Hi group, i would like to run a competition in this group and in uk.rec.cars. maintenance. Prize of 10 pounds to be paid via NOCHEX. Our company has a small lifting device that will be launched in Spring 2004.
We would like your views and ideas on the different uses this device can be put to around the home/workshop/industry. Thanks for your time. D Rose
Send them back to china, or see if your local 'pound shop' will take them.
out of pumping your leg up and down to change a tyre :)
I could probably find a use for this in my general handyman business where I need to exert some expansive pressure between two points, for example between floor and some vertical object - however if it can be mounted sideways (like a regular scissors jack) it could be used that way too, say in a door frame.
To an extent it depends how fast this jack raises - if it takes a while to go from one limit to the other (say 30+ seconds to fully open) and can be stopped at any point by releasing a switch it could be useful. Would be nice if it closed gracefully too.
Doing something like aligning a shelf could be one use - especially if there's a remote on/off button on a fly lead - that way you could stand back and raise/lower one end of a shelf (or cabinet..) whilst checking against some datum line. Can't do that with a scissors jack!
What I'd like to see is a 240v option supplied with this jack - not many cigar lighter sockets inside a building these days :)
Price is another important consideration. Below £30 you may get a sale with me - above that and I need to convince myself that I really need it because my good old-fashioned scissors jack generally works for me.
Let me know if you want a beta-tester :)
PoP
Cheers Pop, thanks for your comments if you visit the web site it does mention that it can be run from a free standing12v battery using 2 croc clips into an adapter socket so it is portable.
Price is a consideration Pop but it costs alot more than 30 pounds! Thanks for the tip about alignment although the site does mention something similar. BTW It can be used vertically only.
Once again cheers Pop!
One important thing with a jack for emergency wheel changing is that it can be used with the minimum of mess to the user. This is why the supplied car jack is individual to the car, as it will fit into an *external* mounting in either the bumpers or sills. It will also be secured in this mounting in some way for use on uneven ground. An aftermarket general purpose jack can't easily fulfil this criteria.
For DIY maintenance, a trolley jack is the preferred choice as here a minimum height to get it under the car, and a maximum are perhaps the most important consideration since they should only be used in conjunction with axle support stands. And the minimum of 165 mm/ maximum 325 makes this considerably poorer than even the cheapest trolley jack I can find in a quick search.
The Machine Mart CJT2 has a minimum of 135mm and a maximum of 340 at an inclusive price of 15 quid. But a better trolley jack at around 30 quid might have a minimum 110mm/ maximum 400 or so, ie double the lifting distance of this device.
Indeed, the maximum lift of this device at just over 6 inches means it won't lift some car's wheels clear of the ground - even under ideal circumstances.
The amount of effort needed to operate a trolley jack is tiny, and few would object to it.
As regards industrial use, is the device warranted for such (likely) heavy and continuous use?
The first thing that springs to mind is to have 4, attached to the body above the axles at each corner. If your body work gets hung up on anything, you just press a switch and away you go.....
However, I would be concerned about the plastic body and whether it would be weatherproof, not to mention mud, sand etc. It would also have to work upside down.
This strikes me as a good idea that needs more thought. As a replacement for a scissor jack for infrequent tyre changing, it's probably fine.
BTW what are you charging for them?
Rick.....
Similar to a Smiths 'Jackall' system fitted to many pre and post war cars? It wasn't electrically operated though - there was a central pump situated either under the bonnet or floor. Trouble with it was that it often jammed when needed in anger, through lack of use.
Also, the 6" lift of this jack would not be near adequate for serious off roading.
Agreed.
What surprises me is that AFAIK no manufacturer uses a hydro pneumatic suspension as on Citeron cars, I would think that for off-road use it would be unbeatable especially if you could control each corner individually.
The closest that I have seen is at the Europa 200 Truck Trial, where some competitors modified their Unimogs with hydraulic rams at each wheel, but they also had four wheel steering.
Rick...
Once again, very pertinent suggestions.
The jack has a simple attachment that can adapt to many jack points. Pop (above) certainly doesn't object to a labour saving device!
The small lifting range can be increased by sitting it on flat solid-board base.
The jack is being tested at a lab and will receive the CE mark for lifting devices in the new year.
For 'DIY' read home/garden workshop use. Some of use use the workshop for other than car maintenance. 8 ' )
We have interest from DIY car enthusiasts, industrial lifting device suppliers, tradesmen and home DIYers as an 'extra pair' of hands. Indeed Pop suggested putting up shelves on your own by incrementally adjusting the level via the control pad standing back and admiring your work.
Any ideas on home use will be of value to us Dave. Price yet to be decided. .
David
How does that increase the range? It moves the current range but doesn't help if total the lift you need is greater than its range.
Personally I'm not sure that 6" would be enough to enable a wheel, with a flat tyre, to be changed on my car. There is a good 4" of tyre side wall then you have to have enough lift left for the suspension to drop another 4" or so before the tyre clears the ground...
You can shove it where the sun doesn't shine, you spamming git.
Are you guaranteeing it will be as secure as the supplied jack? Lifting a car even to change a wheel requires some care - especially for the sort of person who may be attracted by this sort of thing.
How can the lifting range be increased by altering the position of the jack? Its maximum lift is approx 6 inches which is *not* enough for most cars.
Hmm.
How many people have a 12 volt supply around the house or garden?
I thought I made it fairly plain I think it has no uses - at least for me. Jacking up a car with a trolley jack is no hardship.
I have tested the device myself and it works as in the picture on our web site. So i'm not sure what your objections are really.
I have asked 2 groups this one and uk cars rec maintenance for help and advice on a product you both may have views on. I am sorry that you feel this is 'spam'.
Thankyou for your time and effort in posing questions. I was hoping for a bit more creativity though. DR
You mean spammed two groups.
There's no 'feel' about it - a duck is a duck and spam is spam.
Aw, you disappointed that your personal team of unpaid advisers haven't given you the answers you wanted?
Hi Grunff, thanks for your advice. Best wishes DR
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