the best mechanism for a jack is a nice simple mechanism. And the more gears and hydraulic seals and motors are involved, the more I'm inclined to fret about all the bits I can't see with my very own peepers. I once bought a Chinese lawnmower whose gearbox turned out to have been made using soft bronze cogs instead of steel, and by the time it failed after only four months, there was nothing much left inside the casing but a load of bronzy mush. I'd only ever buy a high-tech jack if it came with the very highest safety certifications. And a ten year warranty, minimum.

BJ

[Urbandreamer]

I might be paranoid, but it strikes me that the best mechanism for a jack is a nice simple mechanism. And the more gears and hydraulic seals and motors are involved, the more I'm inclined to fret about all the bits I can't see with my very own peepers.
BJ

Interestingly lifts use to be hydraulic as their fail mode was slow and fairly safe.
https://www.home-elevator.net/info-why- ... ptions.php

I have certainly used a bottle jack many times in the past, though I tended to then use an axle stand once in the air. ASFIK all tyre places use hydraulic jacks, though usually they are manually pumped.

My concern would be the thing either failing because it was over extended (due to being the wrong thing for the job) or not working at all when I needed to change a wheel. The later alone would be a good reason to stick with a standard jack for the boot.

[bungeejumper]

I have certainly used a bottle jack many times in the past, though I tended to then use an axle stand once in the air. ASFIK all tyre places use hydraulic jacks, though usually they are manually pumped.

I've used them too, a long time ago, but only quality items built by a company I've actually heard of. And I didn't tend to use them with an axle stand - I made it an iron rule.

Totally agree that stability and not-fall-over-ability are paramount. I've seen some jacks tilt quite alarmingly as the wheel finally lifts off the ground. (Some cars' suspension systems seem to allow a lot of lateral flexing.) A foot or so of inch-thick planking would be the least I'd want underneath my jack if the ground were even the slightest bit soft or loose.

I know, I know. Only the paranoid survive.........

BJ

[quelquod]

Not only but especially cars with ‘fat’ tyres seem very inclined to roll away from the wheel being jacked leaving the jack tilted alarmingly inwards. My old bottle jack is consigned to the back of the shelving as the one time I tried to raise my 5er with it I got cold feet and gave up. I only use a substantial trolley jack now and run-flats to (hopefully) cope with eventualities far from home. If the run-flat is too badly damaged I’ve an emergency button and a phone - long gone are the days I’d consider changing a wheel at the roadside.

[Urbandreamer]

Not only but especially cars with ‘fat’ tyres seem very inclined to roll away from the wheel being jacked leaving the jack tilted alarmingly inwards.

The technique, from memory, is to stop, drop the car, reposition the jack, then try again. Indeed, I seem to recall reading such in an owners manual.
This is what you should do with a standard boot jack. If it looks in any way unsafe STOP, and start again.

Trolly jacks have wheels for more than just getting them under the car. To a great extent they reposition themselves. Indeed they must as the arm swings towards the handle as it rises. When it pushes the car up the base moves away from the handle due to the forces acting upon the wheels of the jack.

Jacks that you throw in the boot are a compremise. Far from ideal, but easy to pack. Bottle jacks are cheap and easy to operate. However they do require more care in their use.

I confess that the linked jack looks sort of good to me. The issue is how short it is. If it is used on cars, other than sports cars, there seems a great danger of over extending it. I would SERIOUSLY question using it on a Volvo, given that most have good road clearance.

[88V8]

The one I have is like this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373785829876?hash=item57075f21f4:g:S9kAAOSwXZphiqqT what amounts to a scissor jack with an electric motor.

It works well.
I keep a block of wood with the jack to put under it if the ground is soft.

That jack I use with the Rambler, as I am not comfortable with the maker's jack which is designed to hook under the bumper and lifts half the car. I prefer to lift just the offending wheel.

The Land Rover has two bottle jacks in the back, and the Peugeot has its original scissor jack that stows under the bonnet. The Peugeot jack does lift half the car, but sideways which I think is intrinsically safer than lifting the front or rear.

I also have a tyre pump in each car and a pressure gauge. So far in 53 years of driving I have never needed outside assistance to deal with a puncture.

V8